DECEMBER 2011 Update

What’s going on in The Way International in 2011 ? Not much. Not many Corps or Advanced Class grads, and not much research. The most recent research book by TWI listed on its website was published 29 years ago. But TWI still emphasizes central control and “giving of plurality,” which is “giving beyond the tithe to help further the work of the ministry” (TWI has always used the term “the ministry” to refer to itself). TWI used to call this “abundant sharing.”

When TWI splintered in the late 1980s, ex-Way leaders started their own organizations and groups. Wolfgang Schneider, who translated TWI materials into German, began Bibel Center (available in German as Bibelcenter and in English as Bible Center). We overview Wolfgang Schneider’s Bibelcenter here.

Another splinter called Christian Research and Fellowship was started by John Hendricks. From his “law of believing” to his “warrior tongues” to his “Power for Abun “To Know God” class, CRF is a clone of Wierwille’s TWI.

How do you spell “G_d?” Some people devoutly follow the practice of spelling “G_d” without vowels. We take a brief look at this practice from the standpoint of Scripture, language, history and logic.

Large Group Awareness Trainings (LGAT) offer “transformational” experiences. But what follows the experience? Does the “transformation” keep? A recent magazine article described the after-training life of a woman who experienced a training by Rose of the World, which is based on Lifespring training, as Breakthrough/ Momentus is. “Rollback” in one Large Group Awareness Training summarizes the aftermath some LGAT participants experienced.

MARCH 2010 Update

Michael Rood insists that the Pope deviously invented the"3-year ministry of Jesus," pressed this idea forward at the point of the sword, and "pummeled or beheaded into submission" anyone who disagreed with the ubiquitously unchallenged 3-1/3 year ministry. It is very serious to accuse Catholics of fabrication, murder and conspiracy, especially in the name of faith. He also ridicules pastors of congregations as "Minister Macon Moemoney." Are Rood's accusations true? "Pummeled and Beheaded into Teaching a Three Year Ministry of Messiah" fills you in on a lot of what Rood doesn't know- or doesn't want you to know.

JANUARY 2010 Update

Michael Rood addresses his newsletter "Dear Torah Fans" and dresses like a Mid-Eastern rabbi, leading his followers to think he's a true Torah teacher. Then why are his newsletters and talks so very thin on Torah and so full of doomsday scare tactics and promos for his DVDs? Rood's Torah Illusion reveals Rood's actual motives in his own words.

Atheist Richard Dawkins claims to prove through rational evidence that complex life came to exist on earth strictly by natural processes and natural selection, without any intelligent design. But when he tries to explain how the universe came to be such a perfect setting for life, and how life first came into being, he admits no naturalistic evidence exists- it was "sheer luck." Without the perfect universe and information-packed cell, his claims for natural selection are completely impossible. Atheistic Dawkins Makes a Case for Intelligent Design reviews portions of Dawkins' book The God Delusion and his descent into wishful thinking in imagining life's origin by accident.

One idea that has gained popularity is that personal spirituality is good, but organized religion is bad, because it is corrupt and oppressive. What good is organized religion? What happens when it goes awry? The answers will surprise you.

MARCH 2009 Update

Former TWI president Martindale resigned after female followers of TWI filed lawsuits against him, alleging he exploited them for sex. His first thought must have been- "but I haven't done anything wrong." According to TWI theology, he indeed had not done anything wrong. The Way's Theology of Sex: How Way Leaders Used the Bible to Promote Promiscuity and Adultery describes in detail how leaders used Way theology to persuade women to have sex with them, and how the Way's sex class prepared students for promiscuous sex. It includes accounts of Kristen Skedgell's sexual experiences with TWI leaders from her book Losing the Way.

SEPTEMBER 2008 Update

The Way Int insists that believers must obey the Law of Tithing and Abundant Sharing. Believers must tithe (give 10 percent of net income to TWI), or they will not have their material needs met. They must also practice "abundant sharing" (giving more than 10 percent), or they will not receive spiritual blessings. Buying Blessings evaluates this TWI teaching as recorded in the appendices of the new Way of Abundance and Power class syllabus. This detailed evaluation notes that most of the terms WAP uses (such as "tithe," "abundant sharing," "operate the principles," and "tithe doth still provide" are never found in the Church epistles (and except for one, never in the New Testament).

The New Way of Abundance and Power class (WAP) mixes elements of the old WAP class taught by disgraced former TWI president L. Craig Martindale, and the older Power for Abundant Living class. In The New Way of Abundance and Power class of 2006: The Absent Christ, we examine several sections of the class including segments on the destructive power of believing (Job), theories on two part creation and continental drift, and the lack of teaching on Jesus Christ. We also outline how the class is presented and when and how it's offered.

Plus:

V. P. Wierwille's DEATH CERTIFICATE yes, it's a photo reproduction of the real thing, along with an explanation of why it is important, not morbid, to know the details of VPW's death.

Back to TWI Main Menu