Are Jehovah's Witnesses on their way to practicing Amish style Rumspringa? Basically pushing young people out into the world and seeing who comes back with their faith intact. After so many generations of discouraging education, it seems like an easy way to ensure that there are some educated born-ins.
JW Rumspringa
by SonoftheTrinity 6 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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Village Idiot
Interesting thought. It surprises me that an authoritarian religion like the Amish would even have such an arrangement. All other authoritarian religions, JWs included, don't want their youth to be knowledgeable of the world let alone getting muddy and soiled in it. -
SonoftheTrinity
Well the polygamists in Utah do basically the same thing. They became so authoritarian that they created an atmosphere of hostility toward the next generation of young men so that they can have the young women.
It seems like the more millenarian the JWs become, the more they glorify the older generation as the older generation can't bear the thought that the crescendo of history at Armageddon doesn't happen in their generation, thus making their faith and their life insignificant. The temptation to take their frustration out on the next generation will be there.
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millie210
JW leaders feel very threatened by young men.
If you want to see a good example of it, watch a young man try to rise in the ranks.
He either has to be connected to powers that be
Be super pioneer/spiritual
Brown nose to the ultimate degree
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prologos
no, any deviation from wt moral code, even if you get married, and-- it would not be in the hall. and keeping young men down, with the new "christian living" meetings methods, there will no more public speakers trained. New stars, with better education are a threat to the old guard, and will be held down, made to slave for decades.
rumspringa? the best jump will be to get right out.
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wannaexit
They don't have to push the young ones into a "rumpspringa". There is a lot of freedom among the witness teenagers these days. The kids are doing whatever they want. There are always parties, they travel (under the guise of going where the need is great), they go to their proms, they are getting paired up and dating very young and unchaperoned and no one says a thing.
When I was was growing up, there were so many rules, we literally choked and many in my age group left once they had the chance.
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Vidiot
The WTS would never do this.
Why?
Because virtually no one would come back.