Fruit of the Contemplative Life
Fruit of the contemplative life: => Right Livelihood => : Jhanananda November 09, 2015, 02:23:04 AM
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Occasionally members of the The Brethren (Jim Roberts group) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brethren_%28Jim_Roberts_group%29) come through this mountain community. I have had conversations with them. They seem to embody the mendicant lifestyle, so they interest me; however, I have yet to engage any of them in a substantive theological discussion.
(http://www.reocities.com/oysterlandceo/walto.jpg)
Jim Roberts
The members of The Brethren (Jim Roberts group) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brethren_%28Jim_Roberts_group%29) tend to travel in pairs on well-equipped touring bikes.
(http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb250/cap_franklin/GarbageEatersimg33a.gif?t=1262279003)
The men tend to wear long pants and long sleeve shirts with a tunic over that zips up the front and has some pockets in it. Their color scheme is mostly browns, but I have seen blue denim.
(http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/b8/87/b8875d3e4eabaf262e59ce91f367e8bd.jpg?itok=I-pVxh9x)
The women wear much the same, except they wear long skirts.
I have had more communication with the women than I have had with the men. Recently 3 men traveled through town on their way to an annual sale at the REI store in Phoenix to acquire camping gear on sale.
I have been told that they have an annual gathering during the summer above the Mugallon Rim above Strawberry, AZ.
The Brethren is one of several informal names for a nameless religious movement created by Jimmie T. "Jim" Roberts. Other names include the Body of Christ, the Brothers and Sisters and the garbage eaters, after their reputation for eating food from garbage bins. The movement’s members shun material things and family, living essentially as vagrants and doing odd jobs to pay their expenses. The movement's way of life has led to accusations that it is a cult.
The Roberts group should not be confused with various other groups that have the word "brethren" in their names, nor with the freegan lifestyle.
Origins
Jimmie T. Roberts (also known as Brother Evangelist Roberts[1]), son of a former Pentecostal minister, created the movement around 1971, drawing together followers of the Jesus Movement across the United States. Roberts had become convinced that mainstream churches were too worldly, and wished to create a wandering discipleship patterned on the New Testament apostles. He began recruiting a core of followers in Colorado and California.[2] At first they adopted a communal lifestyle.
Beliefs
Beliefs are prominently millenarian and apocalyptic, centered on the teaching that humanity is in the end times and that members must purify themselves in preparation for the end of the world.[3] The movement directs new members to sell their possessions and break with their families as a necessary part of earning salvation.[1] Any finances generated are distributed according to need. For instance, money might be used for material to sew clothing, traveling expenses, or cooking spices. In some cases new members' money was given to older members, but in other cases it was kept by the individual to do what they would with it.
The main scriptures used in support of "The Brethren" are;
Luke 14:33 "So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple."
Matthew 19:29 "And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my names's sake, shall receive an hundredfold and shall inherit everlasting life."
Acts 4:32 "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and one soul; neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common."
Matthew 6:25 "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body more than raiment?"
Mark 8:35 "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it."
