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devil spirits


mell
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I am new here and have some questions about twi , vpw and such. I did not get very far in the classes but a friend of mine is. I am trying to gain a better understanding and to help my friend. I have already been to counseling myself. It seems that I am part of a group that would include children of twiI - children of people who left the way for various reasons, but still live by the philosophy and teachings of vpw. I became involved without ever knowing any of the history of the way group.

Thank you for allowing me to be anonymous.

My question is about devil spirits. Is there a list of devil spirits according to the Way teachings? What their names might be? Their specific actions? Apparently this is privileged information- reserved for those who have enough 'learning' to deal with devil spirits. SinceI have been accused of being posessed of one , I would like to know if there is a list, explanation or copy of the 'teaching' that could clarify this mystery for me.

I saw an old post where someone was writing an article on this subject- a post from 2002/coolwater.

Does anyone know of an article?

thank-you

mell

p.s. I would also like to say that I don't want to offend anyone here and recognise the different viewpoints about vpw's doctrine and beliefs in general. The fellowshipping folks I've met have mostly been very nice/sincere...unfortunately the influence of the way has had a negative impact on my life

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I saw a book in the community college library 20 yrs ago called A Dictionary of Angels. Wow! There they were! All in alphabetical order. But TWI used different terminology and the bible uses even different yet.

Jesus sometimes named them. In the OT they are sometimes named. Outside of an advanced class syllibus, I know of no list of devil spirits put out by TWI and even that one didn't claim to be complete.

Why do you want this list? If it's to help ex TWI people, I'd just get a bible and look over Jesus and Paul dealing with them. TWI (at least during the last 10 or so years) mainly talked about devil spirits to scare their followers into not leaving saying if you leave you will get possessed and such malarchy. Their strategy hasn't worked really well.

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Mell,

Other than the AC syllabus, you're not likely to find a TWI "list" of devil spirits. Perhaps someone here will be diligent enough to copy one out on this thread. (I'm not that diligent! wink2.gif;)-->) You COULD take out a concordance and go through the word "spirit" and find phrases like "spirit of whoredoms" and "lying spirit." This would take a LOT of time, though.

George

Welcome to Greasespot!

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mell, welcome to the cafe!

The Advanced Class does spend most of the time talking about and looking at scriptures related to specific devil spirits. It's not priviledged information because of needing to be "spiritually mature" enough to handle it, but rather priviledged information because they want you to pay for it.

If I get some time today I'll type up the gist of the information so as to not violate any copyright laws,but if you'd like to see the syllabus, I'll be happy to mail it to you or fax you the specific pages that talk about the devil spirits. Just contact me through private topics or at scarlettbelle at earthlink dot net (spelled out to keep spammers from picking up my address).

Johniam, I don't question why people who come here want to know things. (Maybe you didn't mean that to be condescending, but it comes across that way to me.) I'm here to provide information for anyone regardless of whether they want to share why they want to know.

I'm happy to help you in any way I can mell. I'll also see if I can find the post by CoolWaters for you. My searching ability isn't so great, so someone may be able to beat me to it. It's from 2002 - about devil spirits - by CoolWaters? Can you remember anything else about it that would make it easier to search on?

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Welcome mell- Here is a partial way ministry list that I found on a cult awareness site

quote:
The founder's "Advanced Power for Abundant Living" class, on which The Way's current teachings on devil spirits is based, listed more than 31 varieties of devil spirits, including: Spirit of Anti-Christ, Bondage, Error, Fear (in any realm of life), Jealousy, Emulation (ambition), Envy, Infirmity, Iniquity, Leviathan (alcoholics), Oppression, Depression, Hallucination (often from drugs), Cancer, Murder, Epilepsy, Lesbianism, Sensuality, Obsession, Sadism, Lying, Deception, Python, Masochism and many more. Followers of The Way can easily see many more devil spirits in non-Way parents, even when they aren't actually there, especially a Spirit of Strife (people who can't see and entirely obey The Way's version of truth), Whoredoms (especially not worshiping The Way's version of God; therefore, in most anyone in any religion or church other than The Way), a Morbid Spirit (sickness), Sordid Spirit (foul language), Sullen Spirit (introvert, sourpuss, unsociable, which may well be confused with the sadness of being recently divorced and under attack by a Way ex-spouse), Spirit of Python (being critical, as any ex-Way spouse would be of The Way), and other devil spirits. Since devil spirits can harm people, children are taught by The Way to avoid people, including parents, who may be possessed.

