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Weaponizing Fear: How Victor Paul Wierwille Used Fear to Control Followers

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Today, in 2026, most of the people running The Way International organization did not personally know the founder: Victor Paul Wierwille (VPW) who died in 1985.  Current Board members are listed here:  The Way International - Biblical Research, Teaching, and Fellowship I did know VPW. He trained me to be a leader in The Way and assigned me to his biblical research team.  (See photo at the end of this post featuring Dr. and Mrs. Wierwille, me, my former husband, and others on stage at the annual festival at Way headquarters, 1983. From my experience, I can tell you he used fear to draw believers into his high-control organization and keep them there. VPW’s authoritarian influence is preserved in his tape-recorded teachings, printed books, and videos of films made of him teaching the Bible. Many of those videos are posted on YouTube. If you search online today, you can find these materials. But be aware that VPW plagiarized many other Christian authors, even copying most ...
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What I said in my first published interview about The Way International and my memoir, Undertow

What did I say in my first published interview?  In the summer of 2017, not long after Undertow was published, Professor Maria Moss at Leuphana University in Lüneburg, Germany , invited me to give a presentation about my cult experience to students and faculty in the American Studies Department.  Afterwards, she interviewed me for the blog the department publishes.  Part I:   American Studies Blog Here's a bit from Part II's intro: "After  last week’s introduction  to the seductive power of the fundamentalist cult 'The Way International' and the practice of speaking in tongues, in this installment, readers will find out more about both  Charlene Edge’s  'faded scars' as well as memories of happier times while serving The Way." Part II:  Interview with Charlene - Part II Thanks for reading! Charlene Find my books at Amazon. They are also at other major booksellers. Undertow: My Escape from the Fundamentalism and Cult Control of The Way Interna...
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Undertow on BookRiot's List: 100 Must-Read Books About Life in Cults ...

  Greetings, readers. BookRiot lists Undertow Did you know that my memoir, Undertow: My Escape from the Fundamentalism and Cult Control of The Way International  made Book Riot's list of must-read books on the topic of cults?  Undertow is #78:  100 Must-Read Books About Life in Cults and Oppressive Religious Sects Other news Today, January 23, 2025, Amazon dropped Undertow's paperback price to $18.99. List price is $24.95.  If you're someone who was (is) involved with The Way, one thing my story offers is behind-the-scenes history you can't find anywhere else. I've documented many facts in the Notes section and included a Bibliography at the back of the book. Besides ex-followers from my age group (over 60 yrs.), numerous second-generation followers have contacted me after they read Undertow , surprised at how my story put a lot of pieces together for them about their experiences in The Way, pieces their parents either didn't know or didn't want to discuss....
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Charlene Edge on YouTube

Greetings, readers. Did you know there are two videos of yours truly on YouTube? First video In this one I share my memoir,  Undertow,  my experiences in The Way International, and features of cults. It's titled "A Cult Insider's Story."  View it at  CHARLENE L. EDGE --Author "A Cult Insider's Story The presentation was recorded in February 2021 for  The Global Centre for Advanced Studies (GCAS). The director, Creston Davis, introduces me. Second video The is the recording of my book launch for my second book, From the Porch to the Page: A Guidebook for the Writing Life.  The event was held at the Winter Park Library in Winter Park, FL in 2022. View it at  Author Salon: Charlene Edge Both books are sold on Amazon, Barnes and Noble in paperback and eBook. Indie bookstores and public libraries can get them for you in paperback. Thanks for reading, Charlene Find my books at Amazon. They are also at other major booksellers. Undertow: My Escape from the Fun...
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Happy New Year 2026: Celebrating 39 years away from The Way

Greetings, readers. Happy new year 2026! This coming year I'm celebrating my thirty-ninth year of life after escaping The Way International, the Bible-based group I gave myself to for 17 years as a leader (1970-1987).  Today, I want to give hope to anyone thinking about disassociating from that organization or leaving any other group based on the teachings of Victor Paul Wierwille, founder of The Way. It is possible, with loving help and education, to leave the confining teachings of Wierwille and create a new life.  It is possible to gain confidence to make your own decisions and not have to check with a Way "spiritual leader" first. It is possible to find friends who accept you as you are, not people who say they are your friends but demand you believe their Bible teachings. It is possible to find joy in the world and not constantly worry about the Devil trying to ruin your life, which is what Way leaders, especially Wierwille, said would happen if you left The Way. Aft...
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From Fundamentalism to Freedom

  The following was written by me when I was known as Charlene Lamy at  Valencia Community College (in Orlando, FL) in  1988 for a creative writing class assignment that required us to do research on something personal to us. Research was to include information from interviews and also citations from published materials.  A bibliography is included at the end of the essay. I married in 2002 and changed my name to Charlene L. Edge.   From Fundamentalism to Freedom by Charlene L. Edge From 1970 until 1987 I was involved with a fundamentalist Christian group known as The Way International Biblical Research and Teaching ministry.   One important point that its founder, Dr. Victor Paul Wierwille, taught was that the United States was a Christian nation founded on the Bible.   In 1985, questions I began to ask concerning how we got the Bible, how translations are produced, and the history of early Christianity, brought me to the realization that m...
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The 3-D Cult Experience

The following was originally published on my blog at https://charleneedge.com. May 21, 2021 Greetings, especially to those of you interested in cults and their downsides. Today, I'm happy to republish the following E-Newsletter, "Deception, Dependency, and Dread in the Conversion Process" with permission of the author, Michael D. Langone, who holds a PhD in counseling psychology and is executive director of International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA), which provides information, education, and help to those adversely affected by or interested in cultic and other “high-control” groups and relationships. Besides that, I happen to know him personally for the kind, intelligent, and dedicated counselor he is and have worked with him at ICSA conferences. In my opinion, Langone's article well describes aspects of cult ensnarement that many of us, after exiting the cave of a high-control group, look back and recognize from the tunnel of darkness in which we'd been tr...
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