2 Timothy 6:7-8 "For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content."
The Brethren live as itinerants. They acquired the nickname "the Garbage Eaters" after being observed collecting discarded food from dumpsters.[1][4] Although some members at times don't bathe too frequently, especially when camping out, the group has no laws or rules against bathing or using soap, shampoo, deodorant etc. Although some members refuse medical treatment, other members have accepted medical treatment or dental work. During the 1970s, members wore monk-like habits.[2] Men wear long beards, and women dress modestly in long dresses and long hair. Women and men eat separately and new members are restricted in all contact with the opposite sex. Women and men have clearly defined roles. Immediately on joining the group women begin sewing their own clothing (May 2011). The Brethren essentially disallow marriage by single group members, maintaining that "the hour is too late." Children of couples who join the group are not allowed to play. Laughing, dancing and other forms of celebration are to be reserved for the return of Yeshua (Jesus)(May 2011). Graven images are not allowed and any image on products found are covered to protect the members from seeing them. Coloring is allowed, but not creating images and singing is a part of nightly gatherings.[citation needed]
The Brethren also maintain that there is no actual sacrament of the Eucharist and that the bread and wine should be understood only as a metaphor for fellowship.[citation needed] Members are divided into pairs (or occasionally three) and sent off to preach. The teams regather periodically for fellowship, to hear Brother Evangelist Roberts, and to be assigned new companions and their next destination. The hierarchy is minimal. Directly under Roberts are a group of Elders. Members are designated as "Older brothers" or "Middle brothers" according to time served in the group.[2]
Secrecy
A highly publicized case of deprogramming in Arkansas during 1975 brought unwelcome attention to the Brethren. Beginning in the late 1970s, stories written by members, such as Rachel Martin,[5] also began appearing. Coverage, often negative, continued to surface in the media. The group dropped out of sight around 1980.[2]
After several police raids and arrests in the 1970s, Roberts ordered members to keep their locations secret and not to communicate with their families. The members fear being arrested or kidnapped at the request of distraught families, with instances reported as recently as 1998.[citation needed]
Families of members have asserted that their relatives are moved about to keep them from reestablishing familial contact.[1] Parents whose children have disappeared into the movement have formed a group called "The Roberts Group Parents Network" (or TRGPN) for mutual support and to aid in locating missing members.[3] In 2011, Evangeline Griego's documentary film God Willing[6] explored the experiences of parents trying to reestablish contact with children who had joined the Brethren and disappeared. The film has since aired on PBS stations in the United States.[7]
THE BRETHREN (http://www.religioustolerance.org/body_chr.htm)
Like the early Christian movements, they have no concept of the Trinity.
bullet They believe that living a holy life and abstaining from sin are major prerequisites for salvation.
bullet In common with many other religiously conservative groups, they teach that their ideas provide the only way to salvation.
bullet Holding down a regular job or pursuing a career is seen as a definite hindrance to their main task of seeking God's kingdom and righteousness.
bullet They regard the King James Version of the Bible as the only English translation that is sufficiently accurate to be authoritative. Translations exist in other languages which are on a par with the KJV. Many members read the Hebrew Tanach extensively.
bullet They refer to God as Yahveh, Yeshua and Elohiym.
bullet They believe that divorce and remarriage constitutes adultery.
bullet They regard homosexual behavior as intrinsically immoral, sinful and perverse.
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Christian mendicant orders (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendicant_orders)
Background
What is called the mendicant movement in Church history took place primarily in the 13th century in Western Europe. Up until that time the monks of Europe worked at their trade in their monastery. While renouncing personal property, they owned all things in common as a community after the example of chapters 2 and 4 of the Acts of the Apostles.[1]
With the rise of Western monasticism, monasteries attracted not only individuals aspiring to become monks and nuns, but also property, buildings, and riches. The idea that Christ came down to earth poor and that the true Church must be the church of the poor clashed with this image. The desire for true Christian authenticity was thus in contrast to the reality of the empirical Church.[2]
The twelfth century saw great changes in western Europe. As commerce revived, urban centers arose and with them an urban middle class. New directions in spirituality were called for. Ecclesiastical reform became a major theme of the cultural revival of this era. In response to this crisis, there emerged the new mendicant orders founded by Francis of Assisi (c.1181-1226) and Dominic Guzman (c.1170-1221).[3]
The mendicant friars were bound by a vow of poverty and dedication to an ascetic way of life, renouncing property and traveling the world to preach. Their survival was dependent upon the good will of their listeners. It was this way of life that gave them their name, "mendicant," derived from the Latin mendicare, meaning "to beg."[4]
The mendicant movement had started in France and Italy and became popular in the poorer towns and cities of Europe at the beginning of the thirteenth century. Their refusal to own property and therefore to pay taxes threatened the stability of the established church Church which was then planning a crusade, to be financed by tithes. Thus some mendicant orders were officially suppressed by Pope Gregory X at the Second Council of Lyon in 1274 and others reformed so as to be capable of contributing funds or men to support the war effort.[5][6]
Franciscans
Francis came to this through a period of personal conversion. The Franciscans spread far and wide the devotion to the humanity of Christ, with the commitment to imitate the Lord.[2] The Franciscan movement summarized and surpassed all the others. This was not only in the obvious holiness of Francis of Assisi, but also in the personality of the followers whom Francis attracted. Many of them were priests and men of learning whose contributions were notable in the rapid evolution and contemporary relevance of the movement.[1] Notable Franciscans include Anthony of Padua, who were inspirations to the formation of Christian mendicant traditions.
