Who/how many of you (or others you were directly aware of) gave much (or any) thought to ancillary (non-biblical) literature promoted by TWI and/or Wierwille in the 1970s?
By
Rocky,
in About The Way
By
Rocky,
in About The Way
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Mike
"God's Smuggler" by Brother Andrew.
I read it in 1983.
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Mike
Another is "Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television" by Jerry Mander.
Still another. I was a big Arthur Koestler fan before "The Thirteenth Tribe" came out. Still am.
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Mike
The Harvard Classics were a bit beyond my reach and interest.
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Rocky
Yeah, that was a good one. I read it too. In my mind, it was biblically related.
Did you ever read the Babylon Mystery Religion? or the Thirteenth Tribe? or anything like that?
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Rocky
How did this book figure into Victor's affinities related to (against) Jews?
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Rocky
I thought GerryMander(ing) was a more politically oriented practice. j/k
https://www.amazon.com/Arguments-Elimination-Television-Jerry-Mander-ebook/dp/B00DTTEDPC/
I remember the book but never read it. Today, the fearful have shifted to concern over the societal impact of the internet.
As for television, it seems self evident to me that regardless of the sociological impact on humanity, television remained viable because it was a major tool for bringing widespread awareness of things to buy. IOW, mass marketing tool.
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Twinky
The books Mike names were recommended reading in the 80s, when I got sucked in.
We had to study "Four Arguments" in the WC and give some sort of presentation about how bad it was, to the rest of our Corps group. At that time, all reading of anything other than the collaterals and other TWI material was strictly forbidden.
Whatever else was around at that time, a little after the time you mention - let it stay forgotten.
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WordWolf
"Four Arguments" was in my college library, so I did read it when I was in college. Some points were interesting, many were exaggerated, a few were of the tinfoil-hat variety. I also remember vpw flubbed the name when he mentioned it- "Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television ALL OVER THE WORLD." I guess his usual propensity to project his little, local group to "ALL OVER THE WORLD" was showing, there. lcm managed to get the title and author's name correct when speaking off-the-cuff. He may have read it, for that matter. He also knew the author didn't have ant recommendations for HOW to eliminate it.
There's a bit or irony that now the number of televisions owned in US households has shrunken somewhat- mainly due to other methods of entertainment that might replace the television. Those of you with "smart televisions" plugged into the internet may already be aware of lots of content options besides the usual ones, some for pay, some for free. Some of you may "watch TV" on a PC or a device rather than an actual television.
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WordWolf
While I didn't really take Mander's book that seriously, I did take "Babylon Mystery Religion" seriously at the time. I even bought "The Two Babylons", the book that Woodrow adapted to make his own book. Interesting how twi never promoted its sequel, "The Babylon Connection", which largely corrected errors of the previous book and repudiated the previous position. There were a few pages that weren't repudiated, but the book as a whole was. Since that was inconvenient for twi, it was never mentioned- even though it was true. In twi, rhetoric ABOUT the truth was and is always more important than the truth itself.
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chockfull
Babylon Mystery Religion
Thirteenth Tribe
Harvard Classics (I have a set)
Dale Carnegie - How To Win Friends and Influence People, The Art of Public Speaking, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living
The Tracker - Tom Brown Jr
Myth of the Six Million
Luther the Reformer
Foxs Book of Martyrs
The Encyclopedia of Occult Sciences - from Adv Class list
some cr@p on raising kids like training dogs.
Many others on the “Corps Reading list”. I don’t have a copy of that any more wonder if any do.
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cman
there is probably a list of books to burn too, a big one
typical nazi propaganda
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Rocky
Thanks. I'm curious about the cultural impact of the three highlighted books, if anyone has any info or anecdotes.
Again, I'm NOT inviting political discussion. Just remembrances or documents. Thanks.
Btw, I have -- in my Kindle library -- a copy of Dale Carnegie's book. Of course, it was included because (I figure) it's still a major salesmanship book. As well as having in my Kindle library a copy of a collection of Harvard Classics. Various versions of these anthologies can be obtained on Amazon for between $.99 and $4.99. I suspect they were included for general studies purposes.
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waysider
The Hiding Place...Corrie Ten Boom
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cman
yeah, what is it you want?
Just remembrances or documents and info or anecdotes?
sure......
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chockfull
I think VPs tactic was to silently incorporate some conspiracy theory garbage into his “advanced class materials” that has anti Semite and neo Nazi type thought lines, and leave it as material the “initiated” knew and had access to.
As far as burn basically “Uncle Harry Day” was celebrated as an annual burn chaff day consisting of theological material, old vinyl which everyone regrets now and other artifacts of various things. So an annual purge culture with the different programs “what to bring” lists comprising other forced purges.
Definitely has neo Nazi flavor to it.
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chockfull
Other book list stuff
Starr Dailey - Love Can Open Prison Doors
George Mueller - Autobiography, Release the Power of Prayer
I liked those and didn’t feel they had tainted root material like others.
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chockfull
The first one pretty much alienates Catholics the 3rd largest Christian group. The second two label TWI as anti Semitic. So cuts off a large group also.
With incidents I have heard plenty about smug condescending arses at Holocost diaplays museums etc. People who can’t STF up from spouting their so called expertise on the topic.
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Rocky
Yes.
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Nathan_Jr
Tell me you’re in a cult without telling me you’re in a cult.
Why the vinyl?
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Rocky
Were those (or any of those) people wayfers or former twi? I appreciate the feedback. Thanks.
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oldiesman
The Challenging Counterfeit
Babylon Mystery Religion
The Thirteenth Tribe
None Dare Call It Conspiracy
Dale Carnegie Books
The Myth of the Six Million
The Way Living in Love
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Twinky
Ah heck, I recognise a few of those book titles now.
There was also "Witness of the Stars" and "Manners & Customs [of the Bible?]" - can't remember the exact title. Though these might not fit in the question you asked: "whether non-biblical material was taught or discussed in (twig) fellowships," seeing as they could be called "Biblical material" to some extent.
For sure, we were not talking about the latest thriller or historical or whatever else novel, or even interesting factual material. Not even how life might be lived in 1980s Israel/Palestine. Nothing secular. Not even current affairs of the day, with the twig leader giving some "spiritual insight" into what was going on. Nothing that might relate what those people 2,000, 3,000 or more years had going on in their lives, to what we might be facing today, except such gunk as was in the Way Rag. That can only be because HQ couldn't control the narrative, therefore squelched discussion of anything non-TWI related.
Just a guess, it might have been acceptable to read the rules of
netballbasketball or some kind of manual to explain what a "hook shot" is. Or to study the rules of any other sport that the local head honcho enjoyed. (Craig would have liked that.)Link to comment
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chockfull
Yes 100 percent of the people with the condescending Holocaust comments were TWI - when I was in.
The comments fit right in line with all the other condescension regarding “rightly dividing the Word” which TWI couldn’t do with a razor blade a right angle and step by step instructions.
All straight from the head pilferer who rightly plagiarized the word of truth.
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Rocky
Thank you. That is, indeed, what I was trying to figure out. IOW, Wierwille had OTHER things on his personal agenda to push other than his (private) interpretation of the KJV (or any other translation/transliteration/version) of the bible. In terms of classes, it might be reasonable to infer he taught some of that stuff in the Advanced Class on PFLAP so he could label it all spiritual wickedness without having to show any actual bible citations.
Now, I wonder if any of that stuff is going around in current twi cult circles.
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