Formerly Baptist Family of 12 Becomes Amish, Then Jewish

[Ralar]

Just in time for Shavuot, with its reading of the Book of Ruth about Judaism’s first convert, a Tennessee family of 12’s conversion to Judaism has prompted an outpouring of support from Brooklyn’s haredi Orthodox community. The Chattanooga family’s conversions are the culmination of a lengthy spiritual journey, Sholom McJunkin said. The couple, who met in high school, were raised nominally Baptist and became more religious soon after they married. But after a few years in the Baptist church, the McJunkins felt they weren’t getting satisfactory answers to their spiritual questions. They tried other churches, then eventually found their way to the Amish church. While living in the Amish community in rural Tennessee McJunkin said he first began reading the Hebrew Bible and learning about Judaism. Two years ago, after leaving the Amish church, the family found the Chabad Jewish Center of Chattanooga.

http://m.forward.com/blogs/forward-thinking/199465/meet-the-mcjunkins-theyre-jewish/

I hope these people start blogging!

[anjulibai]

I wonder how old their children are, and how they feel about this. Those are some serious transitions the parents have pushed them into.

[GiGi_41]

Why did they have to get remarried?

[Ralar]

Why did they have to get remarried?

They had a Jewish ceremony. Just like some people get married at the courthouse and later have a church wedding.

[Jana814]

Oh my!! What a switch!! They will fit into that Jewish community cause the families their have a lot of kids.

[GeoBQn]

I knew a man who came from a large family where the parents started out Catholic, converted to a branch of evangelical Christianity, then converted to Judaism. Today, the older children consider themselves Christian and the younger children consider themselves Jewish. My friend considered himself Jewish, but he never formally converted himself, and he gets touchy when someone brings that up. I can't imagine what kind of turmoil that can produce in a family.

Personally, I don't trust people who go through multiple religious conversions.

[anjulibai]

I knew a man who came from a large family where the parents started out Catholic, converted to a branch of evangelical Christianity, then converted to Judaism. Today, the older children consider themselves Christian and the younger children consider themselves Jewish. My friend considered himself Jewish, but he never formally converted himself, and he gets touchy when someone brings that up. I can't imagine what kind of turmoil that can produce in a family.

Personally, I don't trust people who go through multiple religious conversions.

No, me either. It's one thing to explore, but going to those lengths is an awful lot.

And going from Baptist to Amish to Orthodox Jewish are pretty major shifts, both spiritually and practically. Their entire lifestyle has had to change multiple times. That has to be difficult on the children.

[Rachel333]

I knew a man who came from a large family where the parents started out Catholic, converted to a branch of evangelical Christianity, then converted to Judaism. Today, the older children consider themselves Christian and the younger children consider themselves Jewish. My friend considered himself Jewish, but he never formally converted himself, and he gets touchy when someone brings that up. I can't imagine what kind of turmoil that can produce in a family.

Personally, I don't trust people who go through multiple religious conversions.

Wow, that seems unfair. I would prefer someone who converted twice over someone who is unwilling to even consider changing their beliefs. I would understand being wary of the serial converters who jump from religion to religion and back again, but twice doesn't seem completely unreasonable. I think people are entitled to more than one religious shift in their lives if need be.

[notsocommon]

Oddly enough, I came across this earlier today

http://www.gofundme.com/weddingshower

[tkr322]

It seems like these people are extremist. They go from the most extreme Christian religion to the most extreme sect of Judaism. Like it's one thing to convert to Judaism but to become Orthodox? Same thing if you were converting to Christianity and decided to be Amish. So so strange. I would worry about their mental state to be honest and those poor kids.

[Trynn]

Well, converting to Amish isn't like converting from one brand of Christianity to another... It's a pretty serious leap... Otherwise only 2 conversions wouldn't bother me either.

[Rachel333]

It seems like these people are extremist. They go from the most extreme Christian religion to the most extreme sect of Judaism. Like it's one thing to convert to Judaism but to become Orthodox? Same thing if you were converting to Christianity and decided to be Amish. So so strange. I would worry about their mental state to be honest and those poor kids.

The extremism is why I think it makes sense that Amish and Chabad might appeal to the same person. Some people will tend towards extremism no matter what belief system they follow and I really think a lot of these people actually like following as many rules as possible so in that sense I can totally see why they might go Amish and then jump from Amish to Chabad. Both require very high levels of observance.

[Ralar]

It seems like these people are extremist. They go from the most extreme Christian religion to the most extreme sect of Judaism. Like it's one thing to convert to Judaism but to become Orthodox? Same thing if you were converting to Christianity and decided to be Amish. So so strange. I would worry about their mental state to be honest and those poor kids.

A large percentage of people not converting for marriage go through Orthodox conversions. Currently, Israel only recognized Orthodox conversions so anyone who wants their conversion recognized by the State of Israel (for immigration or other purposes) go through an Orthodox conversion. Likewise, some people go through Orthodox conversions so no one questions the Jewishness of their future children.

[Ralar]

I'd love to see a picture of the McJunkins (that is their real name) in their Amish garb.

