Hardly. I know my ex-father-in-law's experiences are not unique. He had local Amish offering to pay him to use his meat freezer & his phone for long distance calls. He knew two retirees who made $35-$40K in cash per year for driving them back & forth to work sites (15+ years ago). Amish will not use electric tools, but gas-powered are apparently fine.
I don't think the Amish even know what exactly they believe.
My buddy’s retired father has a healthy income from driving the amish to and from their work sites. They own the truck, but he has to drive it.
Kind of like many secular Jews, cafeteria Catholics, Scientologists, etc.
“He knew two retirees who made $35-$40K in cash per year for driving them back & forth to work sites (15+ years ago).”
I knew a Mennonite who did that. He had an extended cab truck and a trailer for their carriage and horses.
Standalone powered machines used for work purposes are somewhat acceptable compared to being on the grid. Don’t ask me why, but thats why they will have generators to power dairy equipment so the milk can be sold to commercial buyers.
I frequently interact with Amish builders. They have the best power tools. Most are very skilled and are for the most part quite friendly.
The boss owns the truck and hires an “English” guy to drive.
I was with one today that had an actual cell phone, but it was just a plain old flip phone
“He knew two retirees who made $35-$40K in cash per year for driving them back & forth to work sites (15+ years ago)
Also to take them grocery shopping. When I worked briefly at a local grocery deli, a customer one day told me he was a Yoder Toter, and I almost fell on the floor.
Of course they do.
They believe the Bible and they believe in rules, rules they make for themselves, each community ("settlement") making its own rules.
Rules are strictly enforced within each settlement, so many, especially young Amish, will move to other settlements where they find rules more compatible to them.
MD Expat in PA : "The New Order Amish are the most conservative and tend to be against all forms of alcohol consumption.
But other sects of Amish will drink wine or beer especially on special occasions."
Well, first of all there are no "sects" of Amish.
Amish is a denomination, a sub-set or offshoot of more numerous Mennonites.
Old Order Mennonites -- so called "Horse & Buggy Mennonites" -- are very similar in practices to Amish.
Differences include the fact that while there are many "New Order Mennonites" amongst Amish there are almost none.
That's because to be Amish, by definition, is to be "Old Order".
One reason is: historically if an Amish community decides to become "New Order" it typically doesn't last long.
Soon most of its members will either leave the Amish or return to an Old Order community.
But amongst Old Order Amish there are varying degrees of "Oldness" -- I like to say "Old Order", "Older Order" and "Oldest Order".
So each settlement decides for itself how "Old" they're going to be, usually based on history and tradition, though cell-phones are new & controversial.
Amish who allow cell-phones I call "Old Order", those who don't I call "Older Order" with Oldest Order being those don't even allow voice mail on the phones in their off-premises phone shacks.
In my experience the vast majority of Amish are "Older Order" or "Oldest Order", not "Old Order" like those in Lancaster County PA, or Holmes County, OH.
Amongst them gatherings of young adults are not in the least unusual, though these always have a religious purpose along with fellowship, networking and possibly meeting someone suitable of the other gender... ;-)