Undertow - Escaping from the Fundamentalism and Cult Control of The Way International
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penworks,
in About The Way
By
penworks,
in About The Way
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waysider
This sort of thing is what happened to me. One day, in FellowLaborers, I found myself all alone in the house for some reason. I happened to look in a full length mirror and, just like that, like a bol
penworks
Some of you know that in 1987, I escaped the fundamentalism and cult control of The Way International when I drove away from TWI headquarters in New Knoxville, Ohio, and never went back. I don't
penworks
Hi folks. Hope you're having a happy holiday season. I'm checking in just to let those interested know that Undertow is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and local bookstores can order it, t
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Rocky
https://www.amazon.com/Undertow-Escape-Fundamentalism-Control-International-ebook/dp/B06ZY8HVKS/
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Rocky
btw, I read books I buy from Amazon using the Kindle app for PC... most of the time.
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Twinky
I want a real book. Not very interested in more screen time.
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penworks
FYI, right now there's one used copy at Thriftbooks. But maybe postage is very high for overseas shipping.
Twinky, have you checked online used bookstores in the U.K.? I know that there were/are folks over there who've bought copies of Undertow.
BTW, all 7 free copies are spoken for now. Thanks those of you here who requested one!
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chockfull
I relate to this. I like the texture of books.
I have used this option as kind of like the book feel instead of more time on the same phone or tablet. Don’t know if it will help if not ignore lol.
Kindle Paperwhite
https://a.co/d/iiRVjFr
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penworks
Just a note to say thank you, Greasespotters, for your support of Undertow over the years. It's out there doing a good job waking people up to the problems with high-control groups.
To celebrate YOU, I thought I'd re-publish part of a post I wrote back in 2016 on my website. This came out before Undertow was published.
Cheers!
Good People I Met At The Way
Greetings, subscribers and other readers who stumble across this website. By now, you have probably noticed I have a book in the making. It’s my very personal story of seventeen years in The Way International, a biblical research, teaching, and fellowship ministry that became one of the largest fundamentalist cults in America in its heyday of the 80s. I met many good people at The Way and you’ll meet some of them in my book soon.
Ever since I launched this website in March 2015, I’ve written many posts about cults and fundamentalism. Today, I just want to make some points clear for those of you who have never come in contact with any Way people before.
Good people in The Way
First, not all Way followers treated outsiders or insiders badly, at least while I was in the group. Most people who left, however, were considered influenced by the Devil. Not all Way people tricked recruits into joining just to get their money, either. Most of us really believed The Way had the methods of getting the right interpretation of the Bible (termed “the accuracy of the Word”) and offered great fellowship with loving believers, so we genuinely recruited others from a good place in our hearts. The most loyal of us believed we followed “the man of God for our day and time,” Victor Paul Wierwille. He died in 1985.
Most Way folks had good intentions about helping people, many desired to serve God in every way, and others sought a godly cause to live for. However, I now consider even the most sincere of Way followers (then and now) as misguided, deceived, and in some cases … gulp … brainwashed. Myself included. Thankfully, with help from many folks, I’ve learned to sort the good from the bad over the years, and am still doing it. My book, Undertow, tells a lot of my story. But the sorting and learning will never be over, even after Undertow is published, which will be soon after the elections next week.
In my book, Undertow, you will meet many good people I knew at The Way. Some who have left are still my friends.
Believe me, I’m more than grateful for this chance to tell my story (many others cannot or will not or just don’t know how to do it). I’m also unimaginably thankful I chose to publish it myself (that’s another story!) with the help of talented experts.
Question: What is one major problem that caused me to leave The Way and that persists to this day, since The Way is still around?
Here’s my answer: The Way insists that the only way to know God, at least their notion of who or what God is, is through knowledge of the Bible. Therefore, the more Bible knowledge you have, the better you know God.
Problems with that answer involve issues like, what are we really referring to when we say the word God? Which version of the Bible are you talking about? What do we know about the material in the Bible and who wrote it? Isn’t the Bible written by and for people who lived long ago? Is the Bible true? What is truth? Does the Bible really have to be “perfect?” like Victor Paul Wierwille, founder of The Way, said? What parts of the Bible are still good-to-go, if you’ll pardon the expression?
I do not know the answers to all of those questions, but I think they are worth asking. They were part of my journey out of The Way. Undertow not only tells my personal story, it sheds some light on those issues, especially in the last part of the book.
END
The above content is from this post: Good People I Met At The Way | Charlene L. Edge (charleneedge.com)
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penworks
Poof! Gone Are FREE Copies of Undertow | Charlene L. Edge (charleneedge.com)
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penworks
Happy New Year, Greasespotters!
Just letting you know I've republished some posts on the "cult" topic over on Blogspot.
Charlene Lamy Edge Speaks about The Way International (charleneedge.blogspot.com)
Cheers,
Charlene
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oldiesman
Thx Charlene and Happy New Year!
