He used the revelation schtick to lend credibility to his pronouncements. He was no more tuned into a higher power than your average pet rock......and he knew it.
Having spent 6 years as a petty officer in the US Navy before I ever heard of TWI, and having spent 2 blocks in residence before dropping out of the Way corps, I have to agree with everything skyrider and WordWolf have written here.
We had to be advanced class grads before being admitted into residence. After finishing the advanced class, I remember being a little disappointed at how little of the "other six" manifestations was taught. All we did was go over Old Testament examples, and compare what happened with the 16 keys to walking in the spirit. It was like the 16 keys to walking in the spirit were the pinnacle of spiritual teaching in TWI, and they weren't even spiritual. There was nothing more "spiritual" than that in the corps training.
The in residence classes were mostly classes we'd already had, or Dale Carnegie or how to hold a toothbrush, or listening to a corps coordinator or other big-wig bloviate endlessly. It seemed the purposes of the classroom training in the corps was to keep us from spending any time thinking freely, and to keep us sleep deprived. Real teaching is a conversation. In residence classes were run like the taped classes, we couldn't ask questions or comment. The only thing we learned from in residence classes was how to sleep with our eyes open.
We had to be advanced class grads before being admitted into residence. After finishing the advanced class, I remember being a little disappointed at how little of the "other six" manifestations was taught. All we did was go over Old Testament examples, and compare what happened with the 16 keys to walking in the spirit. It was like the 16 keys to walking in the spirit were the pinnacle of spiritual teaching in TWI, and they weren't even spiritual. There was nothing more "spiritual" than that in the corps training.
Bold-faced [by me].......for emphasis.
See, that's the thing with wierwille and twi.....he ALWAYS injected himself into the mix.
Victor Vanity Wierwille was his name.
Why were "the 16 keys" the take-away doctrine of the "advanced" class?
In other words, the PINNACLE of the advanced class was wierwille's formulaic keys to "walking by the spirit?"
Did the guy ALWAYS have to be in the spotlight? Did the guy ALWAYS have to sideline Jesus Christ?
And, you're right Steve......those 16 keys were the pinnacle of spiritual teaching in twi. Not once, in corps
training or clergy meetings, did I ever see wierwille, martindale, or geer expound or demonstrate otherwise.
The 16 candles.....er, keys were our "coming of age spiritually speaking."
NOT EVER......did I see wierwille operate any of those other six manifestations. You know, those revelation
or power/action manifestations. And, all of twi's bluster to call people "possessed"......NOT ONCE
did any mog, mogette, or mog-wannabe cast out a devil spirit.
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WordWolf
When addressing the Way Corps themselves,
vpw once said that he used to look at how countries had military
forces, and the thing that stayed with him about them, the thing he
took away from them, was that they had soldiers who were willing to
go do what they were told without argument.
(That's really NOT the first thing one should take away from
any military organization, and if vpw had any actual exposure to
them other than the media, he would have known better.)
So, he said sarcastically, that, since there were no Christians he
saw willing to go into gunfire at an order, that "the armies are
stronger than God, our nations are stronger than God."
As if the sole measure of anything is the ability to get people to
go over a cliff for it.
Let's remember vpw's own "background" in the military...
Was he a veteran of any armed force? No.
Was he in the National Guard or Reserve? No.
(He lacked the military background of a DAN QUAYLE.)
Was he in the ROTC program in college? No.
So, he lacked any direct military training, even at the most
rudimentary, elementary level.
Did he come from a military family, where he saw the affects of
combat on those who went through it? Did he overhear at the
dinner table what it meant to go on training maneuvers?
No.
So, he lacked any direct exposure to the military, and he
lacked any INdirect exposure to the military.
What does that leave? On what did he base his (mis-)understanding
of the armed forces?
That leaves mass media- movies and television. He based his
concept about what makes the military work upon freaking
movies and television. How many of you think that movies
and television-especially back before the 70s- ever reflected
the realities of the military, or what made them bad, poor, good
or great?
That's the measure of a LAZY person, one who doesn't put in the
work to learn-but that's vpw from Day One.
When he was a child, he was lazy and skipped his chores.
When he was in school, he cheated at least part of the time
that we know of (he was a serial plagiarist.)
He chose to go specifically into preaching, and chose the
softest option of Divinity School- homiletics, the craft
of spinning a tale. His peers were in classes on Bible
Linguistics and so on-fields he later claimed to understand.
