The trunk of this tree was at wierwille's ancestral farm in Ohio. All monies from all the limbs and branches and twigs was to be deposited in this one account.......THE WAY INTERNATIONAL BANK ACCOUNT. Once deposited, the money stayed invested in their accruement, investment and control.......an anti-Christian ruse, indeed. Tens of thousands of "leaves" have fallen from that tree throughout the "winters of its betrayal." The exploitation of the youth is the song that is sung here at GSC.......
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To those who still peddle this wierwille-way-tree ruse......they can kiss my Ash.
All monies from all the limbs and branches and twigs was to be deposited in this one account.......THE WAY INTERNATIONAL BANK ACCOUNT. Once deposited, the money stayed invested in their accruement, investment and control.......an anti-Christian ruse, indeed. Tens of thousands of "leaves" have fallen from that tree throughout the "winters of its betrayal."
From the onset, wierwille's concept of "the way tree" had several flaws:
Besides skewing cherry-picked verses, the scriptures do NOT endorse this exclusive tree concept or analogy.
What about other born-again Christians? What "tree" do they derive their sustenance and support from?
Where do we find Jesus Christ....as savior, mediator and lord....in wierwille's way tree?
This "way tree class" is so jaded and anti-Christian.......how does it get grafted into the advanced studies classes?
Literally and figuratively, the way tree concept fails. Leaves on trees are DISPOSABLE......every year!!
Whether it was Wierwille's right-hand man, Johnny Towns3nd, teaching "The Way Tree" class or ordained clergymen singing to thousands "I am a leaf"....... in hindsight, it nearly baffles the mind to revisit this cult-quackery. And then, to see that there are STILL some out there who embrace this message.
Think about it. Wierwille instigates this "way tree structure" in 1972, or so? Teachings, songs, one-liners, buzzwords and doctrine prop up this concept for nearly 20 years. We go to twig, we go to twig........year after year. Neither wierwille nor his research team dismantle the way-tree concept before wierwille dies. It stands as one of the pillars of The Way International......and yet, it is easily debunked other biblical truths and some common sense.
Around 1991 or so, twig coordinators became Household Fellowship coordinators.......and after a teaching or two, the cult moved onward.
Here at GSC......we have gone thru a list of debunked concepts and doctrines that twi taught us. Just to name a few: 1) the law of believing, 2) the absent Christ, 3) cancer is a devil spirit, 4) the "man of God" doctrine, 5) the corps training as a "leadership" program, 6) twi-servitude vs a lifetime of Christian service and 7) every woman in the kingdom belongs to the king (sexual predation).
Seems to me.......EVERY advanced series class is suspect of error:
The Way Tree ...... systemic errors that depart from scripture as described above.
Christian Family and Sex...... moving boundary lines to reinstitute what wierwille deems as permissible in God's judgment.
Renewed Mind ..... rather than an ongoing process of renewing the mind, twi frames it as a done deal [renewed].
Defeating the Adversary..... where the four fronts of the devil are highlighted. And, YOU are the first culprit.
THERE IS NO HOUSEHOLD OF GOD DISTINCT FROM THE BODY OF CHRIST.
Or, if you understand the statement with a bit of original intent there is no "household of God" as taught by the Way International. This meaning that ordinary Christians are "in the family of God", but those in the Way are "in the household of God"..
THERE IS NO DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE FAMILY OF GOD AND THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD.
As applied to the verses in Gal and Eph above, both references are talking about the overall group of Christians in the world that one might encounter as a classification separate than "all men". Those verses carry an instruction to value highly all those belonging to Christ, not a distinct group under authority of the Way, or the R&R railroad folks, or whatever church it is you might be attending.
Paul's instruction is not saying to Christian believers "do good unto all, but single out those in your church only to be especially good unto" or saying that the "fellowcitizens with the saints" is a group that includes only those of your particular denomination. Definitely not those who "took the class" or some such nonsense.
For Way people
THERE IS NO HOUSEHOLD OF GOD. THERE IS ONLY A FAMILY OF GOD WHICH IS THE BODY OF CHRIST ON EARTH TODAY.
