Biosophilia

"Roots of our movement can be found in Anabaptism and in the Radical Reformation of the early 1500s, when thousands left the institutional churches to live a life of sharing and nonviolence in Christian communities."
- http://bruderhof.com/us/Who_we_are/History.htm

You know, for all their deep flaws and errors, the Anabaptist and Radical Reformation movements do have a thing or two for which they can be commended. I hope the so-called "emerging church," parts of which look to similar roots, can learn from the bad and the good of these movements in history, and steer a better course. I've seen things here & there that give me reason to believe this might be happening, e.g. people leaving institutional churches and creating communities that, surprisingly, prioritize liturgy, love, and life in Christ. I wonder if the institutional churches are in for another cycle of death & resurrection, such that they die and are resurrected as something "same but different," something better. Of course, many don't want Christ's bride to be sanctified if sanctification means change.

I'd be curious to know how you found out about the Bruderhof communities, and if you've known anyone associated with them.

Very interesting- it seemed like a conglomeration of several different groups - obviously you're reminded of the Amish because they are a community in New York/PA area, so it seemed strange to see them on riding mowers and making a website.

Cool link. I'm with Amos, how did you hear of them?

I heard about Bruderhof in a very roundabout way through a fellow blogger. Dave Hegemann's blog is called "The Native Tourist", and he quoted someone as trivia and asked "who is this?" The commenters on his blog had to do searches, and one of them linked the quote listed on a Bruderhof page. So that's the history.

You're right, Shannon, that it resembles the Amish communities, but it is striking that they are using machinery. I have heard, however, that some Amish communities use machinery in their "professions" but not in their homes. So, for example, they might have a telephone in the barn but not in the house. I don't have a link to any Amish sites, because . . . well, they're hard to find.