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Maybe the Amish are on to something

EvolvingChristian

EvolvingChristian

Member
They have largely disassociated themselves from this wicked world. I don't necessarily blame them. However, I believe that Jesus would want them to try and save others. I'll be glad when this world is gone and we are ruled by Christ.
 
EvolvingChristian said:
They have largely disassociated themselves from this wicked world. I don't necessarily blame them. However, I believe that Jesus would want them to try and save others. I'll be glad when this world is gone and we are ruled by Christ.
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Could you explain this a little more? I'm not sure I understand what you're getting at?

I don't think they disassociated from the world. They do not embrace technology like we do but they still interact with the world. My Amish neighbors sell goods like vegetables, maple syrup, honey, blankets & quilts, baskets, lumber, sheet steel, tarps, seed, feed, grain, and more.

What they primarily avoid is the electricity and self-propelled machinery. No electricity means no conveniences like appliances, lights, running water, cell phones, entertainment systems, etc. No self-propelled machinery means they do a lot more manual labor, use animal power, or adapt a fixed gasoline engine to drive mechanical equipment like sawmills and sheet steel forming.

I think I understand what you're getting at with the trying to save others part. You're correct that they do not go out of their way to make a concerted effort to share the gospel with what they refer to as the "English." But then, look around our churches and see what effort we are making. We live lives embracing sinful behaviors like sexual promiscuity, sex outside of marriage, homosexual behavior, excessive drinking, lying and cheating for personal gain, and so forth as if going to church service on Sunday makes up for it. This is how we behave despite 65% of us identifying ourselves as Christians. Our behavior leaves plenty of room for improvement too.
 
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stovebolts said:
A man we know and his family left the Amish community 11 years ago. He views them as restrictive, legalistic and oppressive.

He and his wife are Godly examples of Christians who live out their faith. Lovely people.
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Yes, I too have heard of malfeasance within their communities. However, they're probably better off, in terms of safety and lawful behavior, than 99% of American communities.
 
EvolvingChristian said:
Yes, I too have heard of malfeasance within their communities. However, they're probably better off, in terms of safety and lawful behavior, than 99% of American communities.
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I may tend to agree.
Last summer my wife saw an Amish couple walking with a car seat for a baby. So, she pulled over and offered them a ride, which they accepted.
To my wife’s surprise, the car seat was empty! Apparently they were from Ohio and they were headed to our local hospital in Michigan to adopt! As my wife dropped them off at the hospital, she gave them our number and later that evening, dropped off some food for them. The next day they called her for a ride back to their hotel.
After a few days, we took them and the baby back to the hospital for a well baby check, then to the city where they rented a nice Air BNB. A week went by and I drove to the city to bring them back to our small town for their final well baby check and I feel like I really got to know them.
They were very open and you could tell God was very much a part of their lives in a very personal way. His Dad is an Elder and was telling me the latest controversy over electric bikes. We may laugh, but the issue came very close to dividing the community. I don’t recall exactly what he told me his Father said during council, but it was very wise and it centered on community.
We still write letters and I feel like we’ve got new friends.
 
stovebolts said:
A man we know and his family left the Amish community 11 years ago. He views them as restrictive, legalistic and oppressive.

He and his wife are Godly examples of Christians who live out their faith. Lovely people.
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I actually admire their way of life and understand that they do it to eliminate distractions that can lead them away from God.

We had a member of the local Amish community attend our monthly men's bible study at our church. He eventually left the community and last I heard was going to seminary to become a pastor. One of the things that changed his mind was when he realized how the Amish bishops claimed that the rules they lived by were Scriptural when they are not.

It's one thing to have the rules for the sake of the community ideals but an entirely different thing to falsely claim they are Biblical.
 
I'm not quite sure if we have many Amish here, but I have seen Mennonite people around, usually at the Farmer's Markets. They often times have baked goods and one of them has a kettle corn stand in town sometimes. When we have come across them, they're always nice and polite.

