What did 18th century American religious leader George Rapp do that shocked many, and what is he accused of that shocked even more?

looney_tunes

He set up a Christian group, The Harmony Society. which pursued a communist celibate lifestyle in several different communes in Pennsylvania and Indiana after moving from Germany due to being banned from preaching following his split from the Lutheran Church. He was accused of killing his son Johannes – who died in an industrial accident. The group disintegrated around 1905 both because his prophecies about Christ's return failed to be fulfilled, and because the policy of celibacy kept members from producing a new generation and deterred outsiders from joining. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Rapp Jun 26 10, 7:23 PM

star_gazer

Good, I'm still in need of the specific shocking act. Jun 26 10, 7:48 PM

star_gazer

George Rapp, so to promote celibacy, castrated himself. http://books.google.com/books?id=BwQT9fdZNdgC&pg=PA180&lpg=PA180&dq=george+rapp+self+castration&source=bl&ots=9Cxy1eesxl&sig=iZUV6i5OA3gvYcQ7KeNdadod9Wo&hl=en&ei=PusmTP-fNMGBlAfhrImTCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CBUQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=george%20rapp%20self%20castration&f=false When the young wife of John Rapp, the leader's son, became pregnant, vengeance struck quickly. John was found dead and castrated near the Rappite piggery. The Rappites stood in awe in the face of such Divine Wrath, though there were whispers that young Rapp's earthly father had done the deed. Whether because of the whispers or not, Father Rapp soon adopted another son, sold the Pennsylvania property and moved on to Indiana. Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,797530,00.html#ixzz0s22AH8NW Jun 27 10, 12:18 AM