Dominicans
While on a visit to southern France Dominic met the Albigensians, a religious sect which had a great popularity partly because of the economic situation of the times. Dominic responded to a desperate need for informed preaching by founding the Order of Preachers. He began a new form of religious life, the life of the friar. Before this time religious life had been monastic, but with Dominic the secluded monastery gave way to priories in the cities. By the time of his death in 1221, the Order had spread through Western Europe, hundreds of young men had joined, and the presence of the Order of Preachers was felt at the major universities of the time.[7]
With deep insight the Franciscans and Dominicans put into practice a pastoral strategy suited to the social changes. The emergence of urban centers meant concentrated numbers of the homeless and the sick. This created problems for the parish churches who found themselves unable to address these issues.[8] Since many people were moving from the countryside to the cities, they no longer built their convents in rural districts but rather in urban zones.
Another entirely innovative decision, the Mendicant Orders relinquished their principle of stability, a classical principle of ancient monasticism, opting for a different approach. Unlike the Benedictine monks, the mendicants were not permanently attached to any one particular convent and to its abbot.[1] Because the orders' primary aim was the evangelization of the masses, the church granted them freedom from the jurisdiction of the bishops and they travelled about to convert or reinforce faith.[4] The freedom of mendicancy allowed Franciscans and Dominicans mobility. Since they were not tied to monasteries or territorial parishes, they were free to take the gospel into the streets, to preach, hear confessions, and minister to people wherever they were.[8] Friars Minor and Preachers travelled with missionary zeal from one place to another. Consequently they organized themselves differently in comparison with the majority of monastic Orders. Instead of the traditional autonomy that every monastery enjoyed, they gave greater importance to the Order as such and to the Superior General, as well as to the structure of the Provinces. Their flexibility enabled them to send out the most suitable friars on specific missions and the Mendicant Orders reached North Africa, the Middle East and Northern Europe.[2]
As students and professors Minors and Preachers entered the most famous universities of the time, set up study centres, produced texts of great value, and were protagonists of scholastic theology in its best period and had an important effect on the development of thought. The great thinkers, St Thomas Aquinas and St Bonaventure, were mendicants.[2]
In all the great cities of western Europe, friaries were established, and in the universities theological chairs were held by Dominicans and Franciscans. Later in the 13th century they were joined by the other great mendicant orders of Carmelites, Augustinian Hermits, and Servites.
They attracted a significant level of patronage, as much from townsfolk as aristocrats. Their focus of operation rapidly centered on towns where population growth historically outstripped the provision of rural parishes. Most medieval towns in Western Europe of any size came to possess houses of one or more of the major orders of friars. Some of their churches came to be built on grand scale with large spaces devoted to preaching, something of a specialty among the mendicant orders.
In the Middle Ages, the original mendicant orders of friars in the Church were the
The Franciscans- Includes the Order of Friars Minor (O.F.M.), the Order of Friars Minor Conventual (O.F.M. Conv.) who are commonly known as the Grey Friars, and the Capuchins (Order of Friars Minor Capuchin) (O.F.M. Cap.)
Dominicans (Order of Preachers, commonly called the Black Friars), founded 1215
Carmelites, (Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Carmel, commonly known as the White Friars), founded 1206–1214[9]
Servites (Order of Servants of Mary), founded 1233 by the Seven Holy Men of Florence, Italy.[10]
Augustinians (Hermits of St. Augustine, commonly called the Austin Friars), founded 1244 - 1256
The Second Council of Lyons (1274) recognized these as the five "great" mendicant orders, and suppressed certain others. The Council of Trent loosened their property restrictions. Afterwards, except for the Franciscans and their offshoot the Capuchins, members of the orders were permitted to own property collectively as do monks.
