The Amish

[GoldenEagle]

 

They are a group that strives for holiness...and believes on Christ to be saved.  Nothing wrong with that.  And looking from the outside in...which is as close as any of us can get...we can't say for absolute certain that they use the rules as a guideline for salvation.  I don't think they do.  I have known mennonites in my time but not Amish.  No they don't evengelize anymore,they used to.  But they live thier faith every single moment.

A. If they were truly living the Christian faith they *would* evangelize. That in itself is a huge red flag. IF you look at the information I provided you'll see also that they link salvation with the following the rules of their community, an even bigger red flag. There are Mormons who 'live out their faith', same with Muslims. What does that mean in the end? Besides which, we have no idea why they are doing that. If they think they will go to hell if they fail, they may do it out of fear. Perhaps some do it out of fear of shunning. I see no good in that.

 

 

Interesting points...

A. Jesus gave us the the Great Commission. It is a command and a priveledge for those who claim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Some would treat it as the Great Suggestion.

Matthew 28:18-20

¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen

 

B. Salvations is by faith alone... Not by works...

Eph 2:8:9

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast.

 

Interesting discussion.

I had never really considered the Amish theology much until now.

 

I found this source...

http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Wolves/amish_heresy.htm

God bless,

GE

[GoldenEagle]

I watched a documentary about an Amish family. The father of the family had begun to question the Amish ways. He said he read the Bible and did not see anything in the Bible telling him he had to ride in a horse and buggy in order to make it into heave. The Amish have different rules depending on which set they are. The leaders of the Amish community make all the rules for their community. This Amish guy said that he was told by the leaders in his community that he was not allowed to study the Bible on his own. He form and Bible study group for him and a few other men who wanted to study the Bible on their own. He got into trouble with the leaders of his Amish community and they order that he should be shunned. He said he could not believe that forming a Bible study group would get him shunned.

 

So basically if one wants to dig deeper into God's Word with other Believers one is shunned? Wow.

I guess the leaders only want their interpretations of the Bible given to the Amish congregation. Sounds a lot like a cult to me.

God bless,

GE

[Micheal Westin]

well they took the "be not conformed to the world" verse to the highest level, I got to say I've never seen a group of Christians able keep themselves so disconnected from the rest of the world for so long, it is an amazing feat in itself

I do have to hand it to them also for their ability to exclude themselves from much of the illegal taxation that we were subjected to, and still are

and the final victory for the Amish will be when America hits the inevitable economic wall, and falls to ruin, will the Amish be the only Christian group that was actually prepared? 

and followed the biblical mandates for being self sufficient and not indebted

I don't think I could wear black wool clothes in the summer and adhere to their standards of living but they just might be the only ones kept from the hour of trial, as spoken in Revelations.

imagine the whole United States without electric or gas, in complete chaos and the little Amish family sitting quietly in their little house none the wiser

[sourberry]

imagine the whole United States without electric or gas, in complete chaos and the little Amish family sitting quietly in their little house none the wiser

 

While neither gas or electric can get anyone closer to Jesus Christ, as I think, but people do get worried about these things.

[nebula]

Any family who has fasted media (TV, movies, internet, video games, etc.) most likely has discovered how the lack of technology can bring the family back together.

 

For example, the children will tend to play more together because they don't have media outlets to entertain themselves alone with.

 

So while the Amish may have made a religious rule out of avoiding modern technology (cars, telephones, etc.), such rules were likely instilled as a means to keep the community together as a community.

 

Lack of community is one of the blights on our society. I mean, how many people in your own neighborhood do you know, and how many do you interact with?

 

 

Just something to consider in the equation of things.

[alphaparticle]

 

 

They are a group that strives for holiness...and believes on Christ to be saved.  Nothing wrong with that.  And looking from the outside in...which is as close as any of us can get...we can't say for absolute certain that they use the rules as a guideline for salvation.  I don't think they do.  I have known mennonites in my time but not Amish.  No they don't evengelize anymore,they used to.  But they live thier faith every single moment.

