Rumspringa...to be or not to be?

[allisonbourgeois89]

In class we have been studying the Anabaptists for quite some time, which has raised some questions in my mind.

Rumpringa is based on the scripture of Ecclesiastes 11:9 correct? "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these [things] God will bring thee into judgment."

I have read several arguments particularly those of Yoder that claim Old Order Amish to be allowing their children to openly sin by partaking in rumspringa and essentially being hypocrites.

If children are held accountable to God whom will forgive but judge them of their sins would this not require them to do the same?

Furthermore, when children are in Rumspringa whether they are partaking in partying or not, they still have the weight of understanding if they die before joining the church, their soul is lost. Correct?

Wouldn't this be similar in sort to the Jewish practice of fasting? Getting closer to the "real you." By fasting you get to the grittier bare you, what you are without a cushion. By having the weight of going to heaven or not, I find this to be similar.

Thanks
Alli

 

[Antje]

Hi, welcome here! Rumspringa isn't part of my tradition, so I can't really answer you. My understanding is that it's mostly an Amish thing, and you won't find any practicing Amish on CF! But maybe someone here is ex-Amish or from another branch of Anabaptism that practices Rumspringa?

 

[allisonbourgeois89]

That was what I was hoping for

 

[Sphinx777]

Rumspringa (also Rumschpringe or Rumshpringa, derived from the Pennsylvania German term for "running around") generally refers to a period of adolescence for some members of the Amish, a subsect of the Anabaptist Christian movement, that begins around the age of sixteen and ends when a youth chooses baptism within the Amish church or instead leaves the community. The vast majority choose baptism and remain in the church. Not all Amish use this term (it does not occur in Hostetler's extended discussion of adolescence), but in sects that do, Amish elders generally view this as a time for courtship and finding a spouse.