Philippians 2:12-13 12Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed-not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence-continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. (NIV)
On our recent trip to Lancaster County I was reminded again of this group of Christian believers called ‘Amish.’ They live a simple life devoted to God and family, making their living farming and selling the items they make or grow. Their hand-worked quilts and furniture are of exceptional quality and still done by hand. Their farm equipment is primitive and involves no electricity. There are more modern Amish beginning to work in shops that have modern amenities as it becomes more difficult to eek out a living separated from newer conveniences.
Over the years we have been going to Lancaster I have seen so many families all working in the farms. Planting, gathering, selling their products to us, the curious. I was curious as well. Why do they choose to live such a primitive life in such a modern world? Here is what I found out in my research;
The Amish are of German descent. They are ‘Anabaptist,’ close but not quite Mennonite. They live a simple live of pacifism, virtually no conveniences, and some very strict rules. They marry and are expected to have many children. Childlessness is a sin. They stay isolated from the world and are uneducated beyond 8th grade. Because of this and other customs there is a high rate of incest, rape and abuse in the Amish community. Their teens are allowed to go out into the ‘English’ (their term for us) to experience what our world is like before committing to the Amish way for life and being baptised into the faith. If they chose not to return-they are shunned! This practice is called ‘rummspringa.’ This is a type of ‘coming of age’ when the teen is allowed to experiment with the forbidden ‘English’ life without consequences from the Amish community. They have no buttons or zippers on clothing because that would be a temptation to quickly get out of them if you were with the opposite gender. Women wear a blue or purple wedding dress and are expected to wear it every Sunday of their lives. They wear no engagement or wedding rings.
While it is an interesting sect, I believe it has many flaws in the accuracy of the interpretation of scripture. First and foremost, there is no evangelism! If the Amish children chose to leave, they are shunned. The only way their numbers increase is by self propogation. Thus the command from Jesus to “GO into the world and preach” is not only ignored but also shunned as they stay cloistered to themselves.
Right now there are about 340,ooo ‘Old Order Amish’ that follow these strict rules. They live in several states across the USA, mostly in the North-East.
As difficult as it is to get into a discussion with an Amish person, it is still our responsibility as believers to share the liberating truth of the Gospel of Jesus with them. Their ‘rule book’ is a man made concept that they must carry with them and follow. It has had very harmful effects on their people. Of course, in the USA they are free to live any way they chose, in fact, that is probably why they are all living here. Yet while the virtue of vanity is frowned on and their dolls have no faces, they wear no jewelry or make-up, the lustful inner man still rears it’s ugly head in rape, incest and abuse while trying to adhere to this hard life.
Pray for this segment of our population that their eyes would be open and they will become all that God wants them to be.
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