The Way International

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KyleOfOrigen

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I need help and I don’t know what to do. My cousin is in a cult called The Way International. I have been into apologetics since I was a teen and I know all about them- but not everyone has time to study apologetics. My entire family is Catholic and good Catholics- but they don’t have the time to study up on them so they rely on me to tell them if groups are cults or not.

My cousin keeps pressuring me that she wants to come and visit- but this is making me have panic attacks because I know how sneaky cults can be. She wants to seduce them into her false teaching. It’s the not the same as a Baptist or Presbyterian coming to visit. Even though they are a cult, to her credit she spends her entire day studying “her version” of the bible and is more knowledgable than my extended family. My family are brick-layers and coal miners and don’t have time to study the bible and memorize verses like she does so they will be at a disadvantage.

Our whole family life revolves around Jesus, and the Church, and the Eucharist, and the Bible- so when I told my mom that they don’t believe Jesus is God and that my cousin wants to come here and her life revolves around spreading that concept, my mom said “She is not welcome in this house then”.

I don’t know what to do or how to handle this situation. If we allow her to visit- she will try to seduce my family. If I don’t allow her- I will feel bad because that seems unloving and she keeps crying to me about how much she loves our family and thinks about us everyday.

FYI: The Way International teaches:
  1. First and foremost- Jesus Christ is NOT God.
  2. Only the letters of Paul are considered “the Bible”. I can’t argue the Bible with her because they have created their own self-defeating cycle where they will only accept scriptures from Paul. And even then- they will say the greek or aramaic word doesn’t mean what it says in english, plus something called “orientalisms”. They talk about that alot. Apparently “Orientalisms in the Bible” to them mean “it means something different”, like when the apostle said “My Lord and my God!” she said “Oh that’s an orientalism”.
  3. Word-of-Faith (ie. Positive thinking) theology.
  4. HyperGrace. They think we are under the Grace Administration now and there is no such thing as Sin and we can’t sin and repentance is silly and holiness is stupid.
I’m just very depressed now.
 
It sounds like your mother has already settled the question of your cousin visiting – “She is not welcome in this house then”.

Loving your cousin doesn’t mean you have to allow her to try to harm you. If she had a serious contagious disease, would not welcoming her into your home mean you didn’t love her? Of course not.

I would tell her the truth, straight up – “Cuz, we love you. But you’ve gotten yourself sucked in by a cult, and that cult is not welcome in this Catholic household. We pray for you every day, and will continue to do so until you recognize God’s truth.”
 
In order to attempt to maintain a loving relationship with your cousin I would be direct with her. She needs to understand that you are a devout Catholic family by choice and will remain so. This means that while you love her very much you are not interested in The Way and will not tolerate any discussions about it. If she loves you in return she will comply in order to be able to visit and see you. Clearly, you will have to do this somewhere besides your Mother’s house but don’t do it without letting your Mother know what you are doing, that old adage honesty is the best policy has always rung true for me.
 
KyleOfOrigen said:
I need help and I don’t know what to do. My cousin is in a cult called The Way International. I have been into apologetics since I was a teen and I know all about them- but not everyone has time to study apologetics. My entire family is Catholic and good Catholics- but they don’t have the time to study up on them so they rely on me to tell them if groups are cults or not.

My cousin keeps pressuring me that she wants to come and visit- but this is making me have panic attacks because I know how sneaky cults can be. She wants to seduce them into her false teaching. It’s the not the same as a Baptist or Presbyterian coming to visit. Even though they are a cult, to her credit she spends her entire day studying “her version” of the bible and is more knowledgable than my extended family. My family are brick-layers and coal miners and don’t have time to study the bible and memorize verses like she does so they will be at a disadvantage.

Our whole family life revolves around Jesus, and the Church, and the Eucharist, and the Bible- so when I told my mom that they don’t believe Jesus is God and that my cousin wants to come here and her life revolves around spreading that concept, my mom said “She is not welcome in this house then”.

I don’t know what to do or how to handle this situation. If we allow her to visit- she will try to seduce my family. If I don’t allow her- I will feel bad because that seems unloving and she keeps crying to me about how much she loves our family and thinks about us everyday.

FYI: The Way International teaches:
  1. First and foremost- Jesus Christ is NOT God.
  2. Only the letters of Paul are considered “the Bible”. I can’t argue the Bible with her because they have created their own self-defeating cycle where they will only accept scriptures from Paul. And even then- they will say the greek or aramaic word doesn’t mean what it says in english, plus something called “orientalisms”. They talk about that alot. Apparently “Orientalisms in the Bible” to them mean “it means something different”, like when the apostle said “My Lord and my God!” she said “Oh that’s an orientalism”.
  3. Word-of-Faith (ie. Positive thinking) theology.
  4. HyperGrace. They think we are under the Grace Administration now and there is no such thing as Sin and we can’t sin and repentance is silly and holiness is stupid.
I’m just very depressed now.
Click to expand...
someone pressuring someone else to leave the Church isn’t loving and not allowing her in your home is the correct thing to do. Unless she can visit without the proseltyzing, then the correct thing isn’t allowing her to visit. I think you have a misguided about what is loving. continue to pray for her and stop letting this drag you down with needless worry.
 
