BenTHare Wrote:
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> This Weeks -
> dumping
> I remember when I started unloading almost 9 years
> of "This Weeks". I was beginning to come to grips
> with the Walk and my life. They were not going
> together very well. At first, it felt like a
> betrayal, but shortly thereafter,
> LIBERATION


I find shredding THIS WEEKS a win-win. The shredded paper makes great mulch. It's like doo-doo for your plants.

KBoy: LOL, yup or part of the explanation for my little abnormalities Lol

kBOY Wrote:
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> 40yearsin2016:
>
> I have openly confessed to being in a cult to
> dozens of people over the years, some of whom I
> barely knew. It would always somehow come up as a
> random tangent in wherever the conversation was
> heading. You may find it become second-nature
> after a while, like a resume
> enhancement--especially if you turned out to be
> fairly 'normal'.


This resume enhancement has served me well

Relevant Work History

Timlothians (May 1972 to April 2017)

lily rose Wrote:
--
>
> NickleandDimed-I also don't fully understand what
> was going on at Shiloh other than BenThar said it
> was chaos. 40 yearsin 2016 once posted that JRS
> was screwing over some of the ministries, Bickhart
> (Mr. Shiloh) was canned.


I remember that we always attended the Washington, IA church services. There was a power struggle. Transcribing ended up in the middle of a portion of it at one time. We were transcribing Fred Bickhart's sermons and there became a conflict between whose sermons had priority, JRS or Bickhart. It may not sound like it, but it actually became very stressful. It became an "us versus them," and that was sad. There were a lot of good people in Washington, IA.

I have to say, I liked Fred Bickhart. He was very kind. He passed away in 2014 at 90 years of age. His wife, Eva (JRS's sister), was still living at the time.

I don't know, between the JRS family dramas and the "who is hooking up with who," sounds like stuff that happens in many churches. Just saying.

puddington Wrote:
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> If you have a box of This Weeks or tapes in your
> garage, I also highly recommend that you dump
> them. Burn it, shred it, or throw it all in a
> septic pond somewhere. It is great therapy. It
> will help you recover and break your bond with the
> Living Word.
>
> I don't believe in passing it on. Do a favor to
> Humanity. Destroy the rat poison.


throw it all in a septic pond somewhere
Done

Kbyrne-yes the same dramas and scandals happen in other churches too. Why though are some of the LW ones so life destroying? Wow Fred and JRS's sister still alive in 2014. I recall her receiving ministry in the Valley (maybe it was during the chaos time) and she broke down. I don't recall the details other than it seemed JRS forgave her, she appeared submissive and all was well. Reportedly though JRS said she was a Neph. I reread a bit of Reflections from the Wall by Nichols. He documents a reorganization taking place by JRS during that time and maybe a little paranoia. A power struggle undoubtedly created stress for the sheep. Thanks for sharing.

kBOY and 40yearsin2016-I now know I was in cult but I haven't broadcasted it. Oh well.

Quote
Sagehen
Posted by: Sagehen ()
Date: May 01, 2017 06:31PM

I agree with much of what "larry bobo" posted May 1, 2017, I too had to ask myself why I fell for the hook! Mine took me back to the Charasmatic teachings in the early '60s and led right into what JRS was teaching in the early '70s when we , my late husband and I joined. I also see this is still the focus of many groups still today, that being, "We have more Light than the others"!

Ditto.
I was ripe for the taking.......JRS, "To be a Christian" hooked me.

I was an idealistic teenager looking for someone to resonate with my ideals. I
found the Walk....

Quote
jrs
"To be a Christian, as I understand Christ, means the acceptance of
the absolute authority of Jesus in all of my life. It means that in
everything I am and do—when I eat and drink, when I buy and sell,
when I work and play, when I read and think—that I look to Jesus as
my Master. It means that I enthrone Him as King in my affections;..."

BenTHare.

Touchy subject. Thank you. ‘To Be a Christian’ is the first thing I burned.

As the smoke rose in the air, ‘Operation Liberation’ from JRS’s understanding/viewpoint commenced.

As the smoke rose in the air, I said to myself and the smoke, “I’m not drawn to this trap anymore.” John 6:44.

BenTHare Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I was ripe for the taking.......JRS, "To be a
> Christian" hooked me.
>
>
Honestly, don't think I had ever read To Be a Christian. It sounds like lipservice.


This is what hooked me: "Serve God now, and get with the Walk, and believe me, and power and authority and influence are going to be yours!"

Page 147 Woodrow Nichols, Reflections from the Wall

The issue today, as always, has been...The way of the Cross as opposed to the way of power. Do we come into what God has purposed for us? Because the New Testament makes it pretty clear that He has designs for us in terms of this universe that are just mind-boggling. Do we come into it by direct route, in seeking spiritual power, and seeking influence over men? Or do we come into it by the way of the Cross? And it seems like the root, the essence, of every one of these false movements is that it's a road to spiritual development: "Develop yourself spiritually?" But the Jesus they preach is not the Jesus that Paul preached: he's not the crucified Jesus. Oh, they give it a little lip service, but it seems to me that that is the essential distinction.

And then there's the counterview (hopefully this link works):

[www.livingwordpublications.org]