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On 7/11/2018 at 1:31 PM, chockfull said:
The Way started out more towards its roots as we look into it with an ecumenical bent. At one point it was even named "The Way Ecumenical Bible Center" or some such similar phrase. I recall black and white videos and cars pulling up to the Biblical Research Center and bouffant hairdos and Victor Paul Wierwille teaching the Sunday Teaching Service, which later was transcribed by his secretary and became the PFAL class collaterals. Mal and Jan George with Jan with one of those bouffant do's or something.
But I think the problem old VP had was people wouldn't stick. They would say "nice class" and go back to their churches.
.........
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On 7/12/2018 at 9:44 AM, skyrider said:
Exactly................"people wouldn't stick." This is well documented in Mrs. W's book as she details a list in 1958, 1959 and 1960 of wierwille's pfal classes in various cities. When you consider the hundreds of people who sat thru his classes each year (1957-1967)........the question becomes, "What happened to all these people who, having heard these truths taught live by Dr. Wierwille (cough, cough), were supposed to commit their lives, effort and money toward word-over-the-world twi servitude?" Apparently, they didn't see -- 1) power or 2) abundant living.........as highlighted in its promotion.
So......when vpw films the class in 1967, what does he do? He adds and augments certain preemptive strikes against the denominational churches. Wierwille not only wants his new students to sit thru his series of classes, but to stick with him. He demonizes church elders and their motives.......to guilt and shame anyone who, having taken pfal, would even think of going back to their church. With each passing year, the rhetoric escalates.........until vpw and others were teaching that denominational church hierarchy have the seed of the serpent. Egads! The level of hyperbole and accusations was absurd. Then, once you attend the "advanced class".......you hear about the Illuminati, the Thirteenth Tribe, Marxist Minstrels, None Dare Call It Conspiracy, Seed of the Serpent, etc......you're indoctrinated into the inner sanctum and servitude.
Add......a year or two of going WOW, or Corps Training and you become absorbed into the cult blob. Leaders over leaders over leaders......each following orders of next higher (or lower) unit. As a leaf on a mighty tree (LOL).....you give respect to the twig leader, branch, limb, and trunk leader. Seems like more and more.......you are getting closer and closer to the dirt. Then, work on staff AT THE ROOT.........now, you've gone underground. Wowsers!!!
It seems clear to me that wierwille took stock of all those pfal students LEAVING HIM IN THE 60s.............and struck out on a subterfuge agenda. What was this new hidden objective? To entrap new students into his organization by destroying their old support systems of family, religion and community........and erect a new system, a spiritual family that replaced their "earthly family." In essence: A Cult.
Wierwille needed to separate these young students from their support systems for longer and longer periods of time. Not just a three week class.......else, they go back to friends, family and work/education. Start summer camps......like the churches do, but for the purposes of building an *us versus them* mentality. Later, add WOW program......and then, the corps program. The youth are malleable and fall prey to indoctrination. The corps program was a multiplier in wierwille's climb to power: 1) Isolation of these "training centers" gave twi the availability, time and power over the individual without outside interference, and 2) Conformity to be obedient and follow "elder" corps established a pecking order that permeated the campus and fed the egos of even the most inept "elder" corps.
In the end..........it all came tumbling down. Lots of reasons, I suppose......but the youth grew up and real life responsibilities, decisions and motivations were staring them in the face. Who has the means to give "volunteer services" to twi for a lifetime? Why? Why is this opportunistic cult hoarding millions? Where is this power and abundance that wierwille taught? Everyone is selling soap........and it's all being washed down the drain. The whole damn thing was a scam........as wierwille took every opportunity to advance himself into the spotlight.
It's a scam...........and that's why "people don't stick."
The idea of the Way "tree" was a vision that Dr. Wierwille said God gave him about the Way Ministry, a revelation one day when he was out and about and he was looking at this big oak tree on the property. He said God revealed it to him as a way of understanding both the Way ministry's growth as well as it being a way of understanding how the Body of Christ works, as described in Ephesians.
