The Other Side of Joy: Religious Melancholy among the Bruderhof [Hardcover]

Julius Rubin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 9, 2000

This is a case study of one pietist religious group, the Bruderhof. A Christian brotherhood founded on Anabaptist and evangelical pietist doctrine, they practice community of goods, seeking to emulate the vision of the Apostolic church and fulfill the ethic of brotherhood taught in the Sermon on the Mount. Rubin offers compelling accounts of the lives of Bruderhof apostates who foundered over issues of faith, and relates these crises to the central tenets of Bruderhof theology, their spirituality, and community life.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Julius Rubin is at Saint Joseph College, Connecticut.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (March 9, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195119436
• ISBN-13: 978-0195119435
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #671,121 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #46 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Psychology & Christianity

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "The Other Side of Joy" is not a book to laugh at, April 11, 2000

By 

Samuel Arnold (New Brunswick, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Other Side of Joy: Religious Melancholy among the Bruderhof (Hardcover)

The Bruderhof, about who the book "The Other Side of Joy" by Dr. Julius Rubin is about, have gone to considerable lengths to prevent and delay its publication and release. Despite denying him access to their archives for his research, Rubin has been able to adequately research religious melancholy as it pertains to the Bruderhof without their cooperation. Some of the nameless reviewers here have tried to dismiss this very well written and researched book with nonsense that has nothing to do with the scholarly study that it is, even calling the book "a laugh" by one reviewer. A nervous laugh perhaps, but I have failed to find humour in "The Other Side of Joy", nor do I expect Dr. Rubin to get a call from the Jay Lenno show. No, the other side of joy is not laughter; It is the maladies of Anfechtung (feelings of sinful alienation from God), psychomachia (war against self), Busskampf (an intense emotional wrenching inner struggle that results in ravishing, joyous psychological union with God), religious melancholy, and religious authoritarianism that are the other side of joy, according to Dr. Rubin. Having grown up on the Bruderhof as a grandson of the founder, Eberhard Arnold, I have found Rubin's work to be interesting, revealing and credible. It is not surprising that the Bruderhof does not like Rubin's conclusions, painting such a repressive picture of this "utopian" community that so many of us had to escape from, or were kicked out of. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the study of abusive churches, or who is considering a life of primitive pietism, Bruderhof style.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Useful History...What About Now?, February 8, 2002

By 

neonpisces "EW" (Heartland USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Other Side of Joy: Religious Melancholy among the Bruderhof (Hardcover)

The Bruderhof, literally: "place of brothers", was formed under the charismatic leadership of Eberhard Arnold as an experimental Christian community at the time of the Weimar Republic. The intent of the experiment was to demonstrate that the Sermon on the Mount can be normative for all aspects of individual and communal life. It continues to this day.

The Bruderhof have existed for seventy years. In that short span they have migrated across three continents; suffered the vicissitudes of the Nazi's, xenophobia of their host countries, exile in the Paraguayan jungle; and have attempted to maintain a clarity of vision throughout. The group has been wracked by internal power struggles, as well as schisms with the other like-minded organizations. There has been tragic human fallout from these episodes.

Rubin extrapolates from this history, using as his primary sources the testimonies of those who were expelled from, or who left the community during its most tumultuous times, in order to present a psycho-socio portrait of the Bruderhof. It's a compelling picture.

Rubin makes serious charges against the Bruderhof: The Bruderhof are a closed, authoritarian group who are enthralled by a cult of personality. The Bruderhof are relentless in their persecution of those who dissent from their vision. The Bruderhof are hypocritical. The Bruderhof are abusive. The Bruderhof are sexually repressed, and thus warp their children. The Bruderhof are intolerant of modern psychology, and prefer exorcism to therapy. Rubin provides historical evidence for each of these charges.

