The Bruderhof - anyone else fascinated?

[ktgrok]

They are an anabaptist group that lives in communal groups, with all property owned by the group not the individual. They are a bit cult like in that they can send you anywhere in the world (to any of their settlements) and you have no say, you have to turn over all your posessions/money/etc when you join, etc. Unlike some other groups they are against corporal punishment, but they put babies in daycare at 6 weeks so the women can go back to work (in the group) at that time...my cynical guess is that it is both to increase productivity but also to have the children raised to belong to the group, not the parents, in some fashion. (I could be wrong)

But I do find them very very interesting! 

https://www.bruderhof.com/

Edited September 2, 2020 by Ktgrok

[Terabith]

Huh.  They run Community Playthings, a toy company I love, and Rifton, which makes equipment considered the gold standard for many folks with disabilities.  

[itsheresomewhere]

YouTube has a wonderful documentary on the ones in England. There are a couple of things that bother me about them.  I did crack up when questioned about how the men dress vs the women,  the one guy was like our women dress like the 1920s.  

[Momto6inIN]

I'm a conservative Anabaptist and my dad has accused our church of being cult-like before (I wasn't raised in this church but converted as an adult). I realize there are some baaaaaad groups out there that really are cults, but most people just use the word "cult" to mean a group they don't understand and think is weird. 

[Ailaena]

42 minutes ago, Momto6inIN said:

I'm a conservative Anabaptist and my dad has accused our church of being cult-like before (I wasn't raised in this church but converted as an adult). I realize there are some baaaaaad groups out there that really are cults, but most people just use the word "cult" to mean a group they don't understand and think is weird. 

I think most people use the term “cult” when they perceive a (generally religious) group dictating the lives, opinions, and finances of its members to a degree beyond what is considered normal by mainstream religions.

I know I’ve said this before, but I had always wanted to be a Amish/Mennonite/Convent/compound-y person if it weren’t for the religion. I love the idea of working for a community of extended family (may not love it irl...). There is a famous, non-religious compound that was recently accepting application, but they don’t allow pets 😕

 

ETA: I know absolutely nothing about Anabaptists, this was NOT intended to be some underhanded way of calling them a cult 

Edited September 2, 2020 by Ailaena

[SquirrellyMama]

They sound similar to what the Amana Colonies in Eastern Iowa were before the 1930s. 

Kelly

[Carol in Cal.]

If you like that group, you might really enjoy a book about a one of Christian community that was focussed on racial reconcilitation in Christ for quite a few years in the 70s to I think the 90s.  "Grace Matters" has a lot of documentation about it and is my favorite Christian book about racial issues in America.  Incidental to the story is contact with, service from, and exposure to the CA group that started Sojourners magazine.  I highly recommend this book; it is outstanding on several levels.

[Meriwether]

I attended a Mennonite church until I was almost 10, and we moved to a location that did not have a Mennonite community. One side of my family is Mennonite. The other was Amish. My grandparents on that side left the Amish church after they were married and joined the Mennonite church. That grandmother is 96 now and her mind isn't as sharp as it used to be, but she used to enjoy Amish fiction sometimes. Fiction being the operative word. 🤣  It is really hard for even well-meaning outsiders to understand a fairly closed culture. And not every outsider is well-meaning. Take anything you read with a hefty dose of salt.

[Momto6inIN]

3 hours ago, Ailaena said:

I think most people use the term “cult” when they perceive a (generally religious) group dictating the lives, opinions, and finances of its members to a degree beyond what is considered normal by mainstream religions.

I know I’ve said this before, but I had always wanted to be a Amish/Mennonite/Convent/compound-y person if it weren’t for the religion. I love the idea of working for a community of extended family (may not love it irl...). There is a famous, non-religious compound that was recently accepting application, but they don’t allow pets 😕

 

ETA: I know absolutely nothing about Anabaptists, this was NOT intended to be some underhanded way of calling them a cult 

Key word: "perceive" 😉

No offense taken! 😊😊😊

[EmilyGF]

I've been subscribing to their publication, Plough, for the past two years. They run some interesting interviews (Robby George + Cornel West, anyone?).

