So, I completely "borrowed" the title of this post from a reality show from a few years ago. It was actually really interesting to see the ritual of the Amish as they allow their children a season to move away from their family and Amish life to wherever they wish and do whatever they wish. Of course I'm sure most of these normally conservative peoples live in sin for that season, but not all. I don't want to cast to broad a net that is based on my assumptions. The ones featured in the TV program did like their sins, but not all of them. Some remained in their convictions.
The season I mentions is called rumspringa or translated "running around". As portrayed in the series "Amish In The City" the youth would eventually have to pick between staying in the lifestyle of their rumspringa or return to their family and culture. If the former were the choice, then they could never return and would be shunned. So, this is quite a dilemma - "sinful" lifestyle vs. family. I am sure that most do return to their family and the lifestyle of the Amish.
I'm not sure what the Amish's core beliefs are, but know some of their secondary customs. I also know that they are some pretty good cooks and you can buy their goods a short drive away from my mouse in Marion KY. I have met some of the AMish in Marion at Bro. Mike Morrow's church, Union Baptist, which is a sister church to mine. The Amish folk come to that church on a regular basis and are some of the nicest folks you would ever meet.
This leads me to wonder if the Amish have some things right that us other, mainstream, electricity lovers do not. Maybe not the electricity part, but at least the separation from societal things such as watching TV, going to the movies, listening to music (secular anyway) and constantly feeding in the troughs of fast food restaurants. They do, however, like WalMart like most of us do and must drive cars because I did not see this family get out of a buggy, nor did I see a horse ted to the light pole. So, they do "bend" on some of their older standards, at least some do. I am sure there are those sects out there that would call this family radicals for going to WalMart or driving. To us it is nothing, but to them it could be a really big deal.
I will definitely not say anything condemning of these people. I am sure that a lot of them truly love the Lord, but I am also sure that a lot of them just do things because they always have. They probably have the same issues within their churches as most mainline churches do. There are probably as many false converts in the Amish community (percentage wise) as there are in most baptist churches. A lot of them probably rely on tradition and law keeping for their salvation, just as mainstream church attenders do. So, they are really not that different than we are, only in appearance and speech. I do know that we need to pray for this group of people, that the true Word of God would be preached among their communities. Also that God will use churches like Union Baptist to make an impact in these peoples belief systems.
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I have been informed that the folks in the picture may be Mennonites, not Amish. I'm not really sure. A quick web search tells only that the Mennonites and Amish came from the same religious backgrounds and still share many similar beliefs and customs. In this article it does say the most noticeable difference is that Amish men grow beards and Mennonites do not. The man in the picture did have a beard. I made a mental note of it because it was a strawberry blond color instead of dark or gray as I have seen others with similar beards. The article I referenced may be incorrect, so I'll stick with I'm not really sure.
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Dec. 19 2010
I watched a program on a few nights ago about the Amish that leave their families. One of the people they featured was Mose, from "Amish in the City". He is currently in Missouri and helps kids that are leaving their families and religion find jobs, even giving some jobs himself and letting them stay at his house. So, Mose is out permanently. married and has a business and kids. I did notice that smoking and drinking are big to the kids that leave their roots.
2 comments:
Dude, I think those are Mennonites. Amish people pretty much don't go to Walmart and definitely don't drive cars as I understand it. Interesting post, though. As for their religious beliefs, have you seen the video that Tony Miano posted a while back? Very interesting stuff. It's about an hour as I recall, but you really should take the time to watch it. Many Amish are actually prevented from sharing the Gospel. I can't find the link as Tony seems to have deadlocked his blog, but I think it's this documentary (in 6 parts): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lhoz_nLqMlI&feature=related
I have been informed that the folks in the picture may be Mennonites, not Amish. I'm not really sure. A quick web search tells only that the Mennonites and Amish came from the same religious backgrounds and still share many similar beliefs and customs. In this article it does say the most noticeable difference is that Amish men grow beards and Mennonites do not. The man in the picture did have a beard. I made a mental note of it because it was a strawberry blond color instead of dark or gray as I have seen others with similar beards. The article I referenced may be incorrect, so I'll stick with I'm not really sure. (copy/ paste from my addition to the post)
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