Thank you all. I just needed to hear someone else say it. Again- thank you.
 
KyleOfOrigen said:
I need help and I don’t know what to do. My cousin is in a cult called The Way International. I have been into apologetics since I was a teen and I know all about them- but not everyone has time to study apologetics. My entire family is Catholic and good Catholics- but they don’t have the time to study up on them so they rely on me to tell them if groups are cults or not.

My cousin keeps pressuring me that she wants to come and visit- but this is making me have panic attacks because I know how sneaky cults can be. She wants to seduce them into her false teaching. It’s the not the same as a Baptist or Presbyterian coming to visit. Even though they are a cult, to her credit she spends her entire day studying “her version” of the bible and is more knowledgable than my extended family. My family are brick-layers and coal miners and don’t have time to study the bible and memorize verses like she does so they will be at a disadvantage.

Our whole family life revolves around Jesus, and the Church, and the Eucharist, and the Bible- so when I told my mom that they don’t believe Jesus is God and that my cousin wants to come here and her life revolves around spreading that concept, my mom said “She is not welcome in this house then”.

I don’t know what to do or how to handle this situation. If we allow her to visit- she will try to seduce my family. If I don’t allow her- I will feel bad because that seems unloving and she keeps crying to me about how much she loves our family and thinks about us everyday.

FYI: The Way International teaches:
  1. First and foremost- Jesus Christ is NOT God.
  2. Only the letters of Paul are considered “the Bible”. I can’t argue the Bible with her because they have created their own self-defeating cycle where they will only accept scriptures from Paul. And even then- they will say the greek or aramaic word doesn’t mean what it says in english, plus something called “orientalisms”. They talk about that alot. Apparently “Orientalisms in the Bible” to them mean “it means something different”, like when the apostle said “My Lord and my God!” she said “Oh that’s an orientalism”.
  3. Word-of-Faith (ie. Positive thinking) theology.
  4. HyperGrace. They think we are under the Grace Administration now and there is no such thing as Sin and we can’t sin and repentance is silly and holiness is stupid.
I’m just very depressed now.
Click to expand...
If your cousin visits and attempts to persuade your family members, then it is up to you to promote correct Catholic teaching, both to thwart your cousin and to reassure the faith of your extended family.
 
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It’s good to see members here standing up for the Faith of Catholics.
.
 
KyleOfOrigen said:
I need help and I don’t know what to do. My cousin is in a cult called The Way International. I have been into apologetics since I was a teen and I know all about them- but not everyone has time to study apologetics. My entire family is Catholic and good Catholics- but they don’t have the time to study up on them so they rely on me to tell them if groups are cults or not.

My cousin keeps pressuring me that she wants to come and visit- but this is making me have panic attacks because I know how sneaky cults can be. She wants to seduce them into her false teaching. It’s the not the same as a Baptist or Presbyterian coming to visit. Even though they are a cult, to her credit she spends her entire day studying “her version” of the bible and is more knowledgable than my extended family. My family are brick-layers and coal miners and don’t have time to study the bible and memorize verses like she does so they will be at a disadvantage.

Our whole family life revolves around Jesus, and the Church, and the Eucharist, and the Bible- so when I told my mom that they don’t believe Jesus is God and that my cousin wants to come here and her life revolves around spreading that concept, my mom said “She is not welcome in this house then”.

I don’t know what to do or how to handle this situation. If we allow her to visit- she will try to seduce my family. If I don’t allow her- I will feel bad because that seems unloving and she keeps crying to me about how much she loves our family and thinks about us everyday.

FYI: The Way International teaches:
  1. First and foremost- Jesus Christ is NOT God.
  2. Only the letters of Paul are considered “the Bible”. I can’t argue the Bible with her because they have created their own self-defeating cycle where they will only accept scriptures from Paul. And even then- they will say the greek or aramaic word doesn’t mean what it says in english, plus something called “orientalisms”. They talk about that alot. Apparently “Orientalisms in the Bible” to them mean “it means something different”, like when the apostle said “My Lord and my God!” she said “Oh that’s an orientalism”.
  3. Word-of-Faith (ie. Positive thinking) theology.
  4. HyperGrace. They think we are under the Grace Administration now and there is no such thing as Sin and we can’t sin and repentance is silly and holiness is stupid.
I’m just very depressed now.
Click to expand...
Your cousin can come and visit but on the condition that she doesn’t do her cult propaganda with your family. However, she can talk to you about her faith privately and gives you a chance to defend and guide her since you have been trained. If she breaks her promise ( which reflects the value of promises her cult subscribes to), that is also the enlightening time for everyone and that is also the time for her to cut short her stay.
 