Was wondering if you can answer a question from your research. What do former fundamentalists believe religiously after they are rescued from their cult? Is there a recurring theme or pattern? I am now studying Catholicism but I don't suppose it's a typical alternative. Thx.
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penworks
It varies according to people's interests, and other things like emotional and mental health, as far as I know.
I can only really speak about my own journey. Here's a bit about my post-cult experience:
https://charleneedge.com/charlenes-post-cult-nonreligious-alternative/
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penworks
Hi Greasespotters!
Breaking news: Besides my own website, I have a second home where I speak about The Way International. Where is it? On Blogspot.
A Blogspot Valentine
If sharing = love, then I consider my effort to share what I know about The Way as a loving gift. And since it's Valentine's Day today, consider this as one big heart-shaped offering.
Keep reading for instructions on how to find my articles on Blogspot. But first: on my Blogspot account, you'll also find links to two travel blogs about trips my husband, Hoyt, and I took together: one to Turkey and the other to the Amazon in Peru.
Why Blogspot?
Before I had my own website and wrote blog posts like this one to send subscribers, I used Blogspot for those two travel stories. They are still there for anyone to read.
Blogspot is easy-to-use, and it's free. But Google owns it, so there's that. Anyway, a couple of months ago, I decided to republished some of my content about cults, fundamentalism, and The Way International over on Blogspot hoping to reach more readers. There are many, many, many people who have left The Way and many others who have left some offshoots of The Way. Those folks and others are seeking information to shed light on their experiences and get some history of The Way.
Because I was part of The Way for 17 years: a member of The Way Corps leadership and a Biblical researcher trained by the founding president of The Way, Victor Paul Wierwille, I offer insights on that group and on organizations derived from it.
Finding Charlene's posts about The Way International on Blogspot
Click this link:
Charlene Lamy Edge Speaks about The Way International (charleneedge.blogspot.com)
After you click the above link, this is what you should see:
Scroll down that page to find more posts. These posts are in chronological order going backwards. The first one is "Speaking of Way Stories," dated December 9, 2023.
Finding the travel stories
On the left side of the page that's in this photo, you would click my name, which is in black letters at the top underneath the circular photo. Doing that takes you to my account page. You'll see links to the travel posts there.
NOTE: Unfortunately, the photos of the Turkey trip did not transfer when Blogspot updated their system. However, the photos of the Amazon trip are all there!
Let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks for reading!
Charlene
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penworks
Hello, Greasespotters. Just letting you know that another significant review of Undertow was just published by the International Cultic Studies Association, Inc.
By permission, I've republished it here:
Book Review of "Undertow," Published by ICSA, Written by Bart Stewart (charleneedge.blogspot.com)
Remember, no author vets reviewers. ICSA put out the word about Undertow and this reviewer chose it. Their review is their response to the book, their opinions, their interpretations. Also, keep in mind this reviewer used other sources about The Way besides Undertow in his review.
Enjoy!
Charlene Edge
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Rocky
I will read that review shortly. However, at the public library in my new home town, I attended my first meeting of a local writers' group. I was given a couple of minutes to introduce myself. I mentioned my intent to write a memoir, noting my interest in politics and my 12 years in a particular Christian fundamentalist cult. I was quickly asked if I was at liberty to say which cult.
Of course I am and gladly cited The Way International. Of the dozen or so other attendees, at least three or four indicated awareness of TWI as a cult.
Btw, the young airman who self-immolated on Sunday, WaPo noted, had been involved as a child in a "high-demand" religious sect. I cited WaPo in this comment on the cults s3 thread. In case the link I posted in that comment wasn't a gift article link, this one IS.
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Rocky
Very detailed review. I recommend it wholeheartedly. The following clip saliently describes Mr Stewart's conclusion that "his is a book that anyone interested in evangelicalism, Pentecostalism, or aberrant fundamentalist Christianity should read. Maybe everybody should."
That paragraph well sums up and crystalizes much of the reason for the abuses of power inherent in many first person records posted on GSC.
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waysider
I'm not sure if he really believed this or was pandering to his fan base. We'll never know for sure.
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oldiesman
I wish we could discuss politics here, respectfully. I'd even pay a monthly fee! LOL
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Rocky
THIS was a review of Undertow, Charlene's memoir.
From her perspective, she apparently believed he believed it.
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chockfull
That’s a nice review. Mr Stewart writes well himself. Congratulations!
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WordWolf
"Following Wierwille’s sudden death in 1985, a series of revelations came out about him, which became a cascade of scandals. Not everyone believed it all, but Charlene did, having been earlier disabused of notions of his infallibility by a serious textual error he had made."
Out of curiosity, which serious textual error was that? We've discussed many over the decades, I'm curious if this one's new to me.
