Posted on 06/03/2023 8:36:58 PM PDT by Drew68
So, I'm flying out of San Diego at 6:00 am this morning.
I got to the airport much earlier.
There's an Anabaptist couple. Man and woman, early-mid 20s.
He's wearing traditional garb. Abe Lincoln beard. Flat-brimmed straw hat.
She's wearing a long dress with a white hair covering.
I assumed they were Amish.
Except....
Both were wearing tennis shoes. And I couldn't help to notice that she was wearing a very colorful set of yoga pants under her dress.
Also, she was listening to an iPhone. She had earplugs in her ear.
I wish I had talked to them. I regret very much not doing so.
Also, she was quite beautiful (and I'd guess he was as well).
Perhaps Mennonites.
Or Hutterites.
I’d think conservative Mennonites.
Every Bishop, and the style/rules for their congregation, can be different, some can be quite modern and “liberal.” But I’m very surprised that you saw an iPhone and yoga pants. Something for sure which would be rejected any Amish I have come across
Where I grew up, we had Mennonites and Amish. Mennonite women had a light head covering similar to a bonnet, but not very large. They would wear long dresses in various colors, but muted and usually solids. The men dressed line Amish gentlemen. One I was a quainted with in college would play cards.
Generally they seemed more outgoing. They strike me as good, admirable people.
One of my good friends moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania when he retired. He’s now driving a tour bus, getting to meet people from all around the world. He has made many friends among the Amish. Apparently they do now allow for smartphones. I should ask him how that works in their theology. I know that they do use computers and the Internet in some of their work, but they leave their technology at their places of work, never bring it into their homes.
There are gradations in the levels at which different Amish communities embrace technology. They are not all Old-Order strict. A lot of them have had telephones installed on their properties for decades.
Amish are not anti-technology. That’s a misunderstanding of their position. They just don’t believe in spending money on things if they can deal with it without spending money. A pencil and a paper instead of buying a calculator.
If they can honestly see the need for headphones or yoga pants, they will spend money on those things but only after great deliberation.
Many years ago, there was a Mennonite community near Whittier, Calif. They wore beards and dark clothing and looked sort of like the Quaker on the Quaker Oats cartons. Because Whittier (named for the Quaker poet John Greenleaf Whittier) was founded by Quakers, many people thought they were Quakers.
Anabaptists are Baptists.
It’s not just about money.
In many communities, it’s how much the technology may distance them from their main values - God, Family, Contemplation. A lot of them who have telephones have them in outbuildings far from the house, so they don’t disturb their home and religious life.
The more traditional communities decide the use of technological innovation on the basis of how each specific technology impacts those principles.
Find a good Bible-preaching Baptist Church near you and check it out.
Warning: Churches aren’t immune to the internecine squabbles that plague many orgs. You will be faced with whether or not to overlook that in the church of your choice. I certainly was.
Yes, it’s more than money. I didn’t mean to imply that it was.
The deliberation comes in as to whether it’s a need and serves a purpose beyond just keeping oneself occupied. Community values probably also play a role, because you don’t want members to lose their commonality with everybody else.
The Amish near Lawrenceburg, TN seems to be determined to be as self-reliant as possible. That’s one reason they use horse driven transportation, horse or ox driven field equipment, avoid rubber tires, and do not use electricity.
They have been accepting the use of small engines to do various chores, but those are jobs they are able to do without those power sources if necessary.
They are pacifists. Don’t allow for the slightest self defense.
I have a builder-friend who buys cabinetry and doors from various Amish producers. for one guy, he calls a neighbor, who bikes over to give the Amish man the message. For another, he calls is place of work, as you point out.
My friend must often drive to see them, and they want my friend come to pick up his orders. Its a bit of trouble and time, but they do beautiful work, have access to very nice hardwoods, their cost is low - and the rich people my friend does work for around NY City will pay top $$ for "Amish Woodworking"
Last true Amish worked around had no electricity, but had a phone that was in the barn.
One worked for us for several years. He had no license to drive, but could have gotten one with permission from the Elders
He’d drive his tractor with a wagon 20-30 miles to work each day if that’s where our jobsite was
Mennonites.
You should go to Wayne County, Ohio if you want to talk to them. Every third person there is Mennonite. I swear they own 25% of the businesses in the county. The women work in them too. Some work in the businesses owned by regular people. Some of the men hold government offices. Some of the women are nurses.
Every fifth person in the county is Amish.
Or so it seems.
The Mennonites really, really like Applebee’s. And frozen yogurt. And beer. The women too.
As for yoga pants and leggings, they are allowed to wear them to keep their legs warm in lieu of tights and so no one sees anything if there is an updraft or if they have to hike up their skirt a bit to get climb a ladder or something.
The Mennonites are fine with cell phones and internet as a tool to help them conduct their business and live in general. Many live in regular houses in regular subdivisions, although they tend to stick together and take up a whole block. But most live out in the country in houses with modern conveniences. They have cars. I’ve sometimes seen only women get out of them.
Many do quite well in their businesses and would be able to live in 750k houses, but they give a lot of money to their church.
I have even known some Amish to use cell phones and computers to facilitate running their businesses. The Amish really, really love Wal-Mart.
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