Had lunch with some Hudderites Sunday

[bfrank]

I just got back from a pheasant hunting trip in SD. My uncle's cousin has befriended a colony of Hutterites there. We were invited over for lunch on Sunday which was pretty cool to witness.

Of course everything is made in the colony. We had duck noodle soup, roast pen-raised sauerkraut-stuffed duck, homemade rolls, homemade wine, homemade tomato juice, carrots, green beans, of course more sauerkraut and probably other things I can not remember.

We were invited to church. Unfortunately, no one I was with has any desire to worship the Lord...certainly not in German. I wanted to go just to investigate.

It was pretty interesting as all the men sat on one side of the dining hall...the women in covering on the other. The kids were in another room and were incredibly well-behaved.

We had some doctrinal discussions...they were short-lived as all they know is what they've been taught. It was interesting to have some sort of fellowship and on this trip I desperately desired spending time with believers.

Anyone had a similar experience?

 

[Bladestunner316]

Ive never heard of huderites. Are they an offshoot of the amish movement?

 

[bfrank]

Ive never heard of huderites. Are they an offshoot of the amish movement?

They are an offshoot of the Anabaptists...like the mennonites or the amish. It just depends on who they followed...Menno, Amman, Hutter...

 

[Bladestunner316]

Interesting. So are they arminian in belief?

 

[bfrank]

Not sure...it didn't go that far. I spoke of my beliefs from a Calvinist perspective but a couple of the guys I spoke with were unable to articulate their beliefs...partially because of the German/Russian dialect.

 

[Bladestunner316]

Oh ok. Language would pose a problem, unless you were pentecostal of course

Im sure it was an interesting experience none the less.

Blade

 

[Pergamum]

I've been around folks like these.... usually there is a great deal of pride over their external holiness. But yes, the kids are always so well behaved.

Most are arminian to the core....and also non-evangelistic.


They are a living example of where some people's conjecture of what it means to be a separate people leads to.

 

[LadyFlynt]

Definately arminian, definately anabaptist, definately communists, and definately not what you want to get involved in. Their teens are permitted a bit of wildness, the family structure is weird (they all eat together, you are permitted a hotplate or small stove to fix your own tea and such, the kids move into dorms at a certain age, the children HAVE to go to day care while you have your communal work, etc). It's not neccessarily horrible, but it is controling and personally I believe it destroys the intended structure of the family put in place by God.

There are other things...but all hearsay. The reason I won't say is because it involves 2 parties (hutterites and charity), holy kidnapping, and personally I feel both parties have issues and are at fault.