My impression from hearing VPW talk about it was that he explained it as a way to - move forward, as in, here's how we're going to set up now. I "think" it was also described as being somewhat how the Way Nash was working already in certain ways.
Prior to that in 1969 and 1970/71 the fellowships in places like California were individual ministries loosely affiliated with the Way through PFAL and an interest in learning from VPW's materials.
The Way Tree "revelation" was a core platform for the organization of the Way's capacity, facilities, outreach, growth and the supporting philosophy of it's business model.
To me by the late 1970's there seemed to have been a progression of events that culminated with PFAL's filming and establishment as the core offering of the Way's teaching ministry operations, through to the outreach to the east and west coasts, and the Way Tree's introduction as the functional and working model for the future of the growth of the way which held the growth of the Way Corps program as the real "core" of the ministry.
(I'm differentiating functional/organizational and business as - functional was how the way worked, the management and leadership structure, the Way Corps, staff, WOW programs, etc. Business is the teaching of the Bible, the classes, the products and services the functional organization delivered.)
One thing that was completely absent from the Way's imagery and descriptors though was "fruit". The Way's whole thing was green - well, say green and brown, a "tree". But no fruit was used in the logo or other images in the Way's brand.
I once asked a world-class marketing expert what they though of the Way's logo - the green tree thingie. I showed it to them and turned it around and upside down and they said "whoa!" -
I wanted to see if they'd catch it - try turning the old green Way Tree logo upside down and you'll see it looks like a sad grimacing face, almost freddie kruger-ish. They didn't get stuck on that for long though but did note that something like a book decal or bumper sticker would be seen from different angles and that should have been considered, from a subliminal "vibe" perspective.
Other than that they thought it looked pretty plain, we word-clouded it and came up with words like work, flat, cold, greenhouse..... Interestingly green is a coolish color and doesn't convey warmth. I might invoke or embed that into it by my own perception but as a color on a blank slate it's not on the warm side.
No fruit though, no big red apples or oranges or sweet peaches.
"When I was in-Rez with the 4th corpse in the fall of 1973, 3 Of The new “Advanced Studies” classes were videotaped during our first year. They were “The Renewed Mind”, and “Dealing With The Adversary” by Walter Cummins, and “The Way Tree” by John Townsend. During the taping of The WT, dictor had nite owls in the BRC. During one of said Nite owls, I DISTINCTLY remember him telling us that “The Way Tree revelation” was “inspired” by the “A.A. structure”. He never said how he came across those writings. You’ll notice also, that small little phrases like KISS———keep it simple stupid—, are also to be found throughout the halls of AA. Plagiarism was a way of life for DP! LOL!
The Way Tree “revelation” was nothing more than a plagiarized business plan for an MLM scheme called PFAL. And, as EVERYTHING else in dictor paul’s minus-tray, it was stolen almost word-for-Word, and concept by concept from another source and that source, (AA), was never given proper credit publicly. To say that there was ANY part or piece of TWIt that was in any way “original”, is as ludicrous as saying “the Earth is flat”. And, just as accurate!.............peace."
My point in bringing this up was to at least make it part of the searchable record - what VPW said it was and where it came from.
VPW did in fact say he was shown it as a revelation, while looking at the big oak tree on the property. Whether that was true or not is another topic but for me a moot point for me today. It did have a huge impact on how the Way's organization got set up after that though, at that time.
He may have also talked about it being from AA, I don't remember that specifically but there's a lot I'm sure I don't, as well.
Both may be true accounts of what wierwille actually said. I don’t think it’s a matter of conflation on wierwille’s part – where he had combined the two ideas. Maybe in a deluded mind that’s usually inclined towards plagiarism the source of the idea for The Way Tree simply “evolved” ...
