by ozziepost 25 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Nothing new here, this has been the song for as long as I can remember.
The perennial lateness of many is very telling. They're only coming out of loyalty because the content of the meeting is so insipid and repetitive there's no real motivation to get there on time, much less early.
In mainstream Christendom, there was always the joke about "Christian Standard Time" - that the stated time for an event/service/whatever to start was merely an "invitation to treat" rather than a contractual obligation.
I thought that was called "being Anglican"!!!
Nope - heard it of Anglicans, Baptists, Charismatics, Uniting Church, Church of Christ, etc. By the time we got to the Presbyterians, the joke was so old, I probably filtered it out, if I've heard it uttered since. LOL
You have been around, haven't you!
Ah, this brings back fond memories of my childhood in St. Croix (hence the nickname cruzanheart, for those of you who are wondering what the heck that is), when every clock had a different time, news "on the hour" began at different times on different radio stations, and in order to start the meetings with a semblance of organization all the elders would huddle together with their watches, add the times together and get the average. That was considered the "official" time to start. When my parents and I moved there in 1965, there was a Sunday talk IF a speaker showed up, and frequently the Watchtower lesson wasn't finished or ran about half an hour over. And you know what? Everything managed to get done and no one was stressed about it.
Nina
I agree that, especially for people in difficult circumstances, for example those with children or elderly in the family, or who work long hours, this type of "admonition" can be stressful. And who doesn't have some circumstance that makes getting there early, or even at all, very difficult?
In the congregation I was in, we had local needs talks on this on a number of occasions. In fact, we had the attendants check to see how many were late, and the figure was given as 20-25 %. I feel that taking such 'tabulations' and then talking about them from the platform was rude and insensitive to those who carry a heavy burden and do all they can just to arrive at the meetings at all.
Edited by - jack2 on 5 September 2002 9:46:55
Edited by - jack2 on 5 September 2002 9:47:41
Well, we were always somewhere between "right on time" and "slightly late". One time my father was giving a talk in another hall, and due to traffic we were very late. They started the Watchtower study, and my dad gave the talk afterwards.
I guess we weren't True Christians. Oh well, I already knew that, but my dad will be devastated when I tell him!
What a JOKE! Can you believe this CRAP!!! You spend 5 days of the week going to meetings and service and they want you to come and talk to your fellow brothers and sisters! Now there is no time to jerk off and fellowship with your worldly friends!
Beans
Canadian Overbeer
Cruzan: How on Earth did you LIVE? I budget my time to get 10 minutes extra sleep every morning! GOOD GHOD!
