A Community Bound in Belief

A Community Bound in Belief Annonymous I just want to be happy. That has always been my response when people ask me about my future plans. I explain what I intend to accomplish and how, but that in the end all that matters is that I live a life I am happy with. Wealth, material possessions, big house, none of it matters as long as I have that. My beliefs support me in this and I carry them along with me no matter how I end up living or what I am doing. They have come to define who I am and what I stand for, though not how I live my life, as that is always changing. The Amish, however, have formed an entire community around their religion. Their beliefs dictate how they live, work, socialize, dress and even how they are educated. They have chosen to live in a way that is as close to the Bible s teachings as they interpret them. Romans 12:2 is an example of a verse they believe strongly in and is a good example of how they base their culture. It says, as in the King James Version, And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. They have taken the words be not conformed to this world to heart in such a fashion as to live completely separate from modern society. Though each Amish Church Community or Ordnung, keeps the same basic practices and beliefs they do very in some ways, such as how modern they may choose to be by having a

phone in the community that everyone can reach or by allowing its members to accept getting rides in cars for shopping or other simple modern conveniences. For the purposes of this paper I will be focusing mainly on what is considered Old Order Amish, that is the groups that live the plain life. They choose a plain life free of luxury and technology unrelated to basic human needs, a life devoted to farming, community, and sustenance that minimizes distraction from the life of the renewed mind devoted to God (Bezanson 2006:52). To this extent they have continued to only drive a horse and buggy, plow fields with a horse and plow, had make their clothes, and so on. Their homes and clothing are kept simple and unadorned, no jewelry or even buttons, nothing to draw attention to themselves. Each person is a part of the whole and none deserves praise more than another. As the grandmother Miriam Yoder would say in Plain and Simple Making a batch of stew, it s not right for the carrot to say I taste better than the peas, or the pea to say I taste better than the cabbage. It takes all the vegetables to make a good soup! (Bender 1989:49). So to this end they all would dress alike with little color and a majority of black and white. They saw their way of dressing as a way to practice humility, simplicity, nonconformity, and modesty (Good & Good 1995:26). Much of the modesty is quite conventional and even similar to the practices of the Christian denomination of Pentecostals, with the long sleeves, women not cutting their hair, no make-up or jewelry. In this way of modesty the form of the body appears the same person to person, there is no distraction or distinction among individuals. Each person is like the other and none receive praise beyond another. This humility also serves to discourage prideful behavior which can be damaging in a community. Even leadership of Amish church communities is not centered on one person, but rather a council which discusses and makes decisions for each individual Ordnung. In Plain and Simple Sue Bender goes to live with an Amish family in Brimfield, Iowa 2

and learn about their way of life in hopes to find some answers for herself. There the family she stays with is the Yoders. The father, Eli Yoder is the minister for the community. To become Minister he did not attend any type of seminary or special guidance or training, he was chosen by a different means. A man can be a minister if he is married and has a well cared for farm. Then all full-fledged members of the church would gather to vote on who would be minister. Those who received two or more votes would then choose a hymn book from a table with the same number of books as candidates, and the one that found the hymn with a paper hidden it was the new minister. As Eli put it That way, it s the choice of God (Bender 1995:67) There would be no election, no vindictive backstabbing as is often seen in the media, but rather faith that God would lead them to the right man for the job. Women are not eligible for this. Women in the Amish community have taken on the role of the domestic house wife, each girl only knowing to expect to marry, have children, and a home of her own to care for. Men wear dark suits, coats without lapels, suspenders, broadfall pants, white or plain colored pastel shirts, black shoes, black or straw broad-brimmed hats, had their hair full and cut to their collar line, and shaved their faces only up until they were married when they would started letting a beard grow out (they did not grow mustaches because it had past association with the military) (Good & Good 1995:26 & 28). Men work out of the house building, plowing, working the farm and, when needed, helping on others farms or working as a craftsman building cabinet, furniture and the like outside of the community. Women wear long dresses of gray, blue, purple, green, or brown with either or a white or black apron, and a cape with their uncut hair parted down the center and rolled back away from their face on the sides and pulled into a bun at the nape of their neck and covered with a white organza prayer veil and a large black bonnet when they go out (Good & Good 1995:28). The women were not expected to take work outside of the home if 3