...and the more I think about it, the imagery of the way tree may very well be the moot point in all this...as far as the structure - how the whole organization was arranged to supposedly function "properly", it does seem to emulate the AA somewhat - although I think TWI's HQ is far more overreaching in authority and control (when compared to the 12 steps of AA ) ....and as far as describing the function of TWI, it's more along the lines of multi-level marketing" ...where the revenue of the MLM company is derived from a non-salaried workforce selling the company's products/services."
vpw is now known for both lying a lot, and telling different things to different people. He contradicted himself based on what he wanted to say at the time, which was often based on his audience at the time. He also may not have had a very good memory. Stan Lee (the Marvel Comics guy) has told contradicting stories down the years about some events decades ago (other comics people have done the same) and I don't think he was trying to impress people. In the case of Stan, I think that he often INNOCENTLY recounted tales in a more interesting way because he REWROTE THEM IN HIS HEAD and didn't realize he'd done it. In the case of vpw, he either knew he was rewriting stuff or really didn't care if what he told now was the absolute truth. In the mouths of some people, the truth or stories in general grow an extra leg.
Both may be true accounts of what wierwille actually said. I don’t think it’s a matter of conflation on wierwille’s part – where he had combined the two ideas. Maybe in a deluded mind that’s usually inclined towards plagiarism the source of the idea for The Way Tree simply “evolved” ...
...and the more I think about it, the imagery of the way tree may very well be the moot point in all this...as far as the structure - how the whole organization was arranged to supposedly function "properly", it does seem to emulate the AA somewhat - although I think TWI's HQ is far more overreaching in authority and control (when compared to the 12 steps of the AA ) ....and as far as describing the function of TWI, it's more along the lines of multi-level marketing" ...where the revenue of the MLM company is derived from a non-salaried workforce selling the company's products/services."
Good point, T-Bone......That's a money-quote right there. "Both may be true accounts of what wierwille actually said. I don’t think it’s a matter of conflation on wierwille’s part – where he had combined the two ideas. Maybe in a deluded mind that’s usually inclined towards plagiarism the source of the idea for The Way Tree simply “evolved”..
I remember sitting in Emporia's Fireplace Room......when wierwille would talk about the pfal class like it was the Holy Grail to mankind. There is just no way you could improve upon that material in reaching people with God's Word. Superlatives all around. THEN.........later at a Gunnison nightowl (not long before graduation day for the 9th corps), wierwille boasts that he could probably have taught the pfal class in a dozen different ways!!
I am NOT exaggerating this claim. Think about that.......wierwille claimed that he could have offered up a dozen different versions of pfal.
Was THAT the Drambuie talking? Or, was it the narcissism?
Probably like a lot of things - - the truth was somewhere in between those two claims.......1) PFAL was clearly not the Holy Grail of truth and 2) Could that foundational class have been taught in a number of different ways? Absolutely.
Both may be true accounts of what wierwille actually said. I don’t think it’s a matter of conflation on wierwille’s part – where he had combined the two ideas. Maybe in a deluded mind that’s usually inclined towards plagiarism the source of the idea for The Way Tree simply “evolved” ...
...and the more I think about it, the imagery of the way tree may very well be the moot point in all this...as far as the structure - how the whole organization was arranged to supposedly function "properly", it does seem to emulate the AA somewhat - although I think TWI's HQ is far more overreaching in authority and control (when compared to the 12 steps of AA ) ....and as far as describing the function of TWI, it's more along the lines of multi-level marketing" ...where the revenue of the MLM company is derived from a non-salaried workforce selling the company's products/services."
Imagery, function, now a tree "works". It's all part of the same thing.
"If you pick it, it'll bleed" - an old tip for guitarists who spend half their time twicking away all night trying to get in tune.
The "truth"? Well, for those able to HANDLE THE TRUTH!!!! it's all part of that great swirling mass of scante that was.
The idea of a tree being a means of getting the organizational framework of the Way built was decent enough for it's own sake, and at the time VPW was surrounding himself with a bunch of barely-20-somethings but was really kind of claustrophobic to stick to,
Remember "like a tree that's planted by the wa-ater, Lord, I shall not be moved!"
Psalm 1:3-That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.....
