I know that some of you have pursued advanced degrees following your experiences in The Way International, delving into subjects that help sort it all. I've started wading into these waters myself recently, and wonder if any of you with a head start can offer me some pointers.
Specifically, I'm looking for any scholarly works that examine TWI, as well as any related movements.
Thanks in advance for your recommendations.
Make friends with a good reference librarian. Have them help you look for information about TWI in the databases of peer reviewed journal articles...
That's the best thing I can think of. It would be the most most thorough and up to date... far better than a Google search!
Make friends with a good reference librarian. Have them help you look for information about TWI in the databases of peer reviewed journal articles...
That's the best thing I can think of. It would be the most most thorough and up to date... far better than a Google search!
Love,
Steve
Thanks, Steve. I'm specifically looking for those peer-reviewed journal type sources. Haven't put much effort into it yet - will buddy up with the librarian.
The only one I've ever found was Walter Martin's Kingdom of the Cults (or something like that). Pretty stock stuff and fairly mean spirited. Not "scholarly". I would not imagine that you can get a scholarly take on TWI in particular.
You want to see how it compares to orthodox Christianity?
What are you trying to achieve by your enquiry? If you can be more specific about what you want to know, you may find that there are other websites that people here are aware of.
The only one I've ever found was Walter Martin's Kingdom of the Cults (or something like that). Pretty stock stuff and fairly mean spirited. Not "scholarly". I would not imagine that you can get a scholarly take on TWI in particular.
You want to see how it compares to orthodox Christianity?
Not exactly comparing it to orthodoxy, this is more of a historical study, and I'm looking to place TWI within the broader context of religious movements in America.
But that doesn't mean you won't find ANY. The key isn't the level of maturity,
it's the level of interest. There's scholastic analyses of Harry Potter and
Twilight based on the interest of the public.
Anything CAN be studied. The twi phenomena can be studied from perspectives of
Psychology, Sociology, cultural Anthropology, Advertising, and so on. Each can add something
to the discussion-or all can be used in the analysis.
This is for a class on American religious history, so I would put this study more in the cultural Anthropology, history of religion vein. I'm interested in resources that may have looked at The Way from this vantage point.
Too bad you can't use this website, but I think we're too passionate in our prose here.
Well, the conversations here have definitely shaped my perspective of The Way, and also given insights into its history. That said, it's nothing I can site in a Bibliography. Thanks, everyone.
Well, the conversations here have definitely shaped my perspective of The Way, and also given insights into its history. That said, it's nothing I can site in a Bibliography. Thanks, everyone.
What style-manual are you using?
It would seem you should be able to use material from this site as primary source material, if not as secondary. If you are required to use material from peer reviewed articles, and you are working with a due date, it would probably be best to have a reference librarian help you search something like Academic Search Premier or ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials as soon as possible.
I think if I were trying to place TWI within a larger context of history of religion in America, I would try to show it as an offshoot of the practices of the Jesus Movement. It's theology was an idiosyncratic pastiche of Reformed Theology and Dispensationalism with a little bit of Pentacostalism thrown in, but the practices that enabled it to grow were cribbed from the Jesus Movement.
Ditto. I think the good thing about this site John Juedes' has is that he identifies himself. Also, Karl Kahler's book is full of information well documented.
Here's my two cents on this topic:
I found references to The Way simply by going to public and college libraries and looking through books about cults or new religions, etc. and checking the Index in each book. It is time consuming, but hey, if you want to dig, you gotta get out a shovel and put some elbow grease into it, as my dad used to say ...
Another one is a book from the AAR Studies in Religion 36 volume. The name is: Cults, Culture, and the Law: Perspectives on New Religious Movements. Published by Scholars Press, Chico, CA. 1985. Edited by Thomas Robbins, William C. Shepherd, and James McBride. The Way Int'l is cited on four different pages.
A word of caution about using quotes from this site. Most posters here use a fake name, so to outsiders, sometimes that detracts from the veracity of the stories here. In other words, they could be ghost stories. I don't have that attitude because I was in the group and can pretty much tell if something is bogus (but not all the time, I'm sure), but without an insider's knowledge, outsiders would not be able to sniff things out so well. Maybe ...
What are you trying to achieve by your enquiry? If you can be more specific about what you want to know, you may find that there are other websites that people here are aware of.
It would seem you should be able to use material from this site as primary source material, if not as secondary. If you are required to use material from peer reviewed articles, and you are working with a due date, it would probably be best to have a reference librarian help you search something like Academic Search Premier or ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials as soon as possible.
I think if I were trying to place TWI within a larger context of history of religion in America, I would try to show it as an offshoot of the practices of the Jesus Movement. It's theology was an idiosyncratic pastiche of Reformed Theology and Dispensationalism with a little bit of Pentacostalism thrown in, but the practices that enabled it to grow were cribbed from the Jesus Movement.
Hope this helps!
