An Amish FAQ - 20 Most Asked Questions

This is a quick FAQ about the Amish, taken from the book “20 Most Asked Questions about the Amish and Mennonites”... (oh my gosh, sorry it's so long!)

This is a quick FAQ about the Amish, taken from the book “20 Most Asked Questions about the Amish and Mennonites”, by Merle and Phyllis Good (c. 1995), purchased from Lehman’s in Ohio (I bought my books in the store, from Lehman’s. All the other great stuff we drove 8 hours to buy came from the parking lot sale the town was having, most of the sellers either Amish or Mennonite!) It’s really long (hey, wasn’t the season premier of “Lost” on tonight?), and most of the answers are my paraphrasing.

“There are dozens of varieties among the Amish and Mennonite groups around the world. Words like “always” and “never” seldom apply in describing the whole Mennonite-Amish Family. There are many shades of belief and practice amongst them.”

The book gives answers to 20 questions most frequently asked.

1.What is the difference between the Amish and the Mennonites? All A & M groups are Christian fellowships. Most of them stress that belief must result in practice. Emphases on lifestyle and peace have distinguished most of the groups throughout the centuries.

The difference among the various Amish and Mennonite groups through the years has almost always been ones of practice rather than basic Christian doctrine.

Amish tend to be more cautious on technology and involvement with the larger world than most Mennonites.

2. When and how did these people get started?

Protestant Reformation-Anabaptists. Believed that the church should be a group of voluntary adults, baptized upon confession of faith, and like the early Christian church, separated from the world and the state. The Mennonite came first, then the Amish.

3. Are they a Christian group of do they represent a different religion?

All Amish groups are devoted to the Christian faith and life.

4. Aren’t they a bit naïve and backward? Why don’t they accept modern things?

These people do not resist progress categorically. Their attitude in an age of scarce resources, decaying environments, decaying family structures, extreme loneliness, disdain for commitments, and a high premium on so-called freedoms is “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” The Old Order communities offer quiet testimony of a viable alternative to modern life.

5. Does anyone ever join them? Does anyone ever leave?

You can join; the only question is whether the applicant is truly willing to meet the group’s requirement of Christian discipleship. The greater the requirements for membership in the group, the fewer the members who join. The slacker the requirements, the more who join. The Old Order groups emphasize keeping their children in the church and grow more because of their own families than “outsiders” who join.

The early Anabaptists believed that the New Testament taught the church to discipline its members; that if after long, loving counsel a member in sin refused to repent, that person should be excommunicated from the fellowship until he did repent.

The purpose of excommunicating a sinful member is to bring that member back into the fellowship. It is not an attempt to harm or ruin the individual. The actual number of members excommunicated by these groups is very small.

The Old Order Amish vary in their practice of shunning. In its most severe form, members under the ban (excommunication) suffer an almost total shunning from the fellowship. Other members will not eat at the same table with them, do business with them, or visit socially. In other communities, shunning may be much more mild.

6. Why do they dress that way?

They didn’t set out to look odd; they purposed instead to practice humility, simplicity, non-conformity and modesty. Many of the Swiss German groups felt it important to outline specific styles to keep their people separate from the world, nonconformed, and humble.

7. Is it true they don’t go to war?

For four and a half centuries, these people have believed that peaceable, humble Christians will go to prison rather than kill a fellow human being, regardless of nationality or ideology. Under Selective Service, they have been able to work for two years in approved alternative service projects in lieu of military service. They use the Conscientious objection.

Despite their radical stand on war, Amish have generally been regarded as good, solid citizens. They help their neighbors and support community fire and health facilities, They pay their taxes faithfully.