THAT PERSON - it's individual. As a simile, they are LIKE that tree, planted and yielding fruit.
In the Way it was all about getting, being and staying planted. Deep roots to the root, a real be-leafer. IN THE GROUP. The Treezee-ness was all about these little green leaves growing in these tender little twigs, awwww, so perdy, in these healthy branches of limbs being run by an army of entitled gardners, and all growing from THE MIGHTY ROOT!
Success in the organization was to stay in the organization. That's not really what the Bible teaches at all - it's an additional layer on the Body of Christ of Ephesians and it's certainly not how ALL fruit will yield.
Now that we've all grown up through and into our lives since then, I have to say in my best "oh you sure did go get yourself all smart didnya!!?" way that there's other organizational models that would work really well to serve the teaching of Ephesians.
Come to think of it, I do remember VPW talking about AA, and it's history, but again not specifically referencing the Way Tree schemata. Maybe he did, he talked a lot. A lot. I checked with a couple people from my era who were around all those years before I wrote that, because I wanted to add it IF it was correct, knowing it was but I like to plan ahead. In and of itself, it is. I'm sure there are many things, many stor-eez that fill out the years of that time. Lotsa things, kids.
The tree analogy is really flawed in a very basic way. Unlike an actual tree, the reciprocal relationship between the root and the leaves was off balance and skewed in one direction.
The tree analogy is really flawed in a very basic way. Unlike an actual tree, the reciprocal relationship between the root and the leaves was off balance and skewed in one direction.
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Rocky
Bravo!
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skyrider
From the onset, wierwille's concept of "the way tree" had several flaws:
Whether it was Wierwille's right-hand man, Johnny Towns3nd, teaching "The Way Tree" class or ordained clergymen singing to thousands "I am a leaf"....... in hindsight, it nearly baffles the mind to revisit this cult-quackery. And then, to see that there are STILL some out there who embrace this message.
Think about it. Wierwille instigates this "way tree structure" in 1972, or so? Teachings, songs, one-liners, buzzwords and doctrine prop up this concept for nearly 20 years. We go to twig, we go to twig........year after year. Neither wierwille nor his research team dismantle the way-tree concept before wierwille dies. It stands as one of the pillars of The Way International......and yet, it is easily debunked other biblical truths and some common sense.
Around 1991 or so, twig coordinators became Household Fellowship coordinators.......and after a teaching or two, the cult moved onward.
Here at GSC......we have gone thru a list of debunked concepts and doctrines that twi taught us. Just to name a few: 1) the law of believing, 2) the absent Christ, 3) cancer is a devil spirit, 4) the "man of God" doctrine, 5) the corps training as a "leadership" program, 6) twi-servitude vs a lifetime of Christian service and 7) every woman in the kingdom belongs to the king (sexual predation).
Seems to me.......EVERY advanced series class is suspect of error:
.
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skyrider
There are so many things wierwille and/or twi taught WRONG about "The Way Tree"........and the "Household of God."
Yet, those of us here at Greasespot Café have pointed out the wrong doctrine.
Household of God teaching
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Twinky
This is the Way tree:
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T-Bone
The Way Tree and its haunting scam
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T-Bone
Then there's the problem of offshoots tapping into the same source as the Way Tree
Edited by T-BoneTypos
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socks
So - for those who may not know -
The idea of the Way "tree" was a vision that Dr. Wierwille said God gave him about the Way Ministry, a revelation one day when he was out and about and he was looking at this big oak tree on the property. He said God revealed it to him as a way of understanding both the Way ministry's growth as well as it being a way of understanding how the Body of Christ works, as described in Ephesians.
My impression from hearing VPW talk about it was that he explained it as a way to - move forward, as in, here's how we're going to set up now. I "think" it was also described as being somewhat how the Way Nash was working already in certain ways.
Prior to that in 1969 and 1970/71 the fellowships in places like California were individual ministries loosely affiliated with the Way through PFAL and an interest in learning from VPW's materials.
The Way Tree "revelation" was a core platform for the organization of the Way's capacity, facilities, outreach, growth and the supporting philosophy of it's business model.