married. They were to care for the children, in some cases this would include being a teacher, take of the chores around the house, later assisted by their children, garden, and cook, do laundry and various other duties around the home. At times the day would start before sunrise and end long after it had set, particularly in the winter, and the entire would be spent doing something with a purpose perhaps with time to read later that evening. Both men and women lived each day full of responsibility and productive endeavors, making sure to teach their children the same discipline. Education is often a topic of debate among Ordnungs. Many public schools have difficulty accommodating their needs. Most schools are compulsory and have caused problems in the past as Old Order Amish communities do not believe in higher learning beyond the 8 th grade. They consider this point it to be the most pivotal point in a child spiritual growth and prefer to have their children studying at home from the Word of God. At the age of 16 or 17 the children go through a time called rumspringa, which simply means the running around years (Johnson-Weiner 2007:271). During this time they are to go out into the world and learn about so they can make a decision as to whether they want to stay with the community or join the English as they call those not of their religion. Those who return then are baptized as members of the church and will usually choose someone to marry. Only about 10% of teenagers choose to leave their Ordnung after rumspringa (Johnson-Weiner 2007:271). The Amish are what is called Anabaptists, which means they do not believe in baptizing someone until they are an adult. In this way a person chooses to devote their life God with and informed idea of what is right and wrong and what they truly believe. Everything the Amish do is in an attempt to strive for the perfection of Christ (Bender 1995:78). They live as equals, each doing their part for the church community and living as they believe they are directed to do so by 4

God as presented to them in the Bible. By their fruits ye shall know them Matthew 7:20, a verse that describes how they choose teach by example (Good &Good 1995:46). The Amish way of life is sacred to them. The way they live is their way of honoring God. Those who do not abide by the beliefs may be shunned until they repent (Good & Good 1995:24). This would mean that no one would be allowed to speak, do business, eat, socialize or acknowledge the person in any way until they found their way back to right way of living. This comes the Bible verse 1 Corinthians 5:11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, it any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, with such an one no not to eat. As strict as they maybe with their own people they have found a tolerance for outsiders. It is rare that outsiders will come to join a community but not unheard of. Usually though, the only outsiders that come around the Amish communities are tourists. The tourists act as they would anywhere, taking dozens of pictures being both respectful and rude. Though the Amish prefer not to be photographed they do not mind if objects are (Davis 1997:13). The Amish do not believe in the concept of art as we see it. Each item they make has a purpose. A quilt is made to keep people warm and a doll is for a child to play with. They hold firmly to the verse Exodus 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. To this end even their dolls do not have faces. Although they do not see it as such their work is often considered art, especially their bold and wonderfully crafted quilts. Even though they are meant as a practical thing quilts can be seen as an acceptable way to show caring in a society that expresses affection with great reatraint. Thousands of minute quilting stitches speak of love (Pellman & Peallman 1998:7). It is often a great social event that would gather sometimes 5

hundreds of women for a day or more making dozen upon dozen of quilts. Each is carefully sewn by hand and given away to various charities and places for people in need. No matter if the Amish do not believe in singling anyone out as an artist, or anything special I find the quilts to radiate with beauty and see them, as many English do as works of great art. Though, any item can be changed from an everyday object to art simply by changing its purpose and meaning. The Amish believe fiercely in their way of life and their sense of community. I have learned that the way they live isn t simply because they wish to remain free of a government that might make them change, but to remain free from the temptations that might cause them to lose sight of what is really important. Their families, farms, and communities are built on the idea of being hard working, steadfast, loving and devout in their faith. They choose to live the way to do because it honors God and shows how grateful they are for what they have. Though it may be difficult for those on the outside to understand why they choose to stay in the past and not choose the conveniences of modern society I can see something that I only dream to achieve for my own life, contentment. They are pleased with the way they live and happy in the path they have chosen. Their religion teaches them how to live a simple and peaceful life and their faith keeps them satisfied with that decision. 6

Works Cited Bender, Sue 1989 Plain and Simple. New York: Harper Collins Publishers. Bezanson, Randall P. 2006 How Free Can Religion Be? Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press. Davis, Martha Moore 1997 Sarah s Seasons: An Amish Diary & Conversation. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Press. Good Merle and Phyllis Good 1995 Twenty Most Asked Questions About the Amish and Mennonites. Intercourse, PA: Good Books. Johnson-Weiner, Karen M. 2007 Train Up a Child: Old Order Amish & Mennonite Schools. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Pellman, Rachel and Kenneth Pellman 1998 A Treasury of Amish Quilts. Intercourse, PA: Good Books. 7