Among other orders are the
Trinitarians (Order of the Most Blessed Trinity, sometimes called the Red Friars), founded 1193
Mercedarians (Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy), founded 1218
Minims (Hermits of St. Francis of Paola), founded 1436
Discalced Carmelites, founded 1593
Non-Christian mendicant orders
The term "mendicant" may also be used to refer to other non-Catholic and non-Christian ascetics, such as Buddhist monks and Hindu holy men. The Theravada Buddhist Pali scriptures use the term bhikkhu for mendicant, and in Mahayana scriptures, the equivalent sanskrit term bikshu is used. In Islamic Sufism, Dervishes.
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Occasionally members of the The Brethren (Jim Roberts group) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brethren_%28Jim_Roberts_group%29) come through this mountain community. I have had conversations with them. They seem to embody the mendicant lifestyle, so they interest me; however, I have yet to engage any of them in a substantive theological discussion.
(http://www.reocities.com/oysterlandceo/walto.jpg)
Jim Roberts
The members of The Brethren (Jim Roberts group) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brethren_%28Jim_Roberts_group%29) tend to travel in pairs on well-equipped touring bikes.
(http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb250/cap_franklin/GarbageEatersimg33a.gif?t=1262279003)
The men tend to wear long pants and long sleeve shirts with a tunic over that zips up the front and has some pockets in it. Their color scheme is mostly browns, but I have seen blue denim.
(http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/b8/87/b8875d3e4eabaf262e59ce91f367e8bd.jpg?itok=I-pVxh9x)
The women wear much the same, except they wear long skirts.
I have had more communication with the women than I have had with the men. Recently 3 men traveled through town on their way to an annual sale at the REI store in Phoenix to acquire camping gear on sale.
I have been told that they have an annual gathering during the summer above the Mugallon Rim above Strawberry, AZ.
The Brethren is one of several informal names for a nameless religious movement created by Jimmie T. "Jim" Roberts. Other names include the Body of Christ, the Brothers and Sisters and the garbage eaters, after their reputation for eating food from garbage bins. The movement’s members shun material things and family, living essentially as vagrants and doing odd jobs to pay their expenses. The movement's way of life has led to accusations that it is a cult.
The Roberts group should not be confused with various other groups that have the word "brethren" in their names, nor with the freegan lifestyle.
Origins
Jimmie T. Roberts (also known as Brother Evangelist Roberts[1]), son of a former Pentecostal minister, created the movement around 1971, drawing together followers of the Jesus Movement across the United States. Roberts had become convinced that mainstream churches were too worldly, and wished to create a wandering discipleship patterned on the New Testament apostles. He began recruiting a core of followers in Colorado and California.[2] At first they adopted a communal lifestyle.
Beliefs
Beliefs are prominently millenarian and apocalyptic, centered on the teaching that humanity is in the end times and that members must purify themselves in preparation for the end of the world.[3] The movement directs new members to sell their possessions and break with their families as a necessary part of earning salvation.[1] Any finances generated are distributed according to need. For instance, money might be used for material to sew clothing, traveling expenses, or cooking spices. In some cases new members' money was given to older members, but in other cases it was kept by the individual to do what they would with it.
The main scriptures used in support of "The Brethren" are;
Luke 14:33 "So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple."
Matthew 19:29 "And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my names's sake, shall receive an hundredfold and shall inherit everlasting life."
Acts 4:32 "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and one soul; neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common."
Matthew 6:25 "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body more than raiment?"
Mark 8:35 "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it."
