Social Justice and the Bruderhof 

Interesting you're expanding. I'm visiting Beechgrove in Kent UK hopefully in June. I'm very interested in joining the Bruderhof community. I pray daily and feel called to that way of life. I'm arriving at it a little late in life but there's still life and energy in this old dog yet. Bruderhof should open a community in Scotland. Apart from the fact it is a beautiful country who may win independence from the the rest of the UK there is alot of depravation and poverty in Scotland and related problems alcoholism, drug addiction etc.

An interesting discussion. I remember years ago at university being involved with left wing politics but was struck at the time with the realisation that many of the most radical were so focused on far away countries ( which is good to help the poorest in other countries) but they were often very switched off to the suffering of their neighbours, the person in the next room or flat. It is important to see and support those suffering whoever and where ever they are.

What ways has and does Bruderhof fight abortion ?

I just found you guys and your communities. Thank you for the work you're doing!

I really enjoy your videos. Thank you! As a Catholic... who promotes nonviolence... I resonate deeply with so much of what you share. I'm glad we will connect as brothers and sisters around the throne of Jesus - and before heaven - through a shared commitment to His teachings. As for the death penalty, did you know that federal executions are proceeding rapidly this year? There have been 8 federal executions this year already - including Orlando Hall - who was the first person charged with the death penalty under the 1994 crime bill you mention in this video. Please look at Brandon Bernard's case: helpsavebrandon.com He is set to be executed on December 10th... Human Rights Day...

I have a question. You would protest a war that results in freeing people who are experiencing oppression from dictator's? Or certain wars?

Love the Bruderhof. ❤️ I wish you had branches in Asia. Love from Malaysia 🇲🇾

Thanks for another thoughtful video. Regarding the Bruderhof's desire to expand out west or down south, are y'all envisioning small, urban or large, rural communities? Either way, if you start looking in the Houston area, I'd be happy to help ... that is if I can be of any help. We could certainly use more Anabaptists in Texas! Plus, you can grow lots of tasty citrus here! Rob and Bettina Zumpe and Red Zimmerman have my contact info. Blessings.

Personally, I disagree with your viewpoint on social justice and "protesting." The two scriptures which come to mind right off are... "Resist not evil" Matthew 5:39 and "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Zechariah 4:6. So, the "appearance of evil," which Jesus instructed us not to regard, is not overcome by physical strength nor mental power, but rather, by abiding in the Holy Spirit wherein we "cast all our cares on Him" (Christ) 1 Peter 5:7. When we make human efforts to rid the world of evil, whether it be by physically and mentally combating it, or by protesting about the perceived problem wherein we take one side or the other, then we are resisting the appearance of evil. How many of us have become fully sanctified holy in the image and likeness of Christ Jesus, having put on his mind and stature? How can any of us "judge righteous judgment" if we have not yet been made Christlike in holiness? The duty of devout Christians is not to try to transform the external world by physical power or mental might but rather to transform ourselves within, to put on that exalted state of higher consciousness where we are always abiding in the indwelling Christ. Why do I try to pull the speck out of another human's eye when I still have a plank in my own? Have I been made perfect in Christ yet? The Bible clearly teaches that we are not to fight our own battles but we are the take it to the Lord and let him go before us to correct the appearances of evil. Isaiah 45:2. Of course we Christians are against war, against killing our fellow humans, against killing the unborn, against pornography and pedophilia, against the violence and sexual perversion depicted in movies and on television shows, etc. However, by protesting these things publicly, we only increase the polarity because there is another side which is functioning as an opposition force and they maintain the conviction that they are right and we are wrong. When you have two opposing forces facing off, we with our protest signs and the other side with their particular protest signs... then hatred and conflict is always escalated. Therefore, when a problem enters our consciousness, we are to go into our closet, in solitude, secrecy, and stillness, become receptive to the Presence of our omniscient Lord, and commune with Him. We do not even ask Jesus to do anything about the perceived problem because there is no need to ask because He already knows everything. He knows what is weighing heavily upon our minds and hearts---how we hate the appearance of evil that has come into our personal perception. But we must not think about this evil or in any way give it power because Almighty God is the absolute and only power in the universe and we must consciously remember and acknowledge this Truth Miracles happen when we take it to Christ, casting all our cares, anxieties and worries into His lap. During our prayer-receptive state of consciously communing with the Lord's indwelling Presence within our heart, we are surrendering everything to Him. THIS IS HOW OUR PERCEIVED PROBLEMS ARE BEST DEALT WITH...THEN WE LATER WITNESS, IN MANY CASES, MIRACLES HAPPEN. God transforms the appearance of evil into the appearance of good. We must get into the habit of no longer relying on our limited and erroneous "knowledge of "good and evil"---which is what got Adam and Eve kicked out of Paradise in the first place. From God's Divine Perspective (the only one that matters) there is no evil on the earth! So why are we beholding it? You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness. Habakkuk 1:13 AS WE BECOME MORE CHRISTLIKE THEN THE APPEARANCE OF EVIL DIMINISHES WITHIN US, INTERNALLY, AND WITHOUT US, EXTERNALLY. Consider this... If 100% of the world population was fully sanctified holy in Christ Jesus, would any evil, or appearance of evil, be present in the world? Of course not !!! In Reality, Almighty God is the absolute and only Presence and Power in the universe. But we will not clearly see this until we have attained a high degree of Christ-likeness. "I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:" Isaiah 45:5 In other words, there is no power other than the Absolute Power (OMNIPOTENCE) of Almighty God. Jesus said it shall be done unto us as we believe...therefore, if we believe that there is such thing as a power, or powers, opposing God then we have perpetrated idolatry and we are living in a state of faithless fear. Whatever a man fears shall come upon him. Proverbs 10:24. One who is holy and Christlike is fearless. The ungodly unbelievers fight, resist and foolishly attempt to vanquish the appearance of evil in the world absent any reliance on God. The believers, however, ignore the appearance of evil, altogether, and fix their gaze on God, instead, trusting wholly in Him. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Isaiah 26:3 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

