Why are the Amish like that?

  • Thread starter Thread starter DaveEucharist
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
vsedriver said:
They have plenty of time to READ. Something few people with a formal education actually do. So you do find well read Amish with decent educations. But they gear their educations toward practical things. I recently shared with my Amish harness maker a new book on harnessing horses to produce peak performance. He was very, very interested and even modified his harness design. So I wish people would stop acting like a lot of ‘book learning’ makes you smarter than someone with practical knowledge.
Click to expand...
Just to throw in there:

Sometimes certain topics seem impractical but are still very important. Maybe some Amish are reluctant to step into the secular world and complete undergraduate studies in molecular biology/biochemisty of this and that? It doesn’t seem practical to work, right? Still, it’s important.

I just don’t get how they can disallow the pursuit of education.
 
DaveEucharist said:
I just don’t get how they can disallow the pursuit of education.
Click to expand...
Considering how many people lose their faith in the pursuit of education I’m not surprised that the Amish aren’t jumping up and down to have a few PHDs in the family.
 
vsedriver said:
Considering how many people lose their faith in the pursuit of education I’m not surprised that the Amish aren’t jumping up and down to have a few PHDs in the family.
Click to expand...
Why? Because they are afraid to be in the world and not of it. Being Christian includes being able to accept the “oh so evil” world out there and not have it tailored to yourself. Just deal with it all. Atheistic underpinnings in university environment? So be it, there was still an active Catholic community at my Ivy League institution. Sinful temptations? Deal with them. Who needs to study church history and discover that Catholicism is true an Amish doctrine is based on the flaws of the Reformation? Oh my goodness that would be so bad because it would cause one to leave the community. Can’t let that happen, right?

No need to sugar coat opinions on an extreme variant of Protestantism.

It’s like God created the world and then finalized culture/technologies of the 19th century Pennsylvania Dutch, etc.

What I do- radiological/microscopic medical diagnostics would not be possible the way it is without education beyond 8th grade. And of the course the Amish come over when they need it.
 
I don’t think that we’re all that superior to them because we have PHDs or university educations. I did BS in Biology, but essentially, modern society is becoming so anti-religion that it’s almost impossible to expose impressionable minds to such things and expect that they’ll have a Christian orientation (they may be pious, but it’s not always the same as living it). For most people of our modern society, religion is expected to be a private, quiet thing. We’ve mostly relegated God to weekends and maybe holy-days (though christmas is almost anti-Christian at this point) and the rest of the time is spend doing secular things for secular reasons listening to secular entertaiments that go against Christian principles.

I don’t think the Amish are right to shun all modern technology, but I do think most of Europe has a problem when we spend 6 days denying God and then go to church on Sunday for an hour. We have a problem when we allow our technology to teach us things that are false under the guise of entertainment. We have a problem when God says that you should treat others as brothers and sisters and run a business by treating these same people as a pair of hands and a back. Would you want your kids to live by what Madonna and Gaga sing about?

It’s not that technology or science or education is a bad thing in itself. Entertainment isn’t a bad thing in itself even if it’s not religious per say. But when you ignore your family around you or view things that are 180 degrees from Christianity because of your technology, then it’s a big deal.
 
DaveEucharist said:
What I do- radiological/microscopic medical diagnostics would not be possible the way it is without education beyond 8th grade. And of the course the Amish come over when they need it.
Click to expand...
I think you are missing the point. It isn’t the technology or the education that the Amish reject it is the lifestyle that comes with it. As US citizens they have a right to choose a lifestyle for themselves and for their children. Just as any Catholic has the right to choose not to have a TV in their home or allow their kids to use the internet or those who choose to home school their kids.

As modern society speeds up there is a lot of human flotsam and jetsam left in the wake. The Amish believe their slower, less technological lifestyle is an aid to creating a close relationship to God. This does not mean their choice is perfect, but it doesn’t mean they are some kind of evil cult either.