8. Why are they against education?

They are not against education and learning as such. Learning from others is an important value. It is the particular version of education offered by America’s consolidated public high schools, which especially troubles parents. Most Amish are bi-lingual (German). School for the Old Order groups is only a part of the learning necessary for preparation for the adult world. Work is educational and enjoyable. They pay public school taxes and also pay the full expenses of their parochial system. A 1972 Supremes decision exempted these and related groups from state compulsory attendance laws beyond the eighth grade. “It is neither fair nor correct to suggest that the Amish are opposed to education beyond the eighth grad level,” Chief Justice Burger wrote. “What this record shows is that they are opposed to conventional formal education of the type provided by a certified high school because it comes at the child’s crucial adolescent period of religious development.” (Boy, THOSE were the days!) They believe, as the Bible states, that wisdom and understanding are more important than knowledge and facts. Learning becomes a way of life and leads to respect for all peoples.

9. Why are they such good farmers?

A thorough search for good land and unusual skills at tilling God’s earth. They possess a profound sense of stewardship to care for God’s creation. Couples with a belief that work is healthy and enjoyable, these farmers produce plentiful crops by investing long hours and careful planning in their farms. Horses are used in the fields. Steel-wheeled tractors are used only for belt-power to thresh or fill silo. In some communities hay balers and corn pickers are modern and operated by gas or diesel engine. Studies have shown that the Amish farmer produces more harvest per acre with less energy consumption than his neighbor.

10. Why don’t they pay Social Security taxes?

Because they believe that if the church is faithful to its calling, many government programs and commercial insurance are not needed. They were given approval, if self-employed, to be exempt from paying SS taxes. They do not object to paying income taxes or real estate, county, and sales taxes. Most Old Order groups’ communities support and restore them; they “take care of their own”.

11. Do any of the Amish groups believe in missions?

The Old Order Amish do not participate in organized mission outreach as such. They understand their calling to be “missionaries by example”, by being the light of the world.

12. What are their weddings like?

Marriage is for life, divorce and remarriage are simply not considered options, as vital as the bride and groom at a wedding are the attending family and church community, there to give visible support to the new home. Marriages are not arranged. Young people meet at the church community’s events.

For many Old Order Amish, pairing up happens at Sunday evening singings. The young people gather in an appointed barn to sing and visit. A young man takes his girl home and will likely arrange to see her again in another week or two. The couple is secretive about their friendship; in fact, many will not admit to their courtship until they are “published” two days to several weeks before their marriage. The wedding and reception are held at the bride’s home. It will be a feast day, with from tow to four hundred guests. In many Pennsylvania settlements, due to farming schedules, most Old Order weddings take place in November when fieldwork is not demanding, usually on Tuesdays and Thursday. A four-hour service begins the day at 8:30 a.m. It includes wedding hymns from the Ausbund, a long sermon on marriage illustrated from the Old Testament, Apocrypha, and New Testament, simple vows (mush like many Protestants use), testimonies from church leaders, and an extended prayer.

There are no kisses, rings, photographers, florists, fashion consultants or caterers. The community conducts the whole affair with careful attention and blessings. After the service, the dinner (farm terminology: dinner is the noon meal, supper is the evening meal) is served. The bride and groom eat first, seated at the table positioned at the choices spot in the living room. Later, a wedding supper (just as big as the dinner!) is served, and singing may continue until late in the evening. There is no honeymoon. Instead, they spend weekends throughout the winter visiting their extended families and receiving wedding gifts. In some cases, the couple does not set up housekeeping until the spring.

13. How are their women and children treated?

An Old Order woman is a worker, a child-bearer and a companion to her husband, family and neighbors. She’s too busy to talk about her own liberation or fulfillment. Personal privacy is almost meaningless. This woman is unlikely to suffer blues, worthlessness and loneliness. She and her husband eat 3 meals a day together, she ahs a large family to ten, but they can also share her responsibilities. She is affirmed for the quality of her food, management ability, gardening skills, quilting and sewing gifts. When a woman’s ambitions fit her society’s framework, and her peers’ experiences parallel her own, she is less likely to be restless and dissatisfied.

14. Is food a part of their religion?

No, but it’s a relished part of life. It’s the fruit of their labors.

15. Do they go to doctors and hospitals?

They do not oppose modern medicine. They go to doctors, take pills and medicines, and enter the hospital when necessary. Faith healing has never been much of a movement among them. They use a lot of home remedies. When Old Order leaders express caution to government health programs, observers need to remember how often the government has confronted these people with laws and ruling which violate their beliefs.

