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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Bruderhof Cult? - Absolutely not says cult expert
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Baptist Trainfan
Shipmate
# 15128
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Grec Man:
Thanks Baptist Trainfan, I know the place well.
Thought you might - though the missionary society have recently sold up and moved to Coventry.
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mr cheesy
Shipmate
# 3330
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Posted
OK, well, I suppose I'll post the other side of the coin.
Cult Awareness and Information Center Why I Believe the Bruderhof is a Cult
quote:
The Bruderhof demands your life.. period. You are expected to give all time and money to the Bruderhof. Your relationships are controlled by the leadership. You thoughts, feelings, and emotions are constantly called into question and manipulated for the leaders purposes. Manipulation by fear and crisis are commonplace at the Bruderhof. Upon expulsion the members is often given little or no help. The Bruderhof has even made it difficult for ex-members to find work.
Granddaughter of founder lashes out after a sad incident in Australia
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Dutch-based granddaughter of the Bruderhof founder, Dr Eberhard Arnold, lashed out at the movement, labelling it ''a cult''. Dr Arnold founded the Bruderhof in Germany in 1920, aiming to build a community in which love and justice overcame isolation and greed. ''I am so angry and sad,'' said his granddaughter, Elizabeth Bohlken. ''It has become the exact opposite of what my grandfather set out to achieve.''
Critic worries about the children
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''I definitely view the Bruderhof as a cult,'' said Mr. Sender, who says he has been cut off from his grandchildren because of the newsletter that he began publishing in 1989. Mr. Sender says his main concern is for the Bruderhof's children.
''The Bruderhof children's rights are not adequately protected. Instead, I believe the Bruderhof holds them to the adults' perfectionist standards of purity and self-abnegation, standards which they as adults accepted voluntarily of their own free will -- but which the children have not and could not at such an early stage in life.''
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arse
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Baptist Trainfan
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# 15128
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Grec Man:
The point about ex-members being critical is well stated - people who used to shop in Tesco but now go to Lidl will probably have a litany of complaints about Tesco. That doesn't make Tesco a bad place to shop.
No, but if Tesco are sensible they will at least take note of the complaints to see if they have any substance to them.
[ 28. July 2017, 08:06: Message edited by: Baptist Trainfan ]
Posts: 9750 | From: The other side of the Severn | Registered: Sep 2009
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Grec Man
Apprentice
# 18813
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Posted
Thanks for the edit of my first post.
The thing about people being cut off is really not true, though it is often repeated and of course makes a nice accusation for those with a chip on their shoulder.
Here is a posting made on our Facebook page from a young man who left the community, in response to a similar accusation:
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To answer yalls question, I grew up in the Bruderhof. As I finished up high school and then graduated, I moved from community to community, living about a year or so at each. Eventually I left. Not because I was mistreated but because I needed to find out what I believed in and what I wanted to do with my life. I have the utmost respect for the Bruderhof and the radical lifestyle that they live and couldn't have asked for a better Childhood and upbringing. Just. Excuse they live in community and many Christians don't doesn't mean either party is in the wrong. If some feel called to live their beliefs out in community then awesome. At the end of the day tho, I believe that the most important thing isn't whether you live in community or not, but that you give your life to Jesus and let that emanate from your heart in the form of love to all. It's a struggle for sure to show love to everyone. I know for me there's plenty of people out there that I have a hard time showing love to especially those who live a lifestyle that I don't agree with but that don't mean that I shouldn't show them love. Just a lil good for thought and I hope that may answer your questions.
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mr cheesy
Shipmate
# 3330
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Baptist Trainfan:
After all, the simplicity of a "Lord's Table" rather than an altar is, in itself, iconic. So is the prominence of the pulpit in a Methodist chapel.
Yes. What I meant was that although the communities are arranged around working space, living space and outdoor space, the pictures andm even the way things are arranged are clearly showing that they're a particular religious group rather than just (say) a college.
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arse
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mr cheesy
Shipmate
# 3330
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Grec Man:
Thanks for the edit of my first post.
The thing about people being cut off is really not true, though it is often repeated and of course makes a nice accusation for those with a chip on their shoulder.
Oh right. So it isn't true that parents move to other countries leaving siblings who then have little contact with them?
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arse
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Grec Man
Apprentice
# 18813
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Posted
Of course people move around. I don't think that is a trait particular to the Bruderhof. Almost everyone I know who is not part of the Bruderhof has parents, siblings or children who live in a different country or just very far away.
[ 28. July 2017, 08:13: Message edited by: Grec Man ]
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mr cheesy
Shipmate
# 3330
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Grec Man:
The thing about people being cut off is really not true, though it is often repeated and of course makes a nice accusation for those with a chip on their shoulder.
Tell us about your family. I assume you're from a typical Bruderhof family, which probably means you have 6 or more siblings. How many of those are in the community and how many have left?
How often do you talk to those who have left?
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arse
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mr cheesy
Shipmate
# 3330
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Grec Man:
Of course people move around. I don't think that is a trait particular to the Bruderhof. Almost everyone I know who is not part of the Bruderhof has parents, siblings or children who live in a different country or just very far away.
That's true of course. And we don't all speak to everyone we know on a daily basis.
But that's also quite different from someone at the age of 16 leaving the community, next hearing that the rest of their family has left the country and then having little contact with them again.
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arse
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Grec Man
Apprentice
# 18813
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Posted
Well, I don't have 6 siblings. Sorry to disappoint your stereotypes yet again.
I spend an enjoyable evening last week in London with a young man who left the community a year ago. That doesn't seem like being "cut off".
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mr cheesy
Shipmate
# 3330
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Grec Man:
Well, I don't have 6 siblings. Sorry to disappoint your stereotypes yet again.
Interesting. How many siblings do you have outside the community?
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arse
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Grec Man
Apprentice
# 18813
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Posted
quote:
someone at the age of 16 leaving the community
The vast majority of young people who leave the community are at least 19 or older. Very few leave before then, and I don't know of anyone who left at 16.
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mr cheesy
Shipmate
# 3330
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Posted
It is also interesting that people are leaving at 18/19, I had heard that it was around 16 so I stand corrected.
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arse
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Grec Man
Apprentice
# 18813
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Posted
The question of interaction between different churches is a good one though, and worthy of a discussion.
The Bruderhof has a long-standing relationship with Ascension Trust who run the well-known Street Pastors programme. Street Pastors deliberately brings together at least 4 different churches in an area to run a branch. I have only heard positive things about this. A couple of our young men in London are part of the team and love it.
What other initiatives are there that do something similar?
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