A year into his career as a preacher, and years after he
chose to be a preacher, he was INTRODUCED TO THE IDEA
THAT THE BIBLE WAS THE WORD OF GOD. That was around when
he first began actually reading the Bible with any regularity.
He based virtually everything he was remembered FONDLY FOR
ENTIRELY on the works of others- Bullinger, Stiles, Kenyon,
Leonard- almost all of it through plagiarism. All the rest
he's remembered fondly for was the books "by Victor Paul
Wierwille" that were written by the twi research staff.
He wrote none of it, nor did he edit, but his name was the
sole one on the covers.
The man was LAZY-which means he wanted others to do all the
work. The heights of twi was when he got people to do it.
And his model for getting a dedicated core of individuals
to do it?
His mangled view of the military, as presented in entertainment.
The military was there to be loyal and
"don't think-just follow orders"-
which is actually WARNED ABOUT rather than lauded-
in the REAL US military.
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skyrider
Why is it......
Wierwille used his FIVE SENSES to gain insight into explaining Christian behavior
or his inspiration for the corps program? In pfal, wierwille states "...that HE LOOKED AROUND
and non-Christians were living more abundantly than the Christian believer (ie better homes,
vehicles, stuff)."
Same deal with the corps program.....wierwille LOOKS TO MILITARY TRAINING to set the tupos,
high example, of how believers should be disciplined and react to orders given.
Time and time again, we gain insight into wierwille's "revelation" and/or spiritual ineptness.
The guy was a con man looking for a way to market his programs and classes.....AND wanted
it sweetened with a heavy dose of lifetime adulation.
Wierwille could have been a first cousin to Simon the sorcerer. :anim-smile:/>/>/>/>
.
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waysider
He used the revelation schtick to lend credibility to his pronouncements. He was no more tuned into a higher power than your average pet rock......and he knew it.
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skyrider
All of his teachings, classes, sharings, nightowls......
and the guy couldn't walk the walk.
He could boast....
He could bloviate...
He could scold....
He could mock.....
He could NOT walk in newness of life.
If truth be told, the guy struggled with carnal baggage.
He couldn't even get past Romans 6....
let alone, to walk in love, walk in light, walk circumspectly in Ephesians.
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skyrider
Remember how wierwille explained how Missionary Board Members select the location
of their missionary outreach? They get out the map of a select country and study
where there is a spot to inject their missionary efforts. Wierwille went to great
lengths to mock this "spiritual guidance from the Lord."
YET....wierwille did the same.
He took "spiritual guidance" from the marine corps to train devotees.
All that chain of command, follow orders crap was cultish conformity....not
listening to the spirit of God within.
Heck, if the right people were overseeing and teaching "disciples for Christ"....
I think that the Rome City, Indiana campus was a good fit. But unlike twi, there
should have been a set limit to those accepted into the program. Rather than cram
it to the hilt.....use healthy oversight and logic to accommodations.
Emporia campus.....nope.
Gunnison......another nope. Vpee's ego.
Tinnie, NM.....climb rocks to be godly.
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Steve Lortz
Having spent 6 years as a petty officer in the US Navy before I ever heard of TWI, and having spent 2 blocks in residence before dropping out of the Way corps, I have to agree with everything skyrider and WordWolf have written here.
We had to be advanced class grads before being admitted into residence. After finishing the advanced class, I remember being a little disappointed at how little of the "other six" manifestations was taught. All we did was go over Old Testament examples, and compare what happened with the 16 keys to walking in the spirit. It was like the 16 keys to walking in the spirit were the pinnacle of spiritual teaching in TWI, and they weren't even spiritual. There was nothing more "spiritual" than that in the corps training.
The in residence classes were mostly classes we'd already had, or Dale Carnegie or how to hold a toothbrush, or listening to a corps coordinator or other big-wig bloviate endlessly. It seemed the purposes of the classroom training in the corps was to keep us from spending any time thinking freely, and to keep us sleep deprived. Real teaching is a conversation. In residence classes were run like the taped classes, we couldn't ask questions or comment. The only thing we learned from in residence classes was how to sleep with our eyes open.
Bad, bad BAD!!!!!
Love,
Steve
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GeorgeStGeorge
Well, at least you learned ONE useful life skill! :lol:
George
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skyrider
Bold-faced [by me].......for emphasis.