One concept that has helped me with my understanding of the biblical idea of devil spirits and “fiery darts” is the concept of memes: here ia a definition/explanation from:

Principa Cybernetica

quote:
an idea can parasitically infect your mind and alter your behavior, causing you to want to tell your friends about the idea, thus exposing them to the idea-virus. Any idea which does this is called a "meme" (pronounced `meem').

Unlike a virus, which is encoded in DNA molecules, a meme is nothing more than a pattern of information, one that happens to have evolved a form which induces people to repeat that pattern. Typical memes include individual slogans, ideas, catch-phrases, melodies, icons, inventions, and fashions. It may sound a bit sinister, this idea that people are hosts for mind-altering strings of symbols, but in fact this is what human culture is all about.

The funny thing is much of the way doctrine are memes that bind you to dependence on TWI leader**** as the sole source of truth and accurate discernment between good and evil, truth and lie. (evidenced by the fact that you want their definitions of devil spirits) All the while they were telling us that they were teaching us to do it on our own. I don’t think they list the name of that particular spirit though icon_smile.gif:)-->

At this point I think that any meme that does not support TWI’s current definition of the “current truth for our day and time” and their exclusive knowledge of it and thus innate right to tell its members what to do with it (their own system of memes) are defined by TWI as fiery darts of the wicked and proof of devil spirit possession- when they are actually different thoughts and values that my or may not actually contradict “The Word”

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quote:
when they are actually different thoughts and values that my or may not actually contradict “The Word”

yes. getting lambasted for asking ?'s isn't an acceptable practice in my reality!

mell

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Mell,

If you are questioning your own value, based on some Way person saying you are possessed ... Don't. From my perspective, if the Way could not possess you, then they would say they you were possessed (by something else). If perhaps you are considering that they might be right, then consider this: they also taught that if a person is wondering whether or not he / she is possessed, then he / she is NOT possessed. They say that those who ARE possessed never think about it.

You see, the Way recognized the Spirit realm, and became totally drawn into exploring everything available to disect it, define it, and categorize it. Some of what they teach about this is accurate, but their mistake was putting so MUCH attention on it, that their own outfit became devil-ish.

Way people who needed appoval or advancement knew they could get it by claiming they had discerned a spirit on or in someone else. It became honorable to accuse as many as possible of possession. Friends nailed each other, and families did the same. Many hearts were broken, and it was all for nothing.

And again, if the leaders sensed that they could not possess you themselves, then the conclusion was that you were already possessed, by Satan.

Mell, if they said you were possessed, you must be in fact very strong and independent. Be glad for that. Unless, of course, you can spin your head around several times and foam at the mouth! Xena

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quote:
Apparently this is privileged information-

Yea its reserved for people who have reached a certain detachment from reality...it took TWI 3 classes and a year or more to get people to the place where they could believe this stuff, by then TWI had them in a snare and some bought into it...mostly out of fear, innocence, naivete, and/or lack of real world experience.

The only possessed people you ever met are those who are possessed by their own sense of self importance and think that they know some sort of 'secret ' that you don't.

Edited by mstar1
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"Why do you want this list? If it's to help ex TWI people, I'd just get a bible and look over Jesus and Paul dealing with them. TWI (at least during the last 10 or so years) mainly talked about devil spirits to scare their followers into not leaving saying if you leave you will get possessed and such malarchy. Their strategy hasn't worked really well."

The last 10 or so years!!! Horse sh it!!!

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Mell,

By and large the Way demonized human emotions and vices. Got a drinking problem? drinking demon.Got a smoking problem? smoking demon.