I saw this topic and I thought I should add my thoughts. I was baptized Catholic, went to Catholic Grammar school where I received my First Holy Communion and was confirmed. Every Sunday we went to Mass as a family and I had no problems with anything… until I went to college. I ended up getting involved with The Way International. I did not believe it was a cult even though my parents and sisters really freaked out that I was going to their Twig fellowships all the darn time. I realized it was a cult some years later. I was an active member for about 10 years. I have lots of bad memories and flashbacks from being in their WOW (Word of God Over The World) Ambassador program. They really worked guilt trips on me to get what they want from me which was always money for their classes. It tore me away from my family and I broke my parents, sisters and my whole family’s heart. My parents, grandparents, my whole family never stopped praying for me that I would come back to the Catholic faith which I did about 9 years ago. This hurts me to write here but I am thinking what better place to share this than on Catholic Answers so maybe I can help save someone else the heartache and heartbreak and anguish of getting involved with those cult people who are just so wrong in their teaching of God. They do not believe in the Trinity and I could never understand why.
It was a huge nightmare and a mistake and I caused it by not trusting Jesus like I was raised to trust Him.
I got married in the cult. As I grew older I was diagnosed with a neurological disorder and
23 years later my first husband just could not deal with my problems any longer so he left me.

I am proud to say that I am now a practicing Catholic. God gave me a second chance and sent me a wonderful man who is Catholic to me. When he told me he was Catholic I felt a huge relief in my heart and soul. We were married in the Catholic Church and my older sister walked me down the aisle. He treats me as wonderful as my dad treated my mother.

I have confessed many of my sins to a priest in confession and I look for ways I do penance and grow in charity.
I apologize this is so long but I guess I needed to share this part of my life with anyone who has the ears to listen. Do not allow ANYONE to talk you out of your family faith. Being Catholic is not only our right, being Catholic is an honor to serve the living Father, Son and Holy Spirit every day of our lives.

Thank you for letting me share this.
God Bless You,
Jeannie
 
mountee said:
In order to attempt to maintain a loving relationship with your cousin I would be direct with her. She needs to understand that you are a devout Catholic family by choice and will remain so. This means that while you love her very much you are not interested in The Way and will not tolerate any discussions about it. If she loves you in return she will comply in order to be able to visit and see you. Clearly, you will have to do this somewhere besides your Mother’s house but don’t do it without letting your Mother know what you are doing, that old adage honesty is the best policy has always rung true for me.
Click to expand...
Wise advice.
 
Jeannie52 said:
I saw this topic and I thought I should add my thoughts. I was baptized Catholic, went to Catholic Grammar school where I received my First Holy Communion and was confirmed. Every Sunday we went to Mass as a family and I had no problems with anything… until I went to college. I ended up getting involved with The Way International. I did not believe it was a cult even though my parents and sisters really freaked out that I was going to their Twig fellowships all the darn time. I realized it was a cult some years later. I was an active member for about 10 years. I have lots of bad memories and flashbacks from being in their WOW (Word of God Over The World) Ambassador program. They really worked guilt trips on me to get what they want from me which was always money for their classes. It tore me away from my family and I broke my parents, sisters and my whole family’s heart. My parents, grandparents, my whole family never stopped praying for me that I would come back to the Catholic faith which I did about 9 years ago. This hurts me to write here but I am thinking what better place to share this than on Catholic Answers so maybe I can help save someone else the heartache and heartbreak and anguish of getting involved with those cult people who are just so wrong in their teaching of God. They do not believe in the Trinity and I could never understand why.
It was a huge nightmare and a mistake and I caused it by not trusting Jesus like I was raised to trust Him.
I got married in the cult. As I grew older I was diagnosed with a neurological disorder and
23 years later my first husband just could not deal with my problems any longer so he left me.

I am proud to say that I am now a practicing Catholic. God gave me a second chance and sent me a wonderful man who is Catholic to me. When he told me he was Catholic I felt a huge relief in my heart and soul. We were married in the Catholic Church and my older sister walked me down the aisle. He treats me as wonderful as my dad treated my mother.

I have confessed many of my sins to a priest in confession and I look for ways I do penance and grow in charity.
I apologize this is so long but I guess I needed to share this part of my life with anyone who has the ears to listen. Do not allow ANYONE to talk you out of your family faith. Being Catholic is not only our right, being Catholic is an honor to serve the living Father, Son and Holy Spirit every day of our lives.

Thank you for letting me share this.
God Bless You,
Jeannie
Click to expand...
Thank you for your testimony, and so glad you are now back home.
 
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