Personally, I disagree with your viewpoint on social justice and "protesting." The two scriptures which come to mind right off are... "Resist not evil" Matthew 5:39 and "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Zechariah 4:6. So, the "appearance of evil," which Jesus instructed us not to regard, is not overcome by physical strength nor mental power, but rather, by abiding in the Holy Spirit wherein we "cast all our cares on Him" (Christ) 1 Peter 5:7. When we make human efforts to rid the world of evil, whether it be by physically and mentally combating it, or by protesting about the perceived problem wherein we take one side or the other, then we are resisting the appearance of evil. How many of us have become fully sanctified holy in the image and likeness of Christ Jesus, having put on his mind and stature? How can any of us "judge righteous judgment" if we have not yet been made Christlike in holiness? The duty of devout Christians is not to try to transform the external world by physical power or mental might but rather to transform ourselves within, to put on that exalted state of higher consciousness where we are always abiding in the indwelling Christ. Why do I try to pull the speck out of another human's eye when I still have a plank in my own? Have I been made perfect in Christ yet? The Bible clearly teaches that we are not to fight our own battles but we are the take it to the Lord and let him go before us to correct the appearances of evil. Isaiah 45:2. Of course we Christians are against war, against killing our fellow humans, against killing the unborn, against pornography and pedophilia, against the violence and sexual perversion depicted in movies and on television shows, etc. However, by protesting these things publicly, we only increase the polarity because there is another side which is functioning as an opposition force and they make maintain the conviction that they are right and we are wrong. When you have two opposing forces facing off, we with our protest signs and the other side with their particular protest signs... then hatred and conflict is always escalated. Therefore, when a problem enters our consciousness, we are to go into our closet, in solitude, secrecy, and stillness, become receptive to the Presence of our omniscient Lord, and commune with Him. We do not even ask Jesus to do anything about the perceived problem because there is no need to ask because he already knows everything. He also knows what is weighing heavily upon our minds and hearts, how we hate the appearance of evil that has come into our personal perception. But we must not think about this evil or in any way give it power because almighty God is the absolute and only power in the universe and we must acknowledge it as so. Miracles happen when we take it to Christ, cast all our cares, anxieties and worries into His lap, during the state of consciously communing with his indwelling Presence within our heart THAT PERCEIVED PROBLEMS ARE BEST DEALT WITH AND IN MANY CASES, MIRACULOUSLY RESOLVED. We must get into the habit of no longer relying on our limited and erroneous "knowledge of ,good and evil" which is what got Adam and Eve kicked out of Paradise in the first place. From God's Divine Perspective (the only one that matters) there is no evil on the earth! So why are we beholding it? AS WE BECOME MORE CHRIST LIKE THEN THE APPEARANCE OF EVIL DIMINISHES WITHIN US, INTERNALLY, AND WITHOUT US, EXTERNALLY. Consider this... If 100% of the world population was fully sanctified holy in Christ Jesus, would any evil or appearance of evil be present in the world? Of course not !!! In Reality, Almighty God is the absolute and only Presence and Power in the universe. But we will not clearly see this until we have attained a high degree of Christ-likeness. "I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:" Isaiah 45:5 In other words, there is no power other than the Absolute Power (OMNIPOTENCE) of Almighty God. Jesus said it shall be done unto us as we believe... Therefore, if we believe that there is such thing as a power, or powers, opposing God then we have our perpetrating idolatry and living in a state of faithless fear. Whatever a man fear shall come upon him. Proverbs 10:24. One who is holy and Christlike is fearless.

Have you ever thought about making a branch in Latinamerica besides Uruguay? I would join your community if you had a branch in Mexico.

So in the Bruderhof the pope , the jesuit pope is Saintly. Did I hear right?

I love the modest clothing! As Christians we need to advocate for the poor and disabled, however, we must use wisdom and discernment when selecting which groups out in the world to support. For instance, abolition of slavery movements in the 1800s were made successful thanks to the tireless work of Christians. But we must be wary of modern groups like antifa and Black Lives Matter. Don't be fooled: these groups are based on a violent, anti-Christian, Marxist ideology and should be avoided, if not confronted concerning their tactics to achieve "social justice." The best thing Christians can do in places needing help is to provide a role model for better living and to teach individuals that the surest way out of poverty is through hard work and self-discipline. This is what I learned from Dr. Ben Carson as he related his experience of living in poverty as a child of a single mother.

Thanks for this important discussion.

Where on the West Coast???

Great discussion! Really appreciate these videos. To where down South are you expanding?

Great conversation today. Your comments are very much appreciated.

Where on the west coast are you expanding to?

I have been making comments in response to articles on the digital Washington Post newspaper in connection with the recent American election. Some of my comments (most of my comments) have been harsh in tone. I have wondered whether or not it is the right thing to do. My logic has been that maybe it will shock someone into thinking differently; maybe the conversation could be changed. Perhaps of course I'm wrong. I did get some replies both negative and positive. I'm going to have to think about it more. Your videos are very useful. Thank you.

Mother Theres struggled with her faith as she aged as revealed in her letters to friends. We are of God, but we are humans, with frailties and failings. And even Christ fell three times. Excellent post.