To me by the late 1970's there seemed to have been a progression of events that culminated with PFAL's filming and establishment as the core offering of the Way's teaching ministry operations, through to the outreach to the east and west coasts, and the Way Tree's introduction as the functional and working model for the future of the growth of the way which held the growth of the Way Corps program as the real "core" of the ministry.
(I'm differentiating functional/organizational and business as - functional was how the way worked, the management and leadership structure, the Way Corps, staff, WOW programs, etc. Business is the teaching of the Bible, the classes, the products and services the functional organization delivered.)
One thing that was completely absent from the Way's imagery and descriptors though was "fruit". The Way's whole thing was green - well, say green and brown, a "tree". But no fruit was used in the logo or other images in the Way's brand.
I once asked a world-class marketing expert what they though of the Way's logo - the green tree thingie. I showed it to them and turned it around and upside down and they said "whoa!" -
I wanted to see if they'd catch it - try turning the old green Way Tree logo upside down and you'll see it looks like a sad grimacing face, almost freddie kruger-ish. They didn't get stuck on that for long though but did note that something like a book decal or bumper sticker would be seen from different angles and that should have been considered, from a subliminal "vibe" perspective.
Other than that they thought it looked pretty plain, we word-clouded it and came up with words like work, flat, cold, greenhouse..... Interestingly green is a coolish color and doesn't convey warmth. I might invoke or embed that into it by my own perception but as a color on a blank slate it's not on the warm side.
No fruit though, no big red apples or oranges or sweet peaches.
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T-Bone
on another thread Don'tWorryBeHappy talked about wierwille sharing that The Way Tree was "inspired" by the Alcoholics Anonymous structure
from Don't Worry's post:
"When I was in-Rez with the 4th corpse in the fall of 1973, 3 Of The new “Advanced Studies” classes were videotaped during our first year. They were “The Renewed Mind”, and “Dealing With The Adversary” by Walter Cummins, and “The Way Tree” by John Townsend. During the taping of The WT, dictor had nite owls in the BRC. During one of said Nite owls, I DISTINCTLY remember him telling us that “The Way Tree revelation” was “inspired” by the “A.A. structure”. He never said how he came across those writings. You’ll notice also, that small little phrases like KISS———keep it simple stupid—, are also to be found throughout the halls of AA. Plagiarism was a way of life for DP! LOL!
The Way Tree “revelation” was nothing more than a plagiarized business plan for an MLM scheme called PFAL. And, as EVERYTHING else in dictor paul’s minus-tray, it was stolen almost word-for-Word, and concept by concept from another source and that source, (AA), was never given proper credit publicly. To say that there was ANY part or piece of TWIt that was in any way “original”, is as ludicrous as saying “the Earth is flat”. And, just as accurate!.............peace."
== == ==
== == ==
alas, I was a sap until I ran out of the way tree
Edited by T-Boneadding a quote etc.
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socks
My point in bringing this up was to at least make it part of the searchable record - what VPW said it was and where it came from.
VPW did in fact say he was shown it as a revelation, while looking at the big oak tree on the property. Whether that was true or not is another topic but for me a moot point for me today. It did have a huge impact on how the Way's organization got set up after that though, at that time.
He may have also talked about it being from AA, I don't remember that specifically but there's a lot I'm sure I don't, as well.
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T-Bone
Both may be true accounts of what wierwille actually said. I don’t think it’s a matter of conflation on wierwille’s part – where he had combined the two ideas. Maybe in a deluded mind that’s usually inclined towards plagiarism the source of the idea for The Way Tree simply “evolved”
...
...and the more I think about it, the imagery of the way tree may very well be the moot point in all this...as far as the structure - how the whole organization was arranged to supposedly function "properly", it does seem to emulate the AA somewhat - although I think TWI's HQ is far more overreaching in authority and control (when compared to the 12 steps of AA ) ....and as far as describing the function of TWI, it's more along the lines of multi-level marketing " ...where the revenue of the MLM company is derived from a non-salaried workforce selling the company's products/services."