Love,
Steve
Thanks, Steve. Those are good thoughts. It is very much how I am thinking of framing it. Also, I should have been more clear, we have specifically been directed to avoid internet sources in favor of scholarly texts.
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Steve Lortz
Make friends with a good reference librarian. Have them help you look for information about TWI in the databases of peer reviewed journal articles...
That's the best thing I can think of. It would be the most most thorough and up to date... far better than a Google search!
Love,
Steve
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shortfuse
Thanks, Steve. I'm specifically looking for those peer-reviewed journal type sources. Haven't put much effort into it yet - will buddy up with the librarian.
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Tzaia
That would really involve TWI submitting articles for peer review. I can say with almost 100% certainty that never happened.
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WordWolf
That would indeed be a problem-if the OP had asked for that.
They didn't ask for writings FROM twi, they asked for writings ABOUT twi.
Big difference.
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Tzaia
Duh, wordwolf. Now I see that.
The only one I've ever found was Walter Martin's Kingdom of the Cults (or something like that). Pretty stock stuff and fairly mean spirited. Not "scholarly". I would not imagine that you can get a scholarly take on TWI in particular.
You want to see how it compares to orthodox Christianity?
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waysider
Someone once said, "The Way is like a bunch of kids playing church." (I don't recall who said it.)
The point is, you probably won't find very many scholastic analyses of kids playing church.
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WordWolf
But that doesn't mean you won't find ANY. The key isn't the level of maturity,
it's the level of interest. There's scholastic analyses of Harry Potter and
Twilight based on the interest of the public.
Anything CAN be studied. The twi phenomena can be studied from perspectives of
Psychology, Sociology, cultural Anthropology, Advertising, and so on. Each can add something
to the discussion-or all can be used in the analysis.
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Twinky
Shortfuse, I think the nearest you might find would be the work that the late John Juedes has done in considering TWI and its various offshoots.
Have a look at his website: Juedes - EmpireNet
What are you trying to achieve by your enquiry? If you can be more specific about what you want to know, you may find that there are other websites that people here are aware of.
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shortfuse
Not exactly comparing it to orthodoxy, this is more of a historical study, and I'm looking to place TWI within the broader context of religious movements in America.
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shortfuse
This is for a class on American religious history, so I would put this study more in the cultural Anthropology, history of religion vein. I'm interested in resources that may have looked at The Way from this vantage point.
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krys
Too bad you can't use this website, but I think we're too passionate in our prose here.
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shortfuse
Well, the conversations here have definitely shaped my perspective of The Way, and also given insights into its history. That said, it's nothing I can site in a Bibliography. Thanks, everyone.
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waysider
Will either of these youtubes help?
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Steve Lortz
What style-manual are you using?
It would seem you should be able to use material from this site as primary source material, if not as secondary. If you are required to use material from peer reviewed articles, and you are working with a due date, it would probably be best to have a reference librarian help you search something like Academic Search Premier or ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials as soon as possible.
I think if I were trying to place TWI within a larger context of history of religion in America, I would try to show it as an offshoot of the practices of the Jesus Movement. It's theology was an idiosyncratic pastiche of Reformed Theology and Dispensationalism with a little bit of Pentacostalism thrown in, but the practices that enabled it to grow were cribbed from the Jesus Movement.
Hope this helps!
Love,
Steve
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HAPe4me
Would John Juedes' site be of help?
http://www.empirenet.com/~messiah7/cultsthe.htm
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penworks
Ditto. I think the good thing about this site John Juedes' has is that he identifies himself. Also, Karl Kahler's book is full of information well documented.
Here's my two cents on this topic:
I found references to The Way simply by going to public and college libraries and looking through books about cults or new religions, etc. and checking the Index in each book. It is time consuming, but hey, if you want to dig, you gotta get out a shovel and put some elbow grease into it, as my dad used to say ...
One example was in a library in Amsterdam! Here's my blog post about finding Melton's book there: http://charleneedge....-library-treat/
Another one is a book from the AAR Studies in Religion 36 volume. The name is: Cults, Culture, and the Law: Perspectives on New Religious Movements. Published by Scholars Press, Chico, CA. 1985. Edited by Thomas Robbins, William C. Shepherd, and James McBride. The Way Int'l is cited on four different pages.
A word of caution about using quotes from this site. Most posters here use a fake name, so to outsiders, sometimes that detracts from the veracity of the stories here. In other words, they could be ghost stories. I don't have that attitude because I was in the group and can pretty much tell if something is bogus (but not all the time, I'm sure), but without an insider's knowledge, outsiders would not be able to sniff things out so well. Maybe ...
Good luck,
Charlene
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Thomas Loy Bumgarner
I had not heard that. When did he die?
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Twinky
Thomas - I think I was mistaken, it was another person by the same name but apparently much younger.
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shortfuse
Thanks, Steve. Those are good thoughts. It is very much how I am thinking of framing it. Also, I should have been more clear, we have specifically been directed to avoid internet sources in favor of scholarly texts.
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