Any Christian fiction readers aboard?

[Shinola]

^^ Thank you. Quakers are inclusive, tolerant, and into equality of all kinds. The Quakers I've known are fully integrated into mainstream society, and it seems pretty easy to attend a Friends meeting. They encourage a direct experience of Christ, rather than pummeling people with dogma. The idea is to develop your inner life and be your own moral authority. And to do good in the world.

A very cool religion, very simple and sincere--maybe my favorite.

[witchcurlgirl]

I'll testify to that as well. My cousins attended Brooklyn Friends School, a prep school run by Quakers, and I've known some. They're progressive, tolerant and all live in the modern world with all that it entails. Not remotely like traditional Mennonites or Amish.

[Cali]

Originally Posted by A*O

By "fundie" I mean that they embrace a very fundamental, simple, no frills form of Christianity. It's difficult to believe sometimes but there are still quite a few Christians out there who aren't right wing GOP nutters.

Gotcha. I was just going off the usual usage of fundie around here, which isn't flattering.

Originally Posted by sputnik

i wouldn't put the quakers in with the amish and mennonites. if anything, just based on the gender issue, quakers are much more progressive. mennonites and the amish are way more traditional when it comes to women.

Right, but the Quakers and Mennonites do have ties- there is (or was) such a thing as Mennonite-Quakers. That was my only point in mentioning them.

I wasn't bagging on the Quakers at all- I think highly of their religion.

[Novice]

Originally Posted by McJag

Actually,you can get the full Bible at SamsClub. Read by James Earl Jones,sounding very much like the Almighty!

Now, if they can do some pagan literature with JEJ, I'm in!

Originally Posted by WhoAmI

Modern Amish quilts are not very well made. Except for a few really top-notch quilters, they use polyester fill and cheap poly-cotton fabric. The wordworking is mediocre, too--it's usually done quickly for the English who they assume don't know quality. They're right. Canning/bread making, etc. depends on the individual woman doing it. I got some truly horrifying preserves this year--watery and with a dubious seal.

The Amish women I see with regularity often looked whipped and dead-eyed by the time they're 20. They're not spunky heroines with shiny hair.

I'm not saying their lifestyle is bad or they're all miserable. It's just foolish and insulting to reduce them to a romantic stereotype.

Wa????

And yeah, its hard work, in all weathers if you're outside...

Originally Posted by ManxMouse

I guess I don't get why reading these fictional books would be so enlightening. If you want to learn the reality of these people's lives, why not get a non-fiction book about it? That would be a hell of a lot more interesting to me than some romantic novelization of these groups.

Probably so that they can romanticise the notion of hard manual labour, working the fields (in all weather), etc, etc, etc.
The truth about living in the country is unpalletable to many & thats not with an Amish way of life. When I talk to my friends about how the electric goes off (regularly) or the water is frozen in winter they're horrified....

[A*O]

If they have to rely, literally, on horse power then hard manual labour for other things is the only alternative they have! I can see the appeal of the traditional simplicity of their lives and I'd certainly like to try some kind of Amish "retreat" for a while but I don't think I could make it permanent. I like my creature comforts too much. Sad but true.

[WhoAmI]

Novice, were you asking about the "English"? That's what the Amish call all non-Amish folk. (Not English like from England, but English like English-speakers.)

[marvel]

I loved the Babylon Rising Series a lot more than the Left Behind series. I can't wait for the 5th one. Its pretty much like Indiana Jones looking for real biblical artifacts and someone is always trying to kill him. Thats what I like. Add a superhero element and I will love it.

[Novice]

Originally Posted by WhoAmI

Novice, were you asking about the "English"? That's what the Amish call all non-Amish folk. (Not English like from England, but English like English-speakers.)

Yes I was! Thanks for explaining that, it just looked weird to someone that didn't know the term!

I was wondering why the English (i.e. Brits) wouldn't know good woodworking from bad...

It sounds very much hit & miss; depending on what you get from whom... How come their foods don't have to apply to the food hygiene rules - or do they? & its just the manufacture that is "dodgy"...

[WhoAmI]

The sell food from roadside stands or at flea-market type places, not in regular stores (that I've seen, anyway), so it's all hit-or-miss.

[Novice]

Ah so that's how they get around the other regulations too..