The above programme, a follow up to one that was made about a schism in the Amish religion, follows two families as they try to make a go of living in the real world .
The shunning practised by the Amish is featured, it should be interesting.
"Leaving Amish Paradise" TONIGHT 16th.Mch. BBC2 21.00hrs GMT
by wobble 12 Replies latest jw friends
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boyzone
Thanks for the headsup Wobble, I'll be watching.
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Black Sheep
If you have the technology, please rip it. Any format will do.
These never make it as far as NZ.
Chris
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bez
will watch this :~)
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wobble
Someone please help Chris to watch this ?
This old techno-phobe doesn't know how.
The parallels between Amish and JW treatment of defectors were astounding at first to me, just so so many, but then I thought, well, all cults act that way. Shoot their wounded.
It was sad to see that the two families had gone from the frying pan into the fire, leaving the Amish and straight in to a similar church, just with fewer restrictions, but they are not really free.
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AnnOMaly
Thanks 3Mozzies! Very interesting. I worry about Ephraim. He has the makings of becoming a cult leader in his own right. He still has a b/w view of the world, understands the Bible in a way too literalistic and legalistic, and just seems to be trying too hard (cp. Eccl. 7:16-18 TEV). It's bound to be like that for a while, I guess, but I hope in time he calms down, becomes more moderate and finally 'gets it.'
It was also good to see how compassion in the face of tragedy overrode Amish rules so that the other couple's parents (the wife's parents, that is - the husband's parents didn't show), at considerable risk to themselves, came to support their daughter in her time of grief.
I wonder whether any JWs who watched this felt sympathy with the ex-Amish ... or whether they were on the side of the Amish community who ostracized them.
Does anyone remember this similar experience (Mennonites in this instance)?
A few days later, the church elders came to the home of Johann's family with an ultimatum for the interested ones: "We heard that Jehovah's Witnesses visited you. You must forbid them to return, and unless you hand over their literature to be burned, you face expulsion." They had had just one Bible study with the Witnesses, so this presented a formidable test.
"We cannot do as you ask," replied one of the family heads. "Those people came to teach us the Bible." How did the elders react? They expelled them for studying the Bible! This was a cruel blow indeed. The cart belonging to the colony cheese factory passed by the home of one family without collecting their milk, denying them their only source of income. One family head was dismissed from his job. Another was turned away from buying supplies at the colony store, and his ten-year-old daughter was expelled from school. Neighbors surrounded one home to take away the wife of one of the young men, asserting that she could not live with her expelled husband. Despite all of this, the families who studied the Bible did not give up their search for the truth. - w.05, 9/1, p. 25-6.
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dozy
Thanks for the heads-up , Wobble - I would have missed this.
The documentary was a bit disjointed , though I was again struck by some of the similarities between the Amish & JWs.
1... The father refused treatment for leukaemia and the state authorities had to step in.
2.. The Amish refers to everything & everyone outside them as "the world" and intrinsically evil.
3.. Shunning was the same , although there did seem to be some discretion allowed.
4...His confusion of moving from a life where everything had specific rules & regulations was very similar to ex-JWs.
Sadly it seemed that Ephraim had swapped one cult for another. His attitude that "God will provide" and his feeling that God was basically running his life for him reminded me of some extreme JWs.
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finallysomepride
bookmarked
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Heaven
I worry about Ephraim. He has the makings of becoming a cult leader in his own right.
I agree. What is his long term plan? What happens when he finds out the Bible is not from God?
Atheism is growing and being outside his Amish community, he will come up against this sooner or later. I don't think he is prepared for this. Can you imagine this guy talking to Christopher Hitchens or Bart Ehrman?