Something I Never Understood About The Importance of Meeting Attendance

by minimus 38 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Ruth Eeker

  Don't forget...as my family told me:

  "but jehovah's spirit is at the meetings"

  And then they threw Hebrews 10 at me which I countered with:
  
  Matt. 18: 20 - For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

  Still wasn't acceptable, .
• 

  Ruth Eeker

  Don't forget...as my family told me:

  "but jehovah's spirit is at the meetings"

  And then they threw Hebrews 10 at me which I countered with:
  
  Matt. 18: 20 - For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

  Still wasn't acceptable, I .
• 

  minimus

  The point is you never LEARNED anything different at the meetings that featured a book or magazine. Whether you were at home or in the KH, it meant no dif.
• 

  DanTheMan

  Religions like JW's attract people who have the strongest need to lose themselves in a herd.
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  Wasanelder Once

  It always bothered me that our faith was a pillar and support of the truth, but we would fall away if we missed meetings. It occurred to me that we needed it hammered into our heads because it wasn't convincing enough on first exposure to have any effect. That made me wonder what good was it if I couldn't maintain my faith with just Jehovah alone. Where was my relationship with him? If was alone with him and had no meetings I wasn't expected to be faithful. What a load. W.Once
• 

  FlyingHighNow

  There's this little box called the contribution box.
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  FlyingHighNow

  Mini, people can't pressure you when you don't attend the meetings.
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  Thechickennest

  All the new published material needs to be distributed. What would the poor sales brothers that are standing in those concession stands at the Hall do if someone did'nt pick up all the new magazines and new books? Also, persons need to drop all the funds from donations of prior and future sales in the contribution box labeled for that purpose. How could the "faithful and discreet publishing company" survive if people never came to the Hall to buy more stuff?
• 

  garybuss

  So what's the deal about meeting attendance??

  
  Accountability, monitoring, inventory . . . the Witnesses used to be the sales people, now they're the customers. The only way the Society can close on them is at meetings and rallies. The Society closes for acceptance of their own authority, they close for volunteer labor to work for them, they close for donations to be sent to them, they close for submission to their speculations, and they close for a commitment to attend the next meeting.
  
  Meetings are a capsule of customers who being sold, and sold, and sold . . . It'd be a little like a Tupperware club with two 2 hour sales parties a week without the snacks and without the coffee that required attendance or your parents, your children, and your friends won't talk to you again. One difference is Tupperware makes sense, and it's useful.
  
  
• 

  Mr Ben

  It's all about SACRIFICE

  The more a cult can make you sacrifice, the committed you will be to the cult. So asking for your time, or a promise to die for the cult or allow your kids to die (blood card), represents a huge SACRIFICE. People who have sacrificed for the cult are less likely to challenge the cult. For e.g. if you let your kid die over the blood issue, would you ever be able to admit it was all for nothing for a bullshit cult? Highly unlikely.

  MORE SACRIFICE = MORE COMMITMENT