Mennonite father locks son in wooden box for two months… for stealing three chickens

Daily Mail ^ | 18th June 2011 | John Stevens

[TheDingoAteMyBaby]

A Canadian man who locked his 21-year-old son in a tiny wooden box for eight weeks has been forced to release him by police.

Johan Knelsen was made to live in the homemade prison, no bigger than a portable toilet, in the basement of his home in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

His father, David Knelsen, told police that his son was mentally ill and needing punishing for stealing livestock

Local media reported that the young man had also used a telephone.

The family are Mennonites, a Christian denomination that follows a strict interpretation of the Bible and shuns the use of technology.

[Red Badger]

...the young man had also used a telephone.

OMG, it's a wonder he wasn't excommunicated...............

[freedumb2003]

The Amish are snorting “8 weeks! Thou art lenient to the point of useless!”

[freedumb2003]

>>OMG, it’s a wonder he wasn’t excommunicated............... <<

Much worse — they don’t excommunicate: they SHUN!

[clamper1797]

That’s foul ... for such a poultry act

[AppyPappy]

I hope you catch fire

[DB]

Where in the Bible is there any hint that people are not supposed to use technology??? A boat, a hammer, a saw, nails, were all the latest technology at one time...

[Red Badger]

A bird in the hand gets you two in the box...................

[Fido969]

Carr: Them clothes got laundry numbers on them. You remember your number and always wear the ones that has your number. Any man forgets his number spends a night in the box. These here spoons you keep with you. Any man loses his spoon spends a night in the box. There's no playing grab-ass or fighting in the building. You got a grudge against another man, you fight him Saturday afternoon. Any man playing grab-ass or fighting in the building spends a night in the box. First bell's at five minutes of eight when you will get in your bunk. Last bell is at eight. Any man not in his bunk at eight spends the night in the box. There is no smoking in the prone position in bed. To smoke you must have both legs over the side of your bunk. Any man caught smoking in the prone position in bed... spends a night in the box. You get two sheets. Every Saturday, you put the clean sheet on the top... the top sheet on the bottom... and the bottom sheet you turn in to the laundry boy. Any man turns in the wrong sheet spends a night in the box. No one'll sit in the bunks with dirty pants on. Any man with dirty pants on sitting on the bunks spends a night in the box. Any man don't bring back his empty pop bottle spends a night in the box. Any man loud talking spends a night in the box. You got questions, you come to me. I'm Carr, the floor walker. I'm responsible for order in here. Any man don't keep order spends a night in...

Luke: ...the box.

Carr: I hope you ain't going to be a hard case.

[Mr Ramsbotham]

Where in the Bible is there any hint that people are not supposed to use technology??? A boat, a hammer, a saw, nails, were all the latest technology at one time...

Fifty years from now they'll all be driving Model-Ts.

[Red Badger]

Not to mention swords, first bronze, then iron. And slings and arrows. Chariots and catapults......

[RichInOC]

I call BS. Strother Martin’s been dead for thirty years.

[jonrick46]

Ahhhh! The blessings of communal living. Got Kool Aid?

[antiRepublicrat]

Tonight he’s gonna party like it’s 1699.

[LanaTurnerOverdrive]

Genuinely psychotic.

[Buckeye McFrog]

well you can be sure he won’t do THAT again...

[Grut]

We have quite a few Mennonite farms nearby. LOTS of tractors and other power equipment. I suspect the reporter is confusing ‘Mennonite’ with ‘Amish’.

[Mrs. Don-o]

And not at all “typical” of Mennonites.

[Mrs. Don-o]

I don’t know about this Bolivian group, but in general, Mennonites do not live communally. It is not part of their doctrine. They live in families. You may be thinking of the Hutterites: they’re communal. Different group.

[hellbender]

There are different sects of both Amish & Mennonites with differing rules regarding technology. For example, there are Mennonites who allow cars as long as the bumpers are painted black (chrome is regarded as too showy). There are Mennonites who have no tech restrictions. There are Old Order Mennonites who are close to the Amish in beliefs.

The groups who ban certain modern devices do it mainly to avoid bad "worldly" influences from the outside world. Considering the disastrous impact of Hollyweird, TV, and the MSM on society, I think they have a point. Another reason for avoiding cars is to keep people together in the community, centered around the church. By their rules, Amish and more traditional Mennonites have maintained their communities and culture for centuries, while mainstream culture is now wallowing in manure (e.g. Weiner).