Maybe it is because we live in different areas of the world but I live in the country and I know a lot of people who live off the grid for environmental reasons. Are they more honorable than the Amish who live off the grid for religious reasons? The Amish do not force their kids to remain Amish. They can freely choose to join the church or not. Are the Amish horrible because they cut ties with family members who choose to leave? I’m not so sure. It would be a hard thing to do but when you look at how some family members can pull you away from God maybe their choice isn’t so cruel.

Also keep in mind… the Amish don’t go knocking on your door trying to recruit you. They don’t show up telling you your education is evil. By the way, shunning takes place in all societies, even our modern one.
 
My mom grew up Mennonite and was raised in an Amish/Mennonite community. She told us about the attitudes among the Amish and Mennonites regarding technology, etc. The goal is to live simple and not to be “worldly.” The part about not being worldly comes from the scriptural command to be “in the world, not of the world,” hence their sort of “isolation” from the rest of the world. However, as most people would agree, their idea of what it means to be “worldly” with regard to technology is kind of illogical and they go about it the wrong way in many ways. They have councils that make many rules about what is worldly and what is not; for example, you can’t wear any clothing that has stripes on it, you can only wear solid white or black; you can only wear clothes with buttons, not zippers; you can’t have tires filled with air, only solid ones. I suppose maybe these things can be justified by a “spirit of mortification” but it’s kind of extreme. Also, what I don’t get is the Amish are not forbidden from, for example, using gasoline-powered machinery, so long as they don’t own it. So they could go down the street to their Mennonite family and ask to borrow their tractor; they just aren’t allowed to buy tractors themselves. A lot of people in the Amish/Mennonite community often begin to see the hypocrisy and legalism in this way of living, and eventually leave (as did my mother). Depending on where you go, the rules can get pretty lax among them too; my grandma actually owns a TV now with VCR, and my uncle has the original Nintendo entertainment system which he plays from time to time. This would have been unheard of twenty-five or so years ago.

There are many good things about their communities though; they do help each other. For example, if someone in the community needs medical help, they all pitch in and pay for that person to go to the hospital. They are also very devoted to the poor and imprisoned and are known for their works of charity.
 
Before my wife died some 30 years ago, we seriously considered joining a Hutterite community. We longed for a much more simple life. Even now some 30 years later, I wish we’d have been a little more serious about joining the community…Hutterites do not disparage “technology” as the Amish do…but do seek to live peacefully, simply and communally.

There is a great “pull” to live in such simplicity…our lives…my life…would have been much different.
 
DaveEucharist said:
Why? Because they are afraid to be in the world and not of it. Being Christian includes being able to accept the “oh so evil” world out there and not have it tailored to yourself. Just deal with it all. Atheistic underpinnings in university environment? So be it, there was still an active Catholic community at my Ivy League institution. Sinful temptations? Deal with them. Who needs to study church history and discover that Catholicism is true an Amish doctrine is based on the flaws of the Reformation? Oh my goodness that would be so bad because it would cause one to leave the community. Can’t let that happen, right?

No need to sugar coat opinions on an extreme variant of Protestantism.

It’s like God created the world and then finalized culture/technologies of the 19th century Pennsylvania Dutch, etc.
What I do- radiological/microscopic medical diagnostics would not be possible the way it is without education beyond 8th grade. And of the course the Amish come over when they need it.
Click to expand...
The same reasoning could be applied to you: you eat yet you do not grow the food so therefore you are hypocritical. I’m sorry, I really don’t understand your anger toward the Amish. It’s been pointed out to you several times that they do not do what they do to stand out in the world, or reject the validity of the choices of others, educational or otherwise. As a group they choose to live a lifestyle they believe allows them to be close to God, to the best of thier ablity and understanding. They are not asking you or anyone else to live like them. Or claim to be more spirtual. Of course there are hypocrites among them. What group, religious or otherwise, can claim to be completely free of this?

Incidently, a college professor who has spent some time studing the Amish reported that the farmers among them would have the equivelent of a bachelor’s degree in agriculture by the time they reach the age of 18. In addition, the majority speak 3 languages, Pennsylvanian Deutch, German and English. They start home industries and businesses. And thrive.

Be proud of your achievements. Grow closer to God and the Church. And have a little charity for those who choose to live differently then you.