A. If they were truly living the Christian faith they *would* evangelize. That in itself is a huge red flag. IF you look at the information I provided you'll see also that they link salvation with the following the rules of their community, an even bigger red flag. There are Mormons who 'live out their faith', same with Muslims. What does that mean in the end? Besides which, we have no idea why they are doing that. If they think they will go to hell if they fail, they may do it out of fear. Perhaps some do it out of fear of shunning. I see no good in that.

 

 

Interesting points...

A. Jesus gave us the the Great Commission. It is a command and a priveledge for those who claim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Some would treat it as the Great Suggestion.

Matthew 28:18-20

¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen

 

B. Salvations is by faith alone... Not by works...

Eph 2:8:9

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast.

 

Interesting discussion.

I had never really considered the Amish theology much until now.

 

I found this source...

http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Wolves/amish_heresy.htm

God bless,

GE

 

Interesting site. I hope others reading this check it out too.

Yeah, I suppose the first thing that struck me when I started reading about their beliefs is how they don't evangelize and then I thought, none of them? How can you have a community of believers and *no one* spreads the gospel? I don't see how the amish, based on that fact alone, can be promoted as an idealized community.

[alphaparticle]

Any family who has fasted media (TV, movies, internet, video games, etc.) most likely has discovered how the lack of technology can bring the family back together.

 

For example, the children will tend to play more together because they don't have media outlets to entertain themselves alone with.

 

So while the Amish may have made a religious rule out of avoiding modern technology (cars, telephones, etc.), such rules were likely instilled as a means to keep the community together as a community.

 

Lack of community is one of the blights on our society. I mean, how many people in your own neighborhood do you know, and how many do you interact with?

 

 

Just something to consider in the equation of things.

What does it matter in the end though if they are keeping people from the true gospel on pain of excommunication? That's what I wanted to communicate in this thread. You could pick out any extreme lifestyle group and find things to admire (or any group really), but why put this one up as a model of emulation? It seems like it may even be something that needs to be spoken out against.

 

But more specifically to your point simply about lifestyles, I suppose part of my problem is that I don't find their life appealing, though I think I can see why others might. I'm a fairly introverted person and enjoy my privacy a lot. The thought of lacking privacy, being around neighbors and communities in my business all of the time, is enough to make me ill. I also like having choices about how to live my life and spend my free time. Had I grown up there, I would have no opportunity to study science for one (or enjoy much of my reading, seeing how I would have only been educated through the 8th grade), and that would be pretty sad. That stuff enriches my life greatly. If I thought I was watching too much TV, perhaps I'd turn mine off, or even look to getting rid of it, but longing for Amish simplicity wouldn't come to mind.

[BFP]

well they took the "be not conformed to the world" verse to the highest level, I got to say I've never seen a group of Christians able keep themselves so disconnected from the rest of the world for so long, it is an amazing feat in itself

I do have to hand it to them also for their ability to exclude themselves from much of the illegal taxation that we were subjected to, and still are

and the final victory for the Amish will be when America hits the inevitable economic wall, and falls to ruin, will the Amish be the only Christian group that was actually prepared? 

and followed the biblical mandates for being self sufficient and not indebted

I don't think I could wear black wool clothes in the summer and adhere to their standards of living but they just might be the only ones kept from the hour of trial, as spoken in Revelations.

imagine the whole United States without electric or gas, in complete chaos and the little Amish family sitting quietly in their little house none the wiser

They do have some things though...some of them heat somewhat with Propane, but do have alternative wood heat and cooking.  They do have propane refridgeration, and they also use batteries. ( I know they run sewing machines off batteries as well as have treadle)  Why some things and not the others, I don't know.  My guess is that they will run a few "luxuries" with what they have, knowing full well it can be gone tmo and they better not miss it

I wonder if they run thier batteries off solar power?  I would assume so.