See, that's the thing with wierwille and twi.....he ALWAYS injected himself into the mix.
Victor Vanity Wierwille was his name.
Why were "the 16 keys" the take-away doctrine of the "advanced" class?
In other words, the PINNACLE of the advanced class was wierwille's formulaic keys to "walking by the spirit?"
Did the guy ALWAYS have to be in the spotlight? Did the guy ALWAYS have to sideline Jesus Christ?
And, you're right Steve......those 16 keys were the pinnacle of spiritual teaching in twi. Not once, in corps
training or clergy meetings, did I ever see wierwille, martindale, or geer expound or demonstrate otherwise.
The 16 candles.....er, keys were our "coming of age spiritually speaking."
NOT EVER......did I see wierwille operate any of those other six manifestations. You know, those revelation
or power/action manifestations. And, all of twi's bluster to call people "possessed"......NOT ONCE
did any mog, mogette, or mog-wannabe cast out a devil spirit.
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waysider
"NOT EVER......did I see wierwille operate any of those other six manifestations. You know, those revelation
or power/action manifestations."
Key #1. To receive revelation you must first become meek. (pg. 10 of AC syllabus)
Hmmmmm. I think I might have uncovered the problem.
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skyrider
Silly me......I had been spending too much time reading about Jesus and his disciples.
1) I was expecting the corps program to have open dialogue.
2) I was expecting quiet time in the morning; time with God.
3) I was expecting thought-provoking answers to deep questions.
4) I was expecting to see the power of God in action.
5) I was expecting to see instantaneous healings.
6) I was expecting to see "water turned into wine."
7) I was expecting to learn how vpw walked by revelation.
8) I was expecting to see Ephesians come alive.
Silly me......I was in the wrong administration.
Somehow, I'd been transported into the "Man's Wrath and Judgment" period.
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WordWolf
The spoken three were possible to fake!
Anyone can pronounce syllables with conviction-that's just basic improv acting!
Adding a supposed message from God with conviction-that's slightly better improv acting!
Just speaking a supposed message from God with conviction-improv acting at that same level!
It wasn't like vpw was even GOOD at faking them.
Whenever he supposedly began SIT in public, it sounded like EXACTLY THE SAME SENTENCE
most of the time.
Then people come along and say "I know he was the real deal because I saw him
speak in tongues." Naturally, they know that's what they saw because HE said that's
what it looks like when you do it, and they never thought to check if he was
mistaken or lying because he supposedly had this fantastic connection to God Almighty.
Whether or not one believes it is possible to do them for real nowadays, it's plainly
obvious they can be FAKED nowadays. vpw faked them, and didn't even do a good job
of it.
As for the others, how can you fake instant healing, or healing days of damage in hours?
Why did vpw need glasses if he could heal whenever he wanted? Why did he have eye damage
if he could heal whenever he wanted? Why did he have liver damage if he could heal
whenever he wanted? Why did he die slowly and painfully of cancer if he could heal
whenever he wanted?
If any of you think the answer is "Because he refused to heal,"
I freaking feel sorry for you. He certainly would not have chosen the extended
pain of enduring cancer.
It's rather obvious he could NOT heal whenever he wanted to- because he could have
reversed the slow killing of his body by the illnesses he cultivated through
poor stewardship of his body, through chronic drink and chronic smoking.
Even ONE "miracle" of healing would have reversed it all.
And he never WANTED to hear from God, because God disapproves of much of the
policies vpw showed he thought he should get away with- raping, drugging,
molesting, plagiarizing, gluttony of vices, etc.
Even one message of "the alcohol and cigarettes are killing you" would have
been enough-
if he wanted to hear from God, and if he would heed a warning from God
and not cling to his vices.
So, vpw couldn't fake the big 6, so he never tried to fool people on those-
at least not that often and not that many people at a time.
You were lied to.
You were promised that all of those were at the core of twi, when, if anything,
they were more at the local levels-and always were.
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skyrider
Yep.....the corps program was based on a series of lies.
Wierwille had NO ability to train/send forth leaders to serve others.
Wierwille had NO intention of establishing open dialogue.
Wierwille had NO credibility in researching biblical truths.
Wierwille had NO integrity in establishing proper boundaries.
In my mind, his name will forever be coupled with Jim Jones and David Koresh.
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