WAKE UP!

[OldSkool]

If you are ever up to it....and it is not too nosy.....can you elaborate on this mind-set that had you believe God was at work in TWI? Maybe a little more of how you started to come out of it. I know that is a great deal to ask....so, if you can't or don't want ....no problem.....what you share here is very very interesting and helpful.

The question was posed in another thread several days ago and it has taken me several days to work through my heart to understand how I stayed asleep inside the way international while I knew their past and present workings to be evil.

I knew the way international had a long history of scandal and corruption. Heck, when I was in TWI I took the time to read as many of the Allen lawsuit documents as I could find and was enraged. Enraged at the hypocrisy of Rosalie and others who knowingly covered up Craig Martindale's sexual predations. Then I found out the truth - he learned to sexually victimize vulnerable women from victor paul wierwille and wierwille had spent years doing the same. I could go onwards with the offense list. And knowing the offenses I still stayed, worked for them, furthered them, gave my money to them and I knew they were CORRUPT!

Looking back I was asleep. I had told myself that I could wait long enough to make the wrongs right, to change how the way international was run. I mean after all, they had "The Word!" So where does this delusion come from? I was never the type to support people like this and here I was, their servant. This delusion is carefully indoctrinated into way international followers as early as the foundational class. We were taught that we needed to stand even if we received evil from those closest to us, as was the case with Job. In that same series we were taught to stand even if our leadership was abusive, as in the case of the son's of Eli in the Old Testament, where Samuel served under abusive leadership. We were taught to stand even if our leaders committed adultery as David did with Bathsheba.

Way international followers are carefully and methodically taught to follow corrupt leaders, even though not all way international leaders are corrupt. As a way international follower I was taught that no one out there taught "The Word" like the way international and that no one had been taught "The Word" like we had since the first century Church. I was to stand and follow and further the way international at all costs, even if it meant supporting corrupt leadership. Stand, stand, stand and God would bless us for it!!!! Only problem was we were taught to stand for the way international in the name of God but not directly for God or Christ in any real relationship based manner!!

How carefully spun is this web? Wierwille was as corrupt as they came. Plagiarized his materials, lied about it, sexually victimized unsuspecting women, oh and the list could go on. I will stop now, wanted to throw out my initial thoughts on the subject and see what else I could learn.

Edited February 21, 2012 by OldSkool

[skyrider]

Way international followers are carefully and methodically taught to follow corrupt leaders, even though not all way international leaders are corrupt.

Taught to follow corrupt leaders is harsh reality....and needs A HARSH ANALOGY

Perhaps.....a better analogy than "asleep" would be YOU WERE ON FIRE --

When flames are burning and you're "on fire"......STOP, DROP, and ROLL.

STOP ...... what you are doing

DROP ...... from all participation

ROLL ...... away and out the door

[OldSkool]

Taught to follow corrupt leaders is harsh reality....and needs A HARSH ANALOGY

Perhaps.....a better analogy than "asleep" would be YOU WERE ON FIRE --

When flames are burning and you're "on fire"......STOP, DROP, and ROLL.

STOP ...... what you are doing

DROP ...... from all participation

ROLL ...... away and out the door

You got that $h1t right!

Edited February 21, 2012 by OldSkool

[krys]

Even their deceit was hidden! I'd just about gotten myself to the place where I realized how many lies there were so that I could believe nothing....when I realized that there were some truthful scriptures and other things they taught which were also truthful. So now where did that leave me?

At that time I didn't have any way to sort it out. I was up a creek without both a paddle and a rudder.

[geisha779]

Thanks OS....it is really interesting and helpful to hear how people wake-up.

Maybe the waking up comes in stages and just like different people wake-up from sleep in different ways......we wake-up from TWI in different ways. When we left, it was with other people, so we had built-in support which made it easier. Although it was our community, we didn't rely on TWI for income or living conditions. I also already had one foot near the door because of a "reproof" session that had a paradoxical effect, instead of humbling me, it enraged me. I was already starting to see the boundary issues.

When we did hear all the dirty little TWI secrets....and nothing was held back.....it was really easy to believe them. It put so many things into perspective, and it really was like waking up from a sleep. It was easy to walk away. I never had a desire to change things in TWI. That is me, I wanted my freedom and self back.

But, it was only the first stage of waking up....for years I still believed ALL TWI theology. They had the word. Getting past that strange theology took much more time. For us, it was a process. At one point I chucked the whole faith thing entirely and became apathetic.

I think leaving physically is probably far easier than checking out of TWI mentally and in matters of faith. At least it was for us.