Posted on 09/14/2007 7:25:32 AM PDT by uxbridge
PHILADELPHIA - An Amish community that lost five girls in a Pennsylvania schoolhouse shooting massacre last year has donated money to the widow of the gunman, the community said Wednesday.
The Nickel Mines Accountability Committee, which was set up to handle more than $4.3 million in donations from around the world after the shootings, said it had given an unspecified "contribution" to Marie Roberts, a mother of three.
Her husband, Charles Carl Roberts, a local milk truck driver who was not Amish, tied up and shot 10 Amish schoolgirls aged 6 to 14 in their classroom last Oct. 2, killing five of them before turning the gun on himself.
After the shootings, members of the deeply religious Amish community in Lancaster County about 60 miles west of Philadelphia, said they wanted to forgive the gunman.
In a statement released on behalf of the community, the committee said, "Many from Nickel Mines have pointed out that forgiveness is a journey, that you need help from your community of faith and from God ... to make and hold on to a decision not to become a hostage to hostility.
"It is understood that hostility destroys community," it said.
The Amish, descendants of Swiss-German settlers, eschew many aspects of modern life such as cars and telephones, and place particular importance on the principle of forgiveness.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Looks like this thread needs a picture of rage boy.
You really have to give them credit... they really do walk the walk.
Yes, they ARE nice people and if everyone in the world was like most of them, we would’t have a need for corrupt politicians.
You know, the Amish are the usual suspects in terrorist attacks around the world (/sarc) but kudos to these true children of God! Prayers for all those people still dealing with this horrible tragedy.
They most certainly do not eschew telephones. I've talked to an Amish guy on the phone lots of times. He wouldn't use a cell phone. He would only use on that was 'connected with wires'. Don't ask me why 'cause I don't know. They don't eschew cars either. They may not own them but they certainly ride in them.
Well, this is exactly the reason why that weirdo picked these people in the first place. Peter carried a sword, they weren’t milquetoasts. You have to stand up for yourself.
What would have happened if a pervert had snuck into King David’s palace at night, to molest one of his daughters? He would have speared the guy to the wall, and then wrote a psalm about it. I like the amish and all, but there’s a fine line between Godliness and Flanders sappiness.
I can understand this. When I read some articles, it strikes me often that the family of the perpetrator is often an overlooked victim.
The guy was the breadwinner for the family. Not only does she lose every means of financial support, but instead of sympathy and understanding, she must feel so shamed. Can you imagine being the spouse or child of someone who wanted to sexually assault a bunch of little children? And then killed them in such a high profile manner?
There are degrees of orthodoxy. How are they with Internet?
The Amish I knew do not have phones in their homes...for the same reason they use propane powered appliances as opposed to electricity...they view being hooked up to a grid like the electric grid or the telephone system as being yoked to the outside world which threatens the sanctity of the home and family...or something like that
Amish communities often have community phone booths outside the homes
Exactly. And if the article had said that the Amish eschew the personal ownership of phones and cars I wouldn't have commented.
Nope. No electricity in their houses. Not sure if they could use public computers or not. Not too many internet cafes around Smicksburg, PA though. ;)
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This is Judeo-Christian love at it's finest.
Take a look at this.
Anything specific you want me to check out? :-)
As Christians, we are to strive to be like Christ.
I can think of no better example of this, then the ongoing, exemplary behavior of these people in the wake of this unspeakably horrible tragedy.
I visit the Amish communities in central Ohio every time I’m there. I’ve even considered moving there, except that there doesn’t seem to be any big vacancies for a computer consultant. :)
The Amish are good people and good stewards of the land.
I just figured you might be impressed by how deep an understanding of Christian love the Amish have.
Oh, yes, that’s why I commented about it in post #5. :*)
Yep, and I missed it!!! :-)
No worries, mate. ;-)
That is the way neighbors should treat one another. We are all in this life together.
They truly live their christianity and have shown such love, compassion, and caring for the gunman's widow. God bless them all!
LOL. Probably true.
There was a Mennonite family in our homeschool group and they were the sweetest, most gentle, non-judgmental people you’d want to meet. But don’t mess with them. They knew their rights to homeschool and did not even think to hesitate to stand up for what they believed in, in a sweet, gentle way, mind you.
You know, there’s so many atheists on this forum who equate Christianity to islam and are so afraid of the religious right wing nuts turning our country into a theocracy; a Taliban like existance, taking us back to the Dark Ages.
They seem to think that we’d all be better off with an atheistic government, but I have yet to see anyone without God show the level of compassion and forgiveness and generosity that these people have. This is true Christianity in action and we need to see more of it.
As a measure of atheistic compassion, it can be noted that none of the nation's hospitals were founded by atheists, but many of them have a religious (read: CHRISTIAN or JEWISH) name.
Sauron
(Hey...why soft peddle it?)
They are such wonderful people, and it takes true faith in Christ to forgive that man and help his family.
We intrude upon them by talking about this, We should let them be. I am in awe of truly moral people. They have spent generations in Germany and the USA sitting at the threshold of the house of the Lord, while we party in the tents of the iniquetous. We should let them be.
Yes.
What would Jesus do, personified.
An article using the word ‘eschew’ would have lost many readers, as many people don’t read beyond a grade 8 level.
FWIW.
Didn't the gunman have children as well?
This is the best decision the Amish could come to. (If they couldn't save the Dad, perhaps they could save the wife and kids)
The Christ, on earth.
Not sure how Judeo this is. Where does the concept of sins of the father being visited on the children of the sinner come from?
I am thinking that this is Christianity’s contribution to moral philosophy.
Bump for your tag line!
Nice....thanks!
Mennonites and Amish have started moving up into our area. Nice folks. I like having them around.
Amen.
I have been in a number of Amish homes around Smicksburg and have yet to find a computer. Very neat homes with lots of room!
I’ve persistently apprecaited that about them.
Thankfully my Step-dad has been a pretty good model of such things and has been a pretty easy model to follow in such matters as well. Has often resulted in turning the other cheek when we’d already ran out of cheeks . . . But somehow, God understands and . . . as he has persistently said . . . God is our paymaster . . . not whoever our employer is.
Yes, the gunman had children. I suppose now they will be well cared for. The generosity and kindness of the Amish is truly extraordinary.
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