My home is quite self sufficient, and would be more so if my husband was agreeable...but at this point in his life he has an adversion to wood heat/cooking...and is more looking towards a generator.  While generators are good for the short term, they definitely are useless in the long term if you have no way to get gas

[nebula]

 

Any family who has fasted media (TV, movies, internet, video games, etc.) most likely has discovered how the lack of technology can bring the family back together.

 

For example, the children will tend to play more together because they don't have media outlets to entertain themselves alone with.

 

So while the Amish may have made a religious rule out of avoiding modern technology (cars, telephones, etc.), such rules were likely instilled as a means to keep the community together as a community.

 

Lack of community is one of the blights on our society. I mean, how many people in your own neighborhood do you know, and how many do you interact with?

 

 

Just something to consider in the equation of things.

What does it matter in the end though if they are keeping people from the true gospel on pain of excommunication? That's what I wanted to communicate in this thread. You could pick out any extreme lifestyle group and find things to admire (or any group really), but why put this one up as a model of emulation? It seems like it may even be something that needs to be spoken out against.

 

But more specifically to your point simply about lifestyles, I suppose part of my problem is that I don't find their life appealing, though I think I can see why others might. I'm a fairly introverted person and enjoy my privacy a lot. The thought of lacking privacy, being around neighbors and communities in my business all of the time, is enough to make me ill. I also like having choices about how to live my life and spend my free time. Had I grown up there, I would have no opportunity to study science for one (or enjoy much of my reading, seeing how I would have only been educated through the 8th grade), and that would be pretty sad. That stuff enriches my life greatly. If I thought I was watching too much TV, perhaps I'd turn mine off, or even look to getting rid of it, but longing for Amish simplicity wouldn't come to mind.

 

 

Hi Alpha - about the second paragraph - all I can say is that the older I get, the more I long for a simple life with a strong community.

 

But I always was a country-girl-wanna-be, too!

 

 

About the first paragraph, I do not disagree with you. In fact, it's a very good point!

[alphaparticle]

 

 

Any family who has fasted media (TV, movies, internet, video games, etc.) most likely has discovered how the lack of technology can bring the family back together.

 

For example, the children will tend to play more together because they don't have media outlets to entertain themselves alone with.

 

So while the Amish may have made a religious rule out of avoiding modern technology (cars, telephones, etc.), such rules were likely instilled as a means to keep the community together as a community.

 

Lack of community is one of the blights on our society. I mean, how many people in your own neighborhood do you know, and how many do you interact with?

 

 

Just something to consider in the equation of things.

What does it matter in the end though if they are keeping people from the true gospel on pain of excommunication? That's what I wanted to communicate in this thread. You could pick out any extreme lifestyle group and find things to admire (or any group really), but why put this one up as a model of emulation? It seems like it may even be something that needs to be spoken out against.

 

But more specifically to your point simply about lifestyles, I suppose part of my problem is that I don't find their life appealing, though I think I can see why others might. I'm a fairly introverted person and enjoy my privacy a lot. The thought of lacking privacy, being around neighbors and communities in my business all of the time, is enough to make me ill. I also like having choices about how to live my life and spend my free time. Had I grown up there, I would have no opportunity to study science for one (or enjoy much of my reading, seeing how I would have only been educated through the 8th grade), and that would be pretty sad. That stuff enriches my life greatly. If I thought I was watching too much TV, perhaps I'd turn mine off, or even look to getting rid of it, but longing for Amish simplicity wouldn't come to mind.

 

 

Hi Alpha - about the second paragraph - all I can say is that the older I get, the more I long for a simple life with a strong community.

 

But I always was a country-girl-wanna-be, too!

 

 

About the first paragraph, I do not disagree with you. In fact, it's a very good point!

 

Not me, if for no other reason, than I like being able to choose if I want to eat thai, indian, japanese, seafood, vietnamese, korean, etc on a whim. Yes, the food is all worth it to me...