Edited by T-Bonean evolving idea & revising
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WordWolf
vpw is now known for both lying a lot, and telling different things to different people. He contradicted himself based on what he wanted to say at the time, which was often based on his audience at the time. He also may not have had a very good memory. Stan Lee (the Marvel Comics guy) has told contradicting stories down the years about some events decades ago (other comics people have done the same) and I don't think he was trying to impress people. In the case of Stan, I think that he often INNOCENTLY recounted tales in a more interesting way because he REWROTE THEM IN HIS HEAD and didn't realize he'd done it. In the case of vpw, he either knew he was rewriting stuff or really didn't care if what he told now was the absolute truth. In the mouths of some people, the truth or stories in general grow an extra leg.
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skyrider
Good point, T-Bone......That's a money-quote right there. "Both may be true accounts of what wierwille actually said. I don’t think it’s a matter of conflation on wierwille’s part – where he had combined the two ideas. Maybe in a deluded mind that’s usually inclined towards plagiarism the source of the idea for The Way Tree simply “evolved”..
I remember sitting in Emporia's Fireplace Room......when wierwille would talk about the pfal class like it was the Holy Grail to mankind. There is just no way you could improve upon that material in reaching people with God's Word. Superlatives all around. THEN.........later at a Gunnison nightowl (not long before graduation day for the 9th corps), wierwille boasts that he could probably have taught the pfal class in a dozen different ways!!
I am NOT exaggerating this claim. Think about that.......wierwille claimed that he could have offered up a dozen different versions of pfal.
Was THAT the Drambuie talking? Or, was it the narcissism?
Probably like a lot of things - - the truth was somewhere in between those two claims.......1) PFAL was clearly not the Holy Grail of truth and 2) Could that foundational class have been taught in a number of different ways? Absolutely.
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socks
Imagery, function, now a tree "works". It's all part of the same thing.
"If you pick it, it'll bleed" - an old tip for guitarists who spend half their time twicking away all night trying to get in tune.
The "truth"? Well, for those able to HANDLE THE TRUTH!!!! it's all part of that great swirling mass of scante that was.
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socks
The idea of a tree being a means of getting the organizational framework of the Way built was decent enough for it's own sake, and at the time VPW was surrounding himself with a bunch of barely-20-somethings but was really kind of claustrophobic to stick to,
Remember "like a tree that's planted by the wa-ater, Lord, I shall not be moved!"
Psalm 1:3-That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.....
THAT PERSON - it's individual. As a simile, they are LIKE that tree, planted and yielding fruit.
In the Way it was all about getting, being and staying planted. Deep roots to the root, a real be-leafer. IN THE GROUP. The Treezee-ness was all about these little green leaves growing in these tender little twigs, awwww, so perdy, in these healthy branches of limbs being run by an army of entitled gardners, and all growing from THE MIGHTY ROOT!
Success in the organization was to stay in the organization. That's not really what the Bible teaches at all - it's an additional layer on the Body of Christ of Ephesians and it's certainly not how ALL fruit will yield.
Now that we've all grown up through and into our lives since then, I have to say in my best "oh you sure did go get yourself all smart didnya!!?" way that there's other organizational models that would work really well to serve the teaching of Ephesians.
Come to think of it, I do remember VPW talking about AA, and it's history, but again not specifically referencing the Way Tree schemata. Maybe he did, he talked a lot. A lot. I checked with a couple people from my era who were around all those years before I wrote that, because I wanted to add it IF it was correct, knowing it was but I like to plan ahead. In and of itself, it is. I'm sure there are many things, many stor-eez that fill out the years of that time. Lotsa things, kids.
PEACE homies! Stay fresh!!
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waysider
The tree analogy is really flawed in a very basic way. Unlike an actual tree, the reciprocal relationship between the root and the leaves was off balance and skewed in one direction.
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T-Bone
Exactly !!!!! Great point, Waysider !
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Grace Valerie Claire
Sky, excuse me! Wrong post!
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