Chamomile Tea Party Posters

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

I've run into any number of quakers over the years-- I always found that I respected the heck out of them, even if I didn't always agree.  I even ran into a quaker who was atheist/agnostic... and made no pretense about otherwise.  As near as I could tell, the others in her group accepted and respected her as much as anyone else. To her, the ritual and the meditation was an end in and of itself, and saw no need for anything beyond the moment/experiences therein.

I can easily understand that point of view myself-- I used to meditate a bit.  Alas, my mind is so very busy, it's difficult for me to do, without "medication" of some sort.  Since I've pretty much become a tee-tottler, due to a variety of reasons (none of which are religious), I've also given up meditation-- not that I did it all that much outside of weekend retreats/camp settings.

But yeah, I can easily admire the quakers.   The mennonites?  not so much-- they are rather hypocritical from my viewpoint; they claim to give up modernism, yet they are all too happy to enjoy the fruits therein, so long as someone else is doing the work...

... the funniest thing I saw, was a mennonite buggy (horse-powered, of course) in the drive-through lane at McDonald's .... !!!   Riiiight...

[Aggie]

Hmm, the Mennonites up here aren't especially suspicious of technology, that I've seen, nor are the Hutterites. I admire the latter's business model as an example of viable communism (they turn a good profit and are constantly acquiring more land to farm), although I'm not a fan of the cultural restrictions and control that make it possible.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Hmm, the Mennonites up here aren't especially suspicious of technology, that I've seen, nor are the Hutterites. I admire the latter's business model as an example of viable communism (they turn a good profit and are constantly acquiring more land to farm), although I'm not a fan of the cultural restrictions and control that make it possible.

I must admit, my exposure to the mennonites is rather limited, and somewhat observational, rather than personal.   I do have a cousin who converted somewhat, but it appears to be a case of cafeteria-style, as he made a career as an IT tech/admin person.  Hardly the minimalist approach. 

He and I used to be close, back when we were kids, but distance & time, I doubt I'd recognize him on the street these days.  Haven't spoken to him in years.