One of the points of conventions: obedience training

by john.prestor 22 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  john.prestor

  I think a lot these days about people who train you to be obedient without telling you that's what they're doing. The thought occurred to me that that could be part of the idea of Regional Conventions. It's not like they present much of anything new to the audience, it's the same old talks year after year, the same old information, yeah, repackaged a little, different themes, different illustrations, but the same information, obey the faithful slave, Armageddon is imminent, go door-to-door, the usual. And three days in a row of eight or nine hours of talks with brief videos and skits is too much for people to digest anyway. I went to 5 or 6 conventions as a researcher and my brain hurt after more than a couple hours of talks, it's rapid-fire and too much for you to process, not to mention that many of the speakers speak in a voice that grates on you like you're a little kid getting lectured.

  It almost feels like the point is to see if you'll sit there obediently. And they make you clap on command like you're seals at SeaWorld, it's obvious when the speakers want you to applaud, they raise the pitch of their voice or ask rhetorical questions ('We're here because we love what we're learning afrom the faithful slave, aren't we?') and the audience obediently claps. And they used to be worse, I mean nine-day conventions, whatever you need to say you should be able to say it in one day if one talk.
  

  What do other posters think about what I'm arguing? I know that part of the point is to connect people and create a sense of community, give out new publications (well, used to be), give Brothers the chance to look good on stage, but I think this is part of it too, part of what the Governing Body going for.
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  stillMS

  Firstly, the conventions R known to be money-makers for the Borg. Other than that, I can relate to my own old-days experience where the convention really gave some kind of 'encouragement', kind of 'charging a battery' until the next one. Not sure what was the psychology behind that - maybe it was due to higher quality talks than that of local brodas.

  For the last years, it's mostly a WTF session - an expectation of a new low hit by the Borg.
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  smiddy3

  Lets face it the GB do not rely on Holy Spirit

  ,They rely on Psychology Of The Human Mind , also on Successful Salesmen Pitch and How to Manipulate Your Audience .
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  sir82

  Hmm, if so, doesn't seem to be working too well....

  Every year there is the call to not reserve too many seats, not rush like mad loons as soon as the doors open, etc.

  And every year, what happens at precisely 8:15:01 AM (used to be 8:00:01)?

  Hundreds if not thousands of wild-eyed JW nuts charge into the arena with fearless abandon, racing headlong to throw blankets and towels over 10, 15, 20 seats for their closest friends.

  Oh, and of those say 20 reserved seats?

  Maybe 10, more likely 7 or 8, are ever going to be filled by JW buttocks....the rest are for "spreading out your stuff" - coolers, notepads, purses, more blankets, etc.

  If you value life and limb, keep out of the way when the convention doors open (or, on a side note, when the Golden Trough Corral sets out a new tub of mac-n-cheese on a Sunday afternoon).
  
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  Half banana

  J.P I entirely agree with you.The skill of the GB developed over many years is all about keeping their workers inside the cult compound.

  To do this, from long experience and through the repetitive and droning assembly talks they create, firm up and hone the lobotomised flock to serve the interests of the leadership.

  The ideal JW is given an overriding spiritual hope which enables him or her to cavalierly dispense with reason-- reasoning and questioning is of course from Satan! Common sense and any facts contrary to the JW teachings are dismissed because they might cause one to think objectively or move away from the brotherhood and lose out at Big A. Another ideal quality is for the individual to be mentally lazy but prepared instead to hear complimentary things about their loyalty to their chosen religion.

  He or she has already put all their eggs, so to speak, in the one JW basket thinking that whatever happens or whatever non-believers say, they must be doing the right thing, after all, they imagine they have in their possession the only ticket to paradise!

  The assembly message for the last five or six years is simple: Don't think; obey!

  It is the perfect recipe to make slaves out of people.
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  Ding

  It is ironic that JWs pride themselves on not following men...

  ... when following men is what "the faithful and discreet slave" claim is all about...
  
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  Giordano

  In the JW world Obedience is on the same level as Faith.......if not more so.

  Without obedience the crap the WTBTS publishes, the talks at the KH and Assemblies would ring hollow.

  Why did we easily forget what was told to us in meetings? Because they were nothing more then commercials and like TV and radio commercials it's nothing more then static. We simply tune it out.

  Imagine spending your time only listening to commercials. Welcome to the JW world.
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  WTWizard

  Reasoning and questioning is from Satan? If so, that should tell one about joke-hova, that wishes blind obedience to being enslaved. Reasoning and questioning is how one gets to not fall for scams or finds the best deal when shopping for things (especially major items). I, for one, do not think of reasoning and questioning as evil. Blindly obeying those in charge, on the other hand, might just set you up for Noahide Law and being totally enslaved.
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  sir82

  In the JW world Obedience is on the same level as Faith.......if not more so.

  Same level???

  ???

  ??? ???

  Faith is utterly irrelevant in WT world, along with grace, charity, love, kindness, and any other Christian quality you might think of of.

  In WT-world, here is what is important, in order of...er...importance:

  1) Obedience to the GB

  2) Obedience to local elders

  3) Appearance of "spirituality" - be seen in field service, be heard in meetings, have your magazine underlined / tablet highlighted, etc. Actual content or quality is irrelevant, the appearance is fully 100% of the import

  4) Giving money to WTS "worldwide work"
  

  5) Working on WT-sponsored projects - building projects, disaster relief, etc.

  6) Did I mention obedience?

  7) Keep an eye out for infractions of JW rules by your family & friends - report such to elders immediately

  8) Not sure if I brought this up - obedience

  Faith....pfft to your "faith". You can be an excellent JW, hell, you can become a GB member, without a milligram of "faith". Just follow the steps outlined above and you will rise quickly.
  
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  careful

  "It's not like they present much of anything new to the audience, it's the same old talks year after year, the same old information." That's why they're called yawn-fests.

  "And they used to be worse, I mean nine-day conventions." I disagree. Back in those days there was sooooo much more legitimate activity to take you away from the boring talks: making food for the meals, taking down a stage or building a new one for the next day, moving big stuff around with a forklift, practicing on your instrument for the live music, hanging out with various bros and sisters behind the scenes. You used to be able to stay with them if you were from out-of-town without feeling guilty that you had "special needs." We'd go to movies, parks, hiking, drinking, or on dates. That's where you could meet those of the opposite sex, and make interesting, new friends of all ages and backgrounds. It was truly "widening out" from your own congregation. It was a genuine escape from the doldrums of everyday Witness life in your local congo. Those assemblies had depth. I loved it. It was far better than these prepackaged, slick, slap-dab, TV dinners they've got now, however "shorter" they may be.