From time to time we receive letters from people who want our help in becoming Amish. Do people ever convert to the Amish faith? Yes, but it is relatively rare. I know of one young man who is about to join the Amish faith here in Lancaster, after giving up his car and other aspects of "worldly life." Some Amish wonder if he is really ready, but believe he is sincere.
Why do people wish to be Amish? As our way of life becomes more hectic, we may see a slower, simpler style of living as appealing. Some people leave their high pressure jobs in the urban jungle, move to the mountains, and conduct business via computer, phone, and fax, the very pieces of technology that were supposed to make our lives easier. The Amish lifestyle is seen as a return to nature, even though barely half of our local Amish are actually farmers.
Some readers who write us tell of broken homes, divorced parents, fathers who abandoned wife and child. They view the Amish community as a place were they would be secure and welcome. What many of these people see is just the surface, a seemingly idyllic life. But being Amish involves many challenges for the outsider.
First of all, the Pennsylvania German dialect is something that must be learned. Then come the challenges of leaving behind those necessities of life like television, stereo, electric appliances, automobile, and fashionable clothing. Finally, you might find the many "ordnung" or rules of the church to be formidable. The way of life cannot be adopted without the religion.
Thus, the Amish are reluctant and suspicious of most outsiders who say they want to be Amish. Rather than sitting down and talking about the religion, the sincere "seeker" is usually placed with a family and takes part in the daily routine, picking up what is required of him by the community and the church much in the same way a child would.
Some Amish have left the church to join more liberal churches that also welcome visitors and where English is the language of worship. Some of these people have set up "plain communities," maintaining a simple way of life without cars and electricity. Others, like the Mennonites, lead a more modern lifestyle, sometimes keeping a plain form of dress, sometimes not. There have even been converts to the "horse and buggy Mennonites." Indeed, most local Mennonite churches welcome visitors for Sunday worship, and the Mennonite Information Center on Route 30 was established to help answer visitors’ questions.
While we at Amish Country News are not of Amish or Mennonite background, we understand that some people are searching for answers to life’s questions. But the Amish share many of the problems most of us have, and they should not be seen as an ideal society or the solution to the world’s ills. Like any other culture, however, there may be important things we can learn from them.
http://www.amishnews.com/publishersmessages/wanttobeamish.htm
Why, those Amish, they didn’t even take the FEMA money when a tornado came through and destroyed their barns. How DARE they not depend upon the gov’t...aren’t they a minority?
Does this violate the 1st Amendment???? Is this case of Congress choosing one Religion over another??? Hello ACLU!!!!!
The Amish are good, solid, conservative people, however their extreme lifestyle is not Biblically mandated. As mentioned they do have the same problems and temptations we all have.
Note the arrogance expressed in the writing of this exemption: the government decides which beliefs are worthy of religious exemption. A constitutional objection, or a heartfelt objection, isn’t on the “approved list” of reasons to opt out.
If Independents vote Democrat again, if they choose to have their “brilliance” stroked by the media and Democrat Party operatives, then one can say hello to pure democracy for decades to come.
Ya know, comrade?
IMHO
Where do I sign up?
With Obama’s cap and tax executive order raising the price of gasoline and electricity we soon all maybe living like the Amish.
new tag line.....
A bit disingenuous to leave out that muzzies are going to be exempt...because their 'religion' doesn't allow any kind of insurance.
So the question begs: Do they pay for their own health care? Or are we picking up that tab?
And another ?: They drive. Are they exempt from car insurance?
Are the muzzie lovers in the WH pushing the Amish exemption by itself to create animosity - divide and conquer - against the Amish while not mentioning the exemption for their friends/
It is against the conscience of every real Christian to be complicit in the killing of babies.
Since a large majority of Americans claim to be Christian, a large majority are therefore exempt.
I’m Catholic, and this law violates the principle of subsidiarity.
Can I get a religious conscience exemption?
It's easier to just run for Congress to become exempt from all the government mandates and rules. And the retirement benefits are the best.
Interesting.
Thanks.
An unruly bunch, those Amish.