Only four Shakers are left in the world, all living in southern Maine. But if they can't attract converts to their celibate lifestyle and this really is the end for them, they have a plan to ensure that their legacy lives on forever.
I thought that since OSC talked about Shaker hymns in todays review article, some of you might find this interesting.
I work in Northern Virginia, where there are an awful lot of people working to preserve little bits of history, but I can't imagine being the last disciples of an entire religion.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
It must be easy to become their equivalent of "Pope." Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
The last one alive gets the Quickening.
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
Oh well, one down, several thousand to go... Alas, the ones that demand celibacy are the easy ones, it's just too unnatural. Good riddance, anyway.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Fscinating article, by the way. Thanks for sharing it.
Posted by HollowEarth (Member # 2586) on :
quote:Originally posted by jasonepowell: From the Boston Globe:
Only four Shakers are left in the world, all living in southern Maine. But if they can't attract converts to their celibate lifestyle and this really is the end for them, they have a plan to ensure that their legacy lives on forever.
Their end has been slowly approaching since they stopped being allowed to adopt children.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by Icarus: Fascinating article, by the way. Thanks for sharing it.
Yes it was. The author's bias was showing, though. "Tic" indeed!
Posted by Glenn Arnold (Member # 3192) on :
Has anyone here read "A Day No Pigs Would Die" by Robert Newton Peck? He claims his family was Shaker, and they sure weren't celibate. I wonder what the reality of the history of Shaker celibacy was.
Posted by Boris (Member # 6935) on :
*wonders if someone will come up with a crappy reality show based on this*
Posted by Lalo (Member # 3772) on :
Man, I want to give this guy a copy of Jared Diamond's Collapse.
Still, his religious beliefs aren't harming anyone, and he's not forcing them on anyone. I wish this religion weren't the one dying out.
![[Wink]](wink.gif)