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penworks
I don't know which error that Bart Stewart, the reviewer, referred to in Undertow. It may have been the military/athletic stuff in Ephesians, which I describe in the book, or it may have been the Eli Eli issue, also in my book. Whatever it is, it would be in the book, since all the reviewer is referring to is content in the book.
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penworks
Today I again spoke with a religion class at Rollins College. Students were assigned to read Undertow and we discussed it. Attached is a handout I gave them to help them understand cults.
Feel free to pass it along to others.
Cheers,
Charlene
Cult info flyer-student version_r1.pdf
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oldiesman
Thx for sharing Charlene. Even with all the fond memories of mine.
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Ham
Personally- I do not think that there is any escape. I am always looking for the family that never was.. I would settle on a visit on a Saturday afternoon..
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penworks
Hello, Greasespotters,
This week is another anniversary for Undertow: in 2016, I was working with my editor on the final copy.
In celebration, I thought I'd post something from the book.
Enjoy.
The following is the Preface to Undertow: My Escape from the Fundamentalism and Cult Control of The Way International.
By Charlene L. Edge
In its heyday in the 1980s, The Way International was one of the largest fundamentalist cults in America, with about forty thousand followers worldwide.1 Founded in 1942 by a self-proclaimed prophet, Victor Paul Wierwille (1916–1985), who marketed the group as a biblical research, teaching, and fellowship ministry, The Way still operates in the shadow of its dark history.
I knew Wierwille personally. As one of his biblical research assistants and ministry leaders, I am a witness to his charisma, as well as his abuse of power and manipulation of Scriptures to serve his own agenda. I discovered his sexual abuse of women and chronic plagiarism. Today, those underbelly facts are hidden, denied, or otherwise squelched. The years of Wierwille’s authoritarian reign and the chaos after his death provide the context of my story.
In 1987, after seventeen years of commitment to The Way, my life was a wreck. I rejected Wierwille’s ideology, escaped, and resumed my education. At Rollins College, my essay “Somewhere between Nonsense and Truth” laid the foundation for “An Affinity for Windows,” a short memoir in Shifting Gears: Small, Startling Moments In and Out of the Classroom. These writings are woven into this book. My recruitment story is included in Elena S. Whiteside’s book, The Way: Living in Love.2
This book is a memoir. It is my recollection of events related to the best of my knowledge and ability. The story’s crucial facts are true. Some events and conversations are combined in the interest of storytelling. Besides my memory and bits from others’ memories, my sources include my extensive collection of notes, journals, letters, calendars, books, newspapers, photographs, and copies of The Way Magazine.
Names in this story that I have not changed, besides mine, are those of current or former public figures in The Way International: leaders at the state level or higher, Way trustees, and a few members of The Way’s Biblical Research Department. For privacy reasons, other identities have been changed or are composites.
I recognize that others’ memories or interpretations of the events I describe herein may be different from my own. My book is not intended to hurt anyone. This is a recollection of life in a cult that in recent years has become a topic of public interest.
My title invites the question, what makes The Way International a fundamentalist cult? Here is the crux of my answer: Wierwille believed in scriptural inerrancy, a cornerstone of Christian fundamentalism. As the biblical scholar James Barr tells us: “It is this function of the Bible as supreme religious symbol that justifies us in seeing fundamentalism as a quite separate religious form.”3
The Way International is also a cult, or at least was while I was in it. I use the definition of cult I found on The International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) website: “An ideological organization held together by charismatic relationships and demanding total commitment.”4
Scripture quoted in this book is from the King James Version of the Bible.
Any errors of fact, interpretation, or judgment in this book are my sole responsibility.
I hope you enjoy reading my story.
Charlene Edge
Winter Park, Florida
October 2016
Notes
Preface
1. Author Karl Kahler states, “Cult numbers are notoriously hard to pin down, and are often inflated by anti-cult writers more concerned with sounding the alarm than checking the facts. Many writers have claimed The Way had 100,000 members, as if everyone who ever took the class were still a member. Around 1982, when [Craig] Martindale [second president of The Way International] was marching in Ontario and Way leaders were talking to the press, I heard consistently that we were claiming to have 40,000 members.” Karl Kahler, The Cult That Snapped: A Journey into The Way International (Los Gatos, CA: Karl Kahler, 1999), 110.
See also: Zay N. Smith, “The Way—40,000 and Still Growing,” Chicago Sun-Times, Aug. 17, 1980.
2. Elena S. Whiteside, The Way: Living in Love. (New Knoxville, Ohio: American Christian Press, 1972), 142–149.
3. James Barr, Fundamentalism (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1978) 37.
4. The definition of cult is taken from “Cults: Theory and Treatment Issues,” a paper presented by Rutgers University professor Benjamin Zablocki at a conference on May 31, 1997; cited in Michael D. Langone, “Cults, Psychological Manipulation, and Society: International Perspectives—
An Overview,” Cultic Studies Journal 18 (2001), 1–12. http://www
.icsahome.com/articles/cultspsymanipsociety-langone.
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