Rubin suggests that the Bruderhof are liable for "Anfechtung" (feelings of sinful alienation from God) amongst its members. Rubin suggests that the very structure of the group: (sharing goods in common, constant introspection regarding one's relationship with God under the supervision of a "shepherd", along with a severe rigidity concerning human sexuality) is at the heart of a condition, the "Bruderhof Syndrome", which is marked by severe alienation, depression, and loss of self esteem.

But he does not adequately support this conclusion. First, the book is limited by its choice of historical context. Few of the examples presented have occurred since the late `70's. Rubin further undercuts his argument from history by admitting that the group has evolved away from pietism and toward an ecumenical approach to social activism. By Rubin's own admission, the Bruderhof today are not the same introversionist sect which provide the context of his study. Its fair to suggest that many of the factors contributing to the "Bruderhof Syndrome" may have been mitigated.

Second, he does not provide analysis of the incidence and type of neurosis in the Bruderhof. His brief chapter on the other Anabaptist groups contain more of this sort of information as regards the Hutterites, the Mennonites, and the Amish, then the book as a whole does when addressing the Bruderhof.

In fairness, the Bruderhof did not cooperate with Rubin in his study, unlike the studies regarding other high-context Anabaptist groups, which enjoyed the cooperation of their subjects. But then why raise the flag of pathological depression and anxiety concerning the Bruderhof if one is unable to adequately assess the issue?

The Bruderhof refusal to accommodate Rubin's research efforts is unfortunate. However the Bruderhof are forced by circumstance to maintain a relationship with the surrounding communities. They are in constant interaction with secondary schools, police, medical personnel, and community government. It would seem that if there were anything currently suspect about the Bruderhof; for example, if the emotional and physical abuse suffered by Bruderhof children at the time of the "Great Crisis" were continuing, then someone, somewhere, should have noticed.

The Bruderhof ask young adults to leave the community for at least a year, in order that they may ascertain for themselves whether they wish to remain with the community. Apparently close to 20% of these choose to continue with their lives on the outside. Surely some of them could have been available for Rubin's research. Yet in spite of what seem to be relatively rich sources of information, there is remarkably little in the book that speaks to contemporary events or cases.

Can Rubin make the case that the contemporary Bruderhof threaten the mental or emotional health of the Bruderhof child? Can he demonstrate that the Bruderhof today are any more of a threat to the unbalanced than, say, your local, neighborhood, Evangelical Church? Where are the interviews with secondary school teachers who teach the Bruderhof adolescents; or with therapists who deal with Bruderhof patients? Where are the interviews with the young adults who are on leave from their community?

The Bruderhof offer a socio-economic example of Christian Communism that is unique in the United States. They have maintained this paradigm for close to four generations. The Bruderhof are in a position to offer profound contributions to the fields of anthropology, sociology, and psychology. Hence, the Bruderhof are to be faulted for not allowing research in their midst. They need to rethink their relationship with scholarship.

An assessment of the Bruderhof, as they exist today, still needs to be written. An assessment of those emotional pathologies with which the Bruderhof contend still needs to occur. Rubin's history of the Bruderhof is informative. But it is presented as if it were a diagnosis of mental health issues as they exist within the contemporary Bruderhof. It is in this sense that the book is misleading.

"Other Side of Joy" is a history of grievances; an exposition of the tragic and unintended consequences of a unique experiment, rather then a study of religious melancholy per se. If the reader is expecting case studies, methods of diagnosis, treatments within the community, utilization of resources outside the community and so forth, then look elsewhere. It is the controversies swirling around the Bruderhof that are addressed, with vehemence, in this book.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A scholarly work that is easily read by the layman, March 31, 2000

By 

David E. Ostrom (Newark, Calif) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Other Side of Joy: Religious Melancholy among the Bruderhof (Hardcover)

I find this book a very scholarly text on assessing a tightly controlled sect that borders on a cult to some. Having spent 5 years on various hoh's or communities, Mr. Rubin's book explains some of the problems people exiting the Bruderhof experience. As the saying goes, "Been there, done that!" I find Mr. Rubin's book to a very objective and scholarly work.