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Post by xna on Mar 24, 2020 15:50:55 GMT -5
The herd keeps the sheep in line, as much as the Shepards. *** Yes maybe more so. Especially when it is close family. And underage children or spouses who financially depend upon someone who is very important in the system. It's the glue of tribes, & not unique to religion. Religion just adds a carrot and stick after death, making fear of death even more potent than it is.
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Post by Pragmatic on Mar 24, 2020 16:30:28 GMT -5
This has always been an issue of some contention with me, ever since as kids on holiday we could not understand why there were no emblems in our Sunday morning meeting which was not in a normal "sanctified" home. Is it about control? Probably, yes. Even though the workers, or elders, may not be the controlling type, it is because they, in turn, are being controlled, or at best are being deferential to those higher up the food chain. To me, it's either you revere the sacrifice enough to have communion, or you don't, and should have nothing to do with someone else saying it is the bricks and mortar that do validate the qualification. The current lockdown for a few weeks will surely result in a few "rules" being broken.
And of course, on the subject of fear, apocalyptic messages is one of the most abused "levers of power" in religion to control the leity.
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Post by snow on Mar 25, 2020 16:08:26 GMT -5
When a lost eternity is factored into the equation, it is different. Some parents have conditioned children to believe certain things and it is hard to go against it for some people. They wouldn't want to burn forever for not doing the right thing about the emblems. The RCC does much the same. It decides who gets communion and uses this for control. It only works in denominations that run on fear. After a priest tested positive for Covid-19 the pope has said that you temporarily don't have to confess through a priest that you can go straight to God! Wow, what a concept! cruxnow.com/vatican/2020/03/if-you-cant-go-to-confession-take-your-sorrow-directly-to-god-pope-says/
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2020 16:09:19 GMT -5
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Post by snow on Mar 25, 2020 16:09:57 GMT -5
JWs and Mormons seem to operate that way. Get people to fear going against the leaders lest they suffer eternal consequences. The weak and vulberable members and especially prone to not question their leaders. When a group tries to reduce people's self worth (subtle or not) people lack the proper mechanisms in dealing with the group pressure. My sense is that it's not so much the workers that have the control but as the 2x2 "live apart from the world" their peers most all of their social support is inside the 2x2. Some times its multiple generational peer pressure. It's very hard to walk away from everyone in your life and start from scratch without emotional and often financial support. The herd keeps the sheep in line, as much as the Shepards. Totally agree with that. I am so glad that I walked away early. I have such respect for those who professed for 50 60 years and walked away. How hard that must have been, how courageous.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2020 17:07:07 GMT -5
From xna's post : "The herd keeps the sheep in line, as much as the Shepards. "
Herd mentality (also known as mob mentality) describes a behavior in which people act the same way or adopt similar behaviors as the people around them — often ignoring their own feelings in the process. Think of a sheep blindly following the flock no matter where they go just because that's what the herd is doing.
Because of advancement in technology people are becoming more individual in their thinking. The younger generation are much more savvy than we were, learning to think for themselves. They won't accept any cock-and-bull story, they will fact check it. That is what we were not able to do, so we followed blindly, until people like Doug Parker opened our eyes. His book presented facts to us, that showed us the deceit we had been subjected to.
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Post by Get off of TMB on Mar 25, 2020 20:03:24 GMT -5
Old timers didn't have as much education, information or travel experience as today. This younger generation will question without feeling guilty. They may stay in the group so they can be around family but they aren't going to let the group control their lives anymore.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2020 0:32:18 GMT -5
From xna's post : "The herd keeps the sheep in line, as much as the Shepards. " Herd mentality (also known as mob mentality) describes a behavior in which people act the same way or adopt similar behaviors as the people around them — often ignoring their own feelings in the process. Think of a sheep blindly following the flock no matter where they go just because that's what the herd is doing. Because of advancement in technology people are becoming more individual in their thinking. The younger generation are much more savvy than we were, learning to think for themselves. They won't accept any cock-and-bull story, they will fact check it. That is what we were not able to do, so we followed blindly, until people like Doug Parker opened our eyes. His book presented facts to us, that showed us the deceit we had been subjected to. "Mob" mentality only applies to people who live in areas with groups of kangaroos! 😂😂😂 (That joke would've murdered with the crows!)
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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2020 0:48:42 GMT -5
Q: What do you get when you cross an elephant with a kangaroo? A: Bloody great holes all over Australia.
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Post by Get off of TMB on Mar 27, 2020 13:55:08 GMT -5
Somewhere I read some notes about some Mexican boys crossing a flooded river to get wine. The brother worker said you can't have the bread without the wine and vice versa,
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Post by Get off of TMB on Mar 27, 2020 14:06:04 GMT -5
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Post by Get off of TMB on Mar 27, 2020 14:07:39 GMT -5
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Post by Get off of TMB on Apr 6, 2020 16:28:36 GMT -5
The administrator of one of the professing facebook groups has just posted a thread where he believes that the requirement that the emblems must be taken in a worker approved of location is just a tradition. This person is nearing 80. I hope this issue is debated and resolved. Some of the friends visiting could have a meeting in their motel and partake of the bread and wine if they want to. As he stated, visiting workers often miss the bread and wine for weeks and even more than a month at a time.
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Post by iam on Apr 6, 2020 18:35:14 GMT -5
I read that. It's interesting that when when someone with authority says something, it's always taken as the gospel truth and nothing more is done. Thus years turn into decades of something that was said that gets repeated over and over again that really does not speak of Christ. The woman that wanted to be moved to another meeting...the answer was if you bring Christ He will be there. That may be true, but something is also missing. Where was the care for that sheep that I have heard many call "sick" and weak? Just heard that said again recently about a family that didn't get out to meetings often anymore, and it grieved my heart because I knew the attitudes of many towards a "sick sheep". That is not Jesus. And it grieves Him much to see that kind of spirit in us. But someone said it and it sounds good and so all the sheep digest the same weeds. I did a calculation of all the young people in the area where we lived that went to meetings and we lost over half of them. Quite a large number. Of course, the general thought has always been, it's their own fault. Because none of us want to believe that we're NOT our brother's keeper the way Christ taught us. That wouldn't be good for our egos. After all, we look after the the best of us, why should we care about the least. It's an every man for himself attitude very often. So who's fault REALLY is it? No one's? We can only blame ourselves? That's what we believe but I often think of what Isaiah said "their leaders cause them to go astray and those that are lead of them are destroyed." Those were God's people. They couldn't believe it then any more than we do today.
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Post by Get off of TMB on Apr 9, 2020 7:35:50 GMT -5
Do this in remembrance of HIM...our Saviour and not THEM...a human ministry.
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Post by xna on Apr 9, 2020 12:02:10 GMT -5
Determining were and how the "Taking Of The Emblems” ritual occurs for the 2x2 is like in other denominations. Someone makes a rule, and their members follow it.
What’s unique about the 2x2 ritual is they use the code phrase "Taking Of The Emblems” instead of the vernacular; communion.
It’s the use of "insider code words" that makes the 2x2 communion ritual different than the “worldly churches” - more code words.
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