Some of the things you listed, @Ktgrok sound like old-school kibbutzes!

Emily

[Momto6inIN]

6 hours ago, Ktgrok said:

They are an anabaptist group that lives in communal groups, with all property owned by the group not the individual. They are a bit cult like in that they can send you anywhere in the world (to any of their settlements) and you have no say, you have to turn over all your posessions/money/etc when you join, etc. Unlike some other groups they are against corporal punishment, but they put babies in daycare at 6 weeks so the women can go back to work (in the group) at that time...my cynical guess is that it is both to increase productivity but also to have the children raised to belong to the group, not the parents, in some fashion. (I could be wrong)

But I do find them very very interesting! 

https://www.bruderhof.com/

Their website has probably never had so many hits! 😆

Reading through it, I was fascinated too. There truly is a lot to admire about them. But I have to wonder how it all works and how long lived some of these communities are and how long people usually stay. There's a reason why utopian communal living societies are so few and far between, ykwim?

[MercyA]

Yes, I read about the community when I first started wearing conservative dress and a covering. It seems a *very* Biblical way of living to me, although I think most Americans (including myself) would chafe against some of their practices, especially sharing property. 

I am still trying to train myself out of some specifically American philosophies that I now believe are unscriptural. Bravo to these people for living in such a counter-culture way for Christ.

I believe the Jesus People in Chicago also live in community with common property, but do it in a more hippie kind of way. 🙂 

Edited September 3, 2020 by MercyA

[Terabith]

16 minutes ago, MercyA said:

Yes, I read about the community when I first started wearing conservative dress and a covering. It seems a *very* Biblical way of living to me, although I think most Americans (including myself) would chafe against some of their practices, especially sharing property. 

I am still trying to train myself out of some specifically American philosophies that I now believe are unscriptural. Bravo to these people for living in such a counter-culture way for Christ.

I believe the Jesus People in Chicago also live in community with common property, but do it in a more hippie kind of way. 🙂 

I love the idea of communal living with common property in theory.  I'm not sure how much I would like it in practice.  

[Frances]

There’s a BBC documentary.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00071xr

I too have always been fascinated by these types of groups. 

[Momto6inIN]

8 hours ago, MercyA said:

Yes, I read about the community when I first started wearing conservative dress and a covering. It seems a *very* Biblical way of living to me, although I think most Americans (including myself) would chafe against some of their practices, especially sharing property. 

I am still trying to train myself out of some specifically American philosophies that I now believe are unscriptural. Bravo to these people for living in such a counter-culture way for Christ.

I believe the Jesus People in Chicago also live in community with common property, but do it in a more hippie kind of way. 🙂 

 

8 hours ago, Terabith said:

I love the idea of communal living with common property in theory.  I'm not sure how much I would like it in practice.  

Yeah, me too. I think the idea of communal living is very Scriptural and I admire people who can do it. But at the same time ...

When I wanna order a book or a gadget from Amazon, by golly, I wanna place the order lol! I don't want to have someone else assess whether or not I *need* it. Obviously I don't.

And an example of where I think it probably breaks down (or at the very least creates conflict in the community) is when you have people with different work ethics/habits all receiving the same benefits. My DH was raised on a farm and has an amazing internal drive to work hard from sunup til sundown. He truly is happier and more satisfied when he's working vs when he's goofing off, which makes him feel unfulfilled. Over the years he's worked with some amazingly talented and truly wonderful Christian people who happen to have different work habits. They put in their due time and then walk away. (Which is not only fine, but also a healthier and more balanced approach to life in many ways.) But DH is the one who is promoted and gets the raises because he's not only talented but he's a workhorse. I have a hard time seeing how my DH wouldn't get taken advantage of in a communal living situation. He would probably be fine with it, but I would resent it.