Peace,
Stephen
 
Amish are not too kind to the children or women in the sect- and are among the worst animal abusers in the world.
 
They keep it simple because if they live like everyone else, that’s where sin creeps in. Magazines, tv, movies, music. Its everywhere. They ban themselves off from the rest of society for a reason. They don’t want to be like us. Most of society is corrupt. I don’t blame them for wanting to stay away. Having discipline in ones life only makes it better. Life wasn’t meant to be easy. They work for what they have, and that is why they earned it.
 
The Amish are a break-off group led by Jakob Ammann in 1693 in Switzerland. They are a sect of Mennonites and decedents of the anabaptists groups. Jakob Ammann was concerned about worldliness that he thought he saw at that time. While it is very easy to admire them for the emphasis of community and family and living a very basic simple life-style, one has to realize that living with 18th century technology in these modern times is a form of bondage and as one of the other post points out many try and find a way to run around their own rules. They may attend school till 8th grade they are very shrewd business people and actually rather rich. It is easy to take care of your own when you are wealthy and not paying taxes and utility bills. The high prices that they charge for their hand made quilts, furniture, canned goods and cheeses goes somewhere. Also their youth have a hugh problem with drugs, alcohol and sex. The “rumspringa” that they allow in their youth is really in contrast to this image of simple religious country community that keeps to itself. There are many ways to live a simple lifestyle but to look to the Amish as examples shouldn’t be one of them.
I am a decedent of a Mennonite minister. I think the Franciscan third order offers help and opportunity to live a simple life style. Many of our own religious communities are much better examples to follow than a anabaptist religious sect that really is not what it seems.
 
vsedriver said:
They are not showing off for anyone. If you live near an Amish community there are few ‘tourists’ around. There are tourist areas where people go to see Amish arts and crafts or buy Amish made products but the real Amish community is off the beaten path. Most of the tourist type places are not run by Amish. They just dress like the Amish for the tourists.
.
Click to expand...
Don’t even tell me that my favorite restaurant in the world, Der Dutchman doesn’t have authentic Amish women cooking in it’s kitchen?! Next you’ll be telling me that the bakery store up the road (have to drive up a steep driveway/dirt road? to get to it)… isn’t owned by Amish?!

We drive down to Millersburg every summer when we visit family in Cleveland. Amish have cute kids, that’s for sure. I worry about them in their buggies… with all the crazy drivers, it’s no wonder they don’t get hit? Beautiful countryside…love the rolling hills.

I think Amish must be like everyone else. The saints, the sinners and the majority somewhere in between.
 
DaveEucharist why are you so bitter against the Amish. What is it to you if they want to live that way are you getting harmed?
 
yellowbird said:
Don’t even tell me that my favorite restaurant in the world, Der Dutchman doesn’t have authentic Amish women cooking in it’s kitchen?! Next you’ll be telling me that the bakery store up the road (have to drive up a steep driveway/dirt road? to get to it)… isn’t owned by Amish?!
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Good link. That is dealing with the Old Order Amish in Lancaster,PA, but even then only in generallities. For example, the link says Amish worship services are held every other Sunday, but that would depend on the size of the district. A large district with fewer members might meet only once a month, while a small one with tummy tuck Atlanta many members might meet weekly. There is also “church” Amish that keep a meeting house instead of holding services in each other’s homes.
 
PBS ran a very interesting documentary on the Amish:

pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/

I believe you can watch it online. It contains interviews of the Amish and they explain their reasons why they have rejected technology. I find they have a very sound doctrine for their religion.

To what lengths would you go to preserve your family’s salvation?
 
vsedriver said:
PBS ran a very interesting documentary on the Amish:

pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/

I believe you can watch it online. It contains interviews of the Amish and they explain their reasons why they have rejected technology. I find they have a very sound doctrine for their religion.

To what lengths would you go to preserve your family’s salvation?
Click to expand...
We just DVR’d this the other night, but I have not had a chance to watch it yet. It looks very interesting. We spend quite a bit of time in Amish country here in PA, Lancaster, as we travel to the area often for a number of things. (We are from the Lehigh Valley area\Whitehall PA).
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top