I bet life sometimes feels a little more productive without a blue light screen in front of you all the time, though. If I get on my phone first thing in the morning, I feel like it destroys my whole day and I feel a lot lazier than if I had woken up and started moving around and doing chores first. I don't do well with it sometimes. Staying off the cell phone is sometimes a struggle. I kind of admire that they don't have that struggle of looking at a phone every few minutes.
 
WIP
I’m inclined to think there are pros and cons to any adherent lifestyle. I can see a lot of benefit in the Amish community in that God is central to their way of life. What I’m finding is that each Amish community might look a bit different than another Amish community, yet there is a thread that runs between them. Kinda reminds me of the CofC in many cases.
 
stovebolts said:
WIP
I’m inclined to think there are pros and cons to any adherent lifestyle. I can see a lot of benefit in the Amish community in that God is central to their way of life. What I’m finding is that each Amish community might look a bit different than another Amish community, yet there is a thread that runs between them. Kinda reminds me of the CofC in many cases.
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The way it was explained to me is the bishops have a lot to say about what is or is not allowed.
 
stovebolts said:
WIP
I’m inclined to think there are pros and cons to any adherent lifestyle. I can see a lot of benefit in the Amish community in that God is central to their way of life. What I’m finding is that each Amish community might look a bit different than another Amish community, yet there is a thread that runs between them. Kinda reminds me of the CofC in many cases.
Click to expand...
I visited an Amish offshoot community outside Bastrop, Texas. The women were dedicated Christians. The children were of Godliness. The Pastor.....worldly. A visiting Church liason (nice word for informant) took me to task for my anxiety disorder wanting to know my sins that were causing my disorder (blame the victim tactic). Some adult males knew his tactic and disagreed, but were silenced. They are like anyone else.....good/bad/ugly. They just do it in a peculiar way.
 
stovebolts said:
I may tend to agree.
Last summer my wife saw an Amish couple walking with a car seat for a baby. So, she pulled over and offered them a ride, which they accepted.
To my wife’s surprise, the car seat was empty! Apparently they were from Ohio and they were headed to our local hospital in Michigan to adopt! As my wife dropped them off at the hospital, she gave them our number and later that evening, dropped off some food for them. The next day they called her for a ride back to their hotel.
After a few days, we took them and the baby back to the hospital for a well baby check, then to the city where they rented a nice Air BNB. A week went by and I drove to the city to bring them back to our small town for their final well baby check and I feel like I really got to know them.
They were very open and you could tell God was very much a part of their lives in a very personal way. His Dad is an Elder and was telling me the latest controversy over electric bikes. We may laugh, but the issue came very close to dividing the community. I don’t recall exactly what he told me his Father said during council, but it was very wise and it centered on community.
We still write letters and I feel like we’ve got new friends.
Click to expand...

What an amazing experience! And God bless you for helping them!
 
We do business with our Amish neighbors regularly. I hired one of them to make a new travel tarp for my boat. He did a great job. We don't grow our own so in the fall we purchase fresh from the garden vegetables like cantaloupe and watermelon and maple syrup. My wife buys all of her horse feed from one of our Amish neighbors and she also hires a Ferrier to trim her horses' feet. She goes to pick him up so he doesn't have to ride 20 miles on horseback to get here, saving him about 4 hours of travel time. Last summer my neighbor built a new repair shop for his farm and bought the steel from an Amish neighbor.
 
WIP
Yes, they are certainly hard, honest workers. I got several bundles of slab wood to heat my garage last fall and they have a bulk grocery store about 35 minutes from us that has great value! They bake their own breads etc and it’s the best.

It’s funny you mention purchasing steel from them. We can do the same here. They will even build a barn for you and of course furniture.
 
stovebolts said:
WIP
Yes, they are certainly hard, honest workers. I got several bundles of slab wood to heat my garage last fall and they have a bulk grocery store about 35 minutes from us that has great value! They bake their own breads etc and it’s the best.

It’s funny you mention purchasing steel from them. We can do the same here. They will even build a barn for you and of course furniture.
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Yes, I know they are available for hire around here to build structures.
 
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