Got a gambling problem? gamblin' demon.

Like chocolate? Chocolate demon. Like chocolate on strawberries? Well you got a four-star general of a chocolate-on-strawberry demon.

It's a wholly predictable, mundane, system of demons the Way has going there, for which one requires no "special revelation"and is about as profound as a wet cardboard box.

"I don't want to go to twig" does not mean you have a "I-don't-want-to-that-damn-boring-twig" demon - that's no demon - that's you honestly just being you. And there's nothing wrong or demonic about being you. And don't let them tell you otherwise.

Danny

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Of course,

those people who sat thru "Athletes of the Spirit" saw-was it 7?-

new categories invented by lcm.

Let's see if I remember them...

Heavy and gloomy

Reckless and hilarious

Animalistic and vicious

Sensual and alluring

Stately and powerful

===

I could swear there was one more "silly" type category.

Got it-it was "Spritely and devious."

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quote:
Originally posted by WordWolf:

Stately and powerful

===

I could swear there was one more "silly" type category.

Oh yeah, WW, I recall the marching striped candy canes of the "stately and powerful" group,which manifestation was blurted forth by lcm the dancing prophet as "patriotism"

All the flags and magnet-yellow-ribbons on all those vehicles?

Spawned by demons of course.

icon_biggrin.gif:D-->

The "reckless and hilarious" group did crack me up at the time, because the cackle of the head leader sounded an awful lot like "the Riddler" from the old Batman series. Looked a lot like the "Riddler" too.

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Originally posted by WordWolf:

Of course,

those people who sat thru "Athletes of the Spirit" saw-was it 7?-

new categories invented by lcm.

Heavy and gloomy

He said that was basically spirits who cause depression.

Reckless and hilarious

He said that was like people who try to do godly stuff but go off

half-cocked, like if Jesus had jumped off the pinnacle of the temple.

Animalistic and vicious

He said that sometimes they'll just come out and try to attack people.

Sensual and alluring

This is basically spirits of sexual addictions and problems.

He didn't mention ANYTHING about non-sexual physical addictions,

so they must not exist.

Stately and powerful

This was "patriotism" and pride and some other stuff.

Spritely and devious

This was people making inappropriate jokes and so on.

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quote:
Originally posted by johniam:

I think AOS would be the perfect thing to see if you fell asleep watching TV and woke up at 3AM woozy and came into focus to see AOS. Man, that would be too much!

Or worst yet, watching it while tripping on LSD,

being barraged by a technicolor rainbow man, the flying Demon-Blob, and that scary giant forehead coming out at ya....

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Hello-

to answer your ? -Song Remains the Same- I wanted to have a 'list' of vpw's version of what constituted devil spirit possesion, really for my own understanding and to see where the way thinking, well 'branches out', so to speak. icon_smile.gif:)-->

Just attempting to sort some things out.

Invisible Dan- The demonizing of human emotions and vices is a pretty sad approach , even more so in the context of dealing with people seeking spiritual growth /enlightenment.

Sorry to have missed the Atheletes of the Spirit Program - icon_cool.gif

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quote:
Originally posted by mell:

Invisible Dan- The demonizing of human emotions and vices is a pretty sad approach , even more so in the context of dealing with people seeking spiritual growth /enlightenment.

It is a pretty sad approach, which teaches people to not trust themselves, to be afraid of themselves and worst yet to even be afraid to think for themselves. Such hardly leads to attaining that "positive" mindset of "believing" called "Confidence" when every human thought and emotion is assumed a foe.

Danny

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I was shocked to see some of the dancing, especially the "sensual and alurring" group. Didn't seem to be appropriate for a "Christian group" I can only imagine how I would have felt having to watch the porno and dog scenes in the family class.

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1. Not all devil spirits have names.

2. You can call devil spirits anything you want. And they will answer to many things.

3. If it's important to know specifically which devil spirit you're dealing with, God will tell you.

4. If God doesn't specifically tell you to do something about a devil spirit, DON'T.

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