These people believe that good health, both physical and mental, is a gift from God and requires careful stewardship on the part of the individual. And they believe their Christian calling inspires them to reach out and minister to the needs of others, as they are able.

16. What about burial?

There is little flurry in the Old Order Amish community about funeral, burial and estate plans. Custom provides for style of coffin, clothing and the funeral service itself, the church and family stand by with financial help if needed. Funeral and burial usually take place 3days after death. During the day the community visits the family to offer sympathy and help.

A funeral director from the local area assists in a minimal way, which usually includes embalming and sometimes includes supplying the coffin and the hearse. Simplicity is the order. A plain wooden coffin is built; six sided with a split lid, the upper part being hinged so it can be opened for viewing. These people seldom lose sight of their place in the universe. And their funeral-basic, solemn, hopeful- is testament to that understanding.

In many communities, the body is traditionally dressed in white. When the body had been prepared for burial, it is brought home again where it will be viewed and the funeral held. Family and friends gather around the coffin for the nearly tow hour service. The tone of an Amish funeral is hopeful, yet full of admonition for the living. There are no eulogies. Respect for the deceased is expressed, but not praise. A hymn is spoken, but not sung.

Burial usually takes place in a hand-dug grave in a church district cemetery. Now flowers, only a simple tombstone to mark the spot. As in life, one individual is not elevated above another.

Following the burial, family, friends, and neighbors eat together to help the bereaved return to routine and normal life again.

17. Don’t they believe in having fun?

Yes! “First we work, then we play”! These people are serious about life, and practice an austere and disciplined lifestyle. That does not generally make them unpleasant or grim. It does mean that grown-ups, especially, may be cautious about indulging too much time in play. For most of them, work is honorable, recreation is somewhat suspect, and guilt rises up when they think they’re having too much fun. They socialize at the auctions, go to yard sales. Family reunions are summer highlights, Sunday afternoons are meant for calling on friends, neighbors, and family.

For many Old Order Amish, the gatherings are singings, barn games and hoedowns. In the more traditional homes, books are at a premium. There are few novels and almost no modern nonfiction. The Bible is there, some Bible storybooks for children, and most likely the Martyrs Mirror, Mannon Simons’ writings, and a few prayer and inspirational books. Old Order groups often subscribe to the local newspaper and frequently to The Budget, a weekly newspaper with correspondent from Amish communities across North America. Many also read the monthly inspiration magazines from Pathway, an Old Order Amish publishing house in Aylmer, Ontario.

18. What are some of their problems?

Affluence- The Old Order peoples see wealth as an allurement from the self-denying life to joining the worldly indulgent society. (This is what the church elders cite as their single most corrosive problem.

Also, they sometimes have a hard time making the dream fit the reality. They have roughly the same % of mental problems as the general public.

19. Are they growing or dying in number?

The fastest growing group in North America tends to be the Old Order groups. About 40% of the Amish/Mennonite groups in North America are Old Order in their approach to life and faith. The Old Order Amish have doubled in population in the past 20years! (using 1995 figures) Lancaster County (PA) is the second largest Amish community in the world. Holmes County, Ohio, is the largest.

20. What, in fact, holds them together?

These people believe God has called them to a life of faith, dedication, humility, and service. It is that belief in God’s personal interest in their lives and their communities, which holds them together, in spite of many forces that could easily pull them apart.

The Old Order communities offer a visible alternative to modern life. There is no other way to explain why so many tens of thousands stay, why in fact the communities are growing in number, why the whole world is fascinated by the quality of human wholeness they sense in the faces and fields of these people. The joy and security a child experiences from true peoplehood is a gift most children in today’s world never have an opportunity to know. We (the authors of the book) do not wish to romanticize. The Old Order communities have their problems and weaknesses. But their strengths must far outweigh their failings. The Old Order world is not paradise, neither is it hell. It is perhaps one of the most meaningful and unusual approaches to human life in modern history. A people of God, A people apart. A people together.

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