[Geechee Girl]

I went to school with a McJunkin. I wonder if there's any relation. I. too. worry how the multiple conversions affected the older children.

No snark intended: I'm not familiar with Orthodoxy. Will the family be able to use electricity now (except on Sabbath)?

[Coco]

Oddly enough, I came across this earlier today

http://www.gofundme.com/weddingshower

It's a good sign they're going to be so embraced into the community and they're giving them what they need to be kosher. But why would those subscriptions be so expensive? $300 for a subscription to Hamodia and $200 to Mishpacha. Lifetime subscriptions?

Plus $5000 to send the kids to Jewish camp and $1000 for Jewish toys.

Interesting that in their photo they're already out of the Amish. It's got to be a relief to be able to take photos of their kids now for memories. Very strict Amish people don't do photos. Those kids are going to have an interesting life story and know some pretty unique languages.

I went to school with a McJunkin. I wonder if there's any relation. I. too. worry how the multiple conversions affected the older children.

No snark intended: I'm not familiar with Orthodoxy. Will the family be able to use electricity now (except on Sabbath)?

:lol: One time i accidentally pissed off my oven trying to shut off the display light. It went into Sabbath mode after i pushed too many buttons. NOTHING would work. It was completely out of commission. After that i called it Yente.

[Rachel333]

I'm more curious about the Amish conversion. It's a difficult conversion to make not only because of the lifestyle change but also because you need to speak the language to really be part of the community.

[salex]

I knew a man who came from a large family where the parents started out Catholic, converted to a branch of evangelical Christianity, then converted to Judaism. Today, the older children consider themselves Christian and the younger children consider themselves Jewish. My friend considered himself Jewish, but he never formally converted himself, and he gets touchy when someone brings that up. I can't imagine what kind of turmoil that can produce in a family.

Personally, I don't trust people who go through multiple religious conversions.

This was my first thought.... "what is the father's real issue? What guilt is he carrying that he feels like he has to find the perfect path to god and that so far, nothing he's done had was good enough to get him "right" with God? Or is it some kind of religious mania/mental illness.

I figure in about 5 years, he'll be going something more strict.

[Marianne]

Too much conversion to trust this man. poor children.

[Mama Mia]

I don't have a problem with people who go through multiple conversions, I think they just tend to be people who are very spiritual and who are looking for the right fit.

But I think it must be difficult for the children to have such extreme change thrust on them. Especially when it seems like they are choosing religious groups that would make it difficult for the children to keep the same friends. And many of those children look old enough that they would have their own religious beliefs. I think it would be very odd to be 9 or 12 or 14 and be told that you need to forget everything you believe and take on a new faith.

[2xx1xy1JD]

I went to school with a McJunkin. I wonder if there's any relation. I. too. worry how the multiple conversions affected the older children.

No snark intended: I'm not familiar with Orthodoxy. Will the family be able to use electricity now (except on Sabbath)?

Yes.

[2xx1xy1JD]

Some history of spiritual seeking isn't that unusual among converts who aren't converting for marriage. Since Jews don't actively seek converts, spiritual seekers would likely have found and explored other paths first.

In some ways, it's less of a stretch to go from a really strict and intense form of Christianity, like being Amish, to a strict and intense form of Judaism, than it is to go from being completely secular to strictly religious. There are quite a few similarities between the Amish and Brooklyn ultra-Orthodox, right down to a fondness for black suits, hats and beards.

Changes of any kind can be hard on kids, though. It's not that common for everyone in a family to all change their religious POV at the same time and same pace.

[Ralar]

It's a good sign they're going to be so embraced into the community and they're giving them what they need to be kosher. But why would those subscriptions be so expensive? $300 for a subscription to Hamodia and $200 to Mishpacha. Lifetime subscriptions?

Plus $5000 to send the kids to Jewish camp and $1000 for Jewish toys.

Interesting that in their photo they're already out of the Amish. It's got to be a relief to be able to take photos of their kids now for memories. Very strict Amish people don't do photos. Those kids are going to have an interesting life story and know some pretty unique languages.

Will the family be able to use electricity now (except on Sabbath)?

:lol: One time i accidentally pissed off my oven trying to shut off the display light. It went into Sabbath mode after i pushed too many buttons. NOTHING would work. It was completely out of commission. After that i called it Yente. [attachment=0]Yente the Oven.JPG[/attachment]

[MamaJunebug]

I wonder how old their children are, and how they feel about this. Those are some serious transitions the parents have pushed them into.

I was just thinking, those kids have had some serious spiritual whiplash!

Not saying bad nor good .... but I do have to stop and think pretty seriously about how this couple's minds have worked. Interesting that in both conversions, they entered very closed communities in which they were obvious converts .... and that's all I have to say about that at this point.

[tkr322]

I can't imagine being one of the teenagers and being raised to believe Christ is your savior, you must believe in him to go to heaven, etc. etc. and then being told "jk kids! We're Jewish now so forget all of that stuff about Jesus. Not true."

Also I'm surprised they'd force this on their children. I would think if you made such a big leap like that, that you'd at least allow them time to come around or form their own opinion on the matter. I'm surprised to see all the kids already wearing the prayer shawls and kippahs.