2 Timothy 6:7-8 "For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content."
The Brethren live as itinerants. They acquired the nickname "the Garbage Eaters" after being observed collecting discarded food from dumpsters.[1][4] Although some members at times don't bathe too frequently, especially when camping out, the group has no laws or rules against bathing or using soap, shampoo, deodorant etc. Although some members refuse medical treatment, other members have accepted medical treatment or dental work. During the 1970s, members wore monk-like habits.[2] Men wear long beards, and women dress modestly in long dresses and long hair. Women and men eat separately and new members are restricted in all contact with the opposite sex. Women and men have clearly defined roles. Immediately on joining the group women begin sewing their own clothing (May 2011). The Brethren essentially disallow marriage by single group members, maintaining that "the hour is too late." Children of couples who join the group are not allowed to play. Laughing, dancing and other forms of celebration are to be reserved for the return of Yeshua (Jesus)(May 2011). Graven images are not allowed and any image on products found are covered to protect the members from seeing them. Coloring is allowed, but not creating images and singing is a part of nightly gatherings.[citation needed]
The Brethren also maintain that there is no actual sacrament of the Eucharist and that the bread and wine should be understood only as a metaphor for fellowship.[citation needed] Members are divided into pairs (or occasionally three) and sent off to preach. The teams regather periodically for fellowship, to hear Brother Evangelist Roberts, and to be assigned new companions and their next destination. The hierarchy is minimal. Directly under Roberts are a group of Elders. Members are designated as "Older brothers" or "Middle brothers" according to time served in the group.[2]
Secrecy
A highly publicized case of deprogramming in Arkansas during 1975 brought unwelcome attention to the Brethren. Beginning in the late 1970s, stories written by members, such as Rachel Martin,[5] also began appearing. Coverage, often negative, continued to surface in the media. The group dropped out of sight around 1980.[2]
After several police raids and arrests in the 1970s, Roberts ordered members to keep their locations secret and not to communicate with their families. The members fear being arrested or kidnapped at the request of distraught families, with instances reported as recently as 1998.[citation needed]
Families of members have asserted that their relatives are moved about to keep them from reestablishing familial contact.[1] Parents whose children have disappeared into the movement have formed a group called "The Roberts Group Parents Network" (or TRGPN) for mutual support and to aid in locating missing members.[3] In 2011, Evangeline Griego's documentary film God Willing[6] explored the experiences of parents trying to reestablish contact with children who had joined the Brethren and disappeared. The film has since aired on PBS stations in the United States.[7]
THE BRETHREN (http://www.religioustolerance.org/body_chr.htm)
Like the early Christian movements, they have no concept of the Trinity.
bullet They believe that living a holy life and abstaining from sin are major prerequisites for salvation.
bullet In common with many other religiously conservative groups, they teach that their ideas provide the only way to salvation.
bullet Holding down a regular job or pursuing a career is seen as a definite hindrance to their main task of seeking God's kingdom and righteousness.
bullet They regard the King James Version of the Bible as the only English translation that is sufficiently accurate to be authoritative. Translations exist in other languages which are on a par with the KJV. Many members read the Hebrew Tanach extensively.
bullet They refer to God as Yahveh, Yeshua and Elohiym.
bullet They believe that divorce and remarriage constitutes adultery.
bullet They regard homosexual behavior as intrinsically immoral, sinful and perverse.
Man, while I do understand some of their "rules", they seem extreme when viewed as "forced upon" them. I could definitely see how in time they could be easy to follow, if they are indeed true followers of god. Joining these individuals would have to be done rather precariously and with a great deal of thought and observation. Clinging to rites and rituals comes to mind when the mystic does not practice discipline, but is forced to be "disciplined". Hmm, a lot of good, but some scary bad. Will you meet with them Jefferey?
"Immediately on joining the group women begin sewing their own clothing. The Brethren essentially disallow marriage by single group members, maintaining that "the hour is too late." Children of couples who join the group are not allowed to play. Laughing, dancing and other forms of celebration are to be reserved for the return of Yeshua (Jesus)(May 2011). Graven images are not allowed and any image on products found are covered to protect the members from seeing them. Coloring is allowed, but not creating images and singing is a part of nightly gatherings."
I get this, its all distraction from what one should be focused on. I would hope that the wiki is written in a framed fashion and that the above is not the actual representation of the group.
http://cultbustersgalactica.yuku.com/topic/299/Garbage-Eaters-Roberts-Group-Brethren-Jimmie-T-Robert#.VkArcL-AHgA is some more on them. This shows that they are definitely demonized by society.
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I regularly encounter these people, and the fact that they are mendicants interests me, but the fact that they do not seem to be contemplatives, nor theologists, then I am disinclined to meet them. So, we will see what happens. I just posted the information, because they are mendicants.