Methernitha

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Methernitha is the name of a Christian community and a cooperative from Linden in Switzerland . Originally founded in 1956 by Paul Baumann as a purely religious community, in 1960 it was divided into the Christian denomination and the cooperative.

The Christian Association Methernitha

The members of the association live according to Christian principles and do not consume alcohol , tobacco or drugs on the basis of a voluntary commitment . Most of the members live in Linden.

The founders

The founder of this Christian special community was Paul Baumann (born November 30, 1917 in Heimenschwand ; † August 19, 2011), also called Vatti , and came from a family of the Evangelical Brothers' Association .

His father was a tailor, but was not able to support the family on his own. Paul Baumann was pushed around as a child as a contracting boy . He was not a good student, but had a mechanical and technical talent and was able to repair clocks and devices.

In his revelations you can still feel the influence of the brotherhood. It is emphasized that everyone has to live "their own spirituality", but it is nevertheless worth striving to keep the whole of "God's law" as possible. Baumann's visions , which still had a certain significance for the community in the early days (1950), no longer play a noticeable role in the religious outlook of today's community. These visions are accepted, but only have individual significance. They were of decisive influence for Paul Baumann himself, because only because of these visions did he “ find the way to the Bible ”.

Shortly after leaving school, Baumann said he had contact with “messengers from the spirit world”. More and more people sought contact with Baumann because of his teachings, which he received from the "spirit beings". In 1952 or 1956 the Linden Spiritual Association is founded. It was later called the Spiritual Association Methernitha .

Baumann is also known for the construction of the “Testatika”, allegedly a direct current generator based on “free energy” . The claim that the machine was generating electricity in an unconventional way could never be verified as a copy was not made available for independent investigation.

The core message of the Methernitha is: To seek God as an individual and in the community, to live in peace with one another and to strive for the rules of life given to us by Christ every day anew.

The members of this Circle of Friends have their place of residence and work in various places in Switzerland and abroad. Each member determines how often and in what form they maintain contact with the community. They are not organized as a club, do not raise fees, do not advertise and do not hold meetings or rallies.

They believe that man should recognize the loving and powerful work of God in creation and submit to this divine order in order to fulfill his true role within the whole of creation. For this purpose, nature, the Holy Scriptures and the commandments and instructions contained therein are available to him.

In 1969 the association had over 100 members in Linden and around 200 in the external cooperative operations. In 1978 there were around 130 members according to their own information.

Field stations in the mid-1990s in the canton of Appenzell, Austria, Italy and the USA.

In the 1990s that was spiritual union Methernitha in Christian Association Methernitha renamed.

The Methernitha Cooperative

The «Methernitha» cooperative founded in 1960 is a non-denominational living and working community with basic democratic rules. There are around 140 members (as of 2005), some of which are not members of the Christian Methernitha association, but of one of the Swiss regional churches . The main aim of the cooperative is to jointly develop the means of subsistence. Economic activity close to nature and the operation of a small hydroelectric power station are part of it, as is the common pursuit of the knowledge of the wonders of nature and man.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the cooperative produced archive racks and electronic products in particular.

Controversy

The founder Paul Baumann was sentenced on October 29, 1976 by a Bernese Oberland jury to six years in prison for qualified fornication with underage girls. After his release in 1982, Baumann lived again within the Methernitha. Baumann's conviction led to around 200 of the 300 members leaving the community.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Evangelical Information Center (ed.): Information sheet. 48th year, No. 3 and 4, Rüti ZH 2011, p. 9.
  2. ↑ Jessica Francis: sect leader «Vatti» has died. ( Memento from January 11, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) View online. August 19, 2011.
  3. ↑ Hugo Stamm : sparkling wine guru "Vatti" died in: Tages-Anzeiger of August 21, 2011
  4. ↑ Evangelical Information Center (ed.): Information sheet. 48th year, No. 3 and 4, Rüti ZH 2011, p. 9.
  5. ↑ Evangelical information center: Methernitha. Report by Donald Hasler Donald Hasler, May 11, 1998
  6. ↑ Evangelical Information Center (ed.): Information sheet. 48th year, No. 3 and 4, Rüti ZH 2011, p. 9.
  7. ↑ Heise online: Miracle energy instead of nuclear power Article of November 3, 2009
  8. ↑ Evangelical Information Center (ed.): Information sheet. 48th year, No. 3 and 4, Rüti ZH 2011, p. 13.
  9. ^ Oswald Eggenberger: The churches, special groups and religious associations. A manual. 6th, revised and expanded edition. Theological Verlag Zurich 1994. ISBN 3-290-11639-5 , p. 96.
  10. ↑ Evangelical Information Center (ed.): Information sheet. 48th year, No. 3 and 4, Rüti ZH 2011, p. 11.
  11. ↑ Evangelical Information Center (ed.): Information sheet. 48th year, No. 3 and 4, Rüti ZH 2011, p. 10.
  12. ↑ Evangelical Information Center (ed.): Information sheet. 48th year, No. 3 and 4, Rüti ZH 2011, p. 10.
  13. ↑ 20minuten.ch: Driverless sects article from April 25, 2009
  14. ↑ Evangelical Information Center (ed.): Information sheet. 48th year, No. 3 and 4, Rüti ZH 2011, p. 10.