My twin brother fucking seriously wants to become amish. First off you can't just start going to an amish church, you have to be born into the community. He is such an idiot, I feel real bad for him. He thinks that God is telling him to become Amish, and spends all day reading the Bible. I have no idea were he got this idea from, but he was involved with this really lyberal youth group for a while which got him started. My mom made him stop going to that church and going to ours (Methodist). Well, he hosts "Bible sessions" with other members of this cult and I've been told that he said to pray for me and my family once, it's getting out of controll. Up untill half a year ago or so, he hasn't been religious at all and now he wants to be Amish!

What should I do? What should I tell him? Should I be worried?

quote:Originally posted by Insomniac119:

My twin brother fucking seriously wants to become amish. First off you can't just start going to an amish church, you have to be born into the community. He is such an idiot, I feel real bad for him. He thinks that God is telling him to become Amish, and spends all day reading the Bible. I have no idea were he got this idea from, but he was involved with this really lyberal youth group for a while which got him started. My mom made him stop going to that church and going to ours (Methodist). Well, he hosts "Bible sessions" with other members of this cult and I've been told that he said to pray for me and my family once, it's getting out of controll. Up untill half a year ago or so, he hasn't been religious at all and now he wants to be Amish!

What should I do? What should I tell him? Should I be worried?

Conversely, I'll bet if you're brother wanted to be a porn star, you'd have no objections. Let the boy alone. You're acting like he just shot your entire family.

The Amish live good, wholesome lives. But, (and this is a big but), they have no spirit of evangelism. The Amish are very much like the Essenes. The Essenes were a psuedo-spiritual movement of Judaism during the Roman occupation of Palestine. They lived upright lives, but practiced a monastic lifestyle. Though they loved God, they lost consciousness for the evangelistic mission of Israel. They were content to lock out the world and let it die without hope. I charge the Amish with the same thing. Yes, they live good lives, but they fail to meet Jesus' last message, which is: "Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations." Matthew 28:19

But irregardless of that, your brother could be doing worse things. He could be some junky strolling the streets of North Hollywood. He's still your bro.

I just want him to be normal. I have no objections to living a good, wholesome life but that doesn't mean you have to live like electricity is the devil.

Let him live the life he wants, if it's a phase then he'll grow out of it.

quote:Originally posted by Insomniac119:

I just want him to be normal. I have no objections to living a good, wholesome life but that doesn't mean you have to live like electricity is the devil.

I'm not sure what is considering living a 'normal' life. If it's ball games and barbeques, and snapping towels in the locker room, maybe he wants to be above it. I don't think that the Amish believe electricity is from the devil. Their quarrel is with mankind always trying to take the easy route, as it promotes laziness. I think this is cool, because especially in America, it is becoming the 'normal' way of life, to be a sloth. But, the Amish take it to the extreme. No body said we have to live in the stone age, least of all, Jesus.

I'm sorry you feel like you're losing your brother. (I assume that's your contention, especially being that he's your twin. I don't know if that's how you feel about it.) In any case, as I said, he could be doing worse things. And as somebody mentioned in another post, it may just be a phase. I hope for his sake, and possibily yours in the future, that it isn't. Just monitor him and make sure he doesn't grow up casting stones (either literally or metaphorically). Young Christians, early in the faith can develop a 'holier than thou', complex.

Anyway, hope that makes a little more sense of the whole thing.

He doesn't just live by the Bible, he is obsessed with it. For example, the book of Revelations: I see it as a giant metaphore for why you should live as a christian and people shouldn't really take it literally. But he actually thinks those things are going to happen.

I hope it's just a phase. I don't know what to think.

Let him do what he wants, it's not your life to command.

quote:Originally posted by Insomniac119:

He doesn't just live by the Bible, he is obsessed with it. For example, the book of Revelations: I see it as a giant metaphore for why you should live as a christian and people shouldn't really take it literally. But he actually thinks those things are going to happen.

I hope it's just a phase. I don't know what to think.

I do to. Yes, it uses symbology and metaphor, but it is a literal occurance. When you read about the Dragon and Harlot of Babylon and 10 diadems, they sound very fanciful. If you aren't familiar with Scripture it is a very hard read. In fact, up until the turn of the century, very few people understood it well... That includes the Biblical scholars of that era. But things are unfolding before our eyes, revealing things that seemed inconcievable. Your brother sounds dope! Look, if you want to start a thread on it, I'd be more than happy to discuss it with you.