The AMISH, the MENNONITES, and the PLAIN PEOPLE

Pennsylvania Dutch Country Welcome Center ^

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Who are the Amish? Are they the same as the Pennsylvania Dutch?

The Amish are a religious group who live in settlements in 22 states and Ontario, Canada. The oldest group of Old Order Amish, about 16-18,000 people live in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The Amish stress humility, family and community, and separation from the world.

Although Lancaster Amish are Pennsylvania Dutch, all Pennsylvania Dutch are not Amish. The Pennsylvania Dutch are natives of Central Pennsylvania, particularly Lancaster and its surrounding counties. Unlike the Amish, they are not all one religion. Instead, their common bond is a mainly German background (Pennsylvania Dutch is actually Pennsylvania Deutsch, or German). They also have Welsh, English, Scottish, Swiss, and French ancestry.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

I never knew much about these folks outside of seeing "Witness" (we won't even mention Kingpin or that Tim Allen/Kirstie Alley movie). A nice read.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

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[Chancellor Palpatine]

Something pleasant.

[RnMomof7]

. We have some Amish in our area..

My granddad was penn dutch and not Amish:>)

It is interesting that they do not have electricity in their homes but they do have it in their barns...

[bonfire]

Lots of Amish where I come from. No electricity or cars, but they will use the neighbors phone, and group-travel in vans (non-Amish driver) to the stores.

[RnMomof7]

My husband asked why it was they had electricity in their barns and shops..he was told that was for making a living ..that was different than in your home

That is the problem with a work based salvation..ya get caught in the fine print:>)

[bonfire]

They are a strange, but peaceful people. I have read, though, that if you leave their fold you are "excommunicated" as such.

THere is also something interesting about how they treat their teens, but can't quite remember. Will try to find.

[bonfire]

http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2002/may/amish/


Check this out. This was news to me.

[LiteKeeper]

read later

[wai-ming]

Are the Amish people Christians? Just wondering.

[MarMema]

but they do have it in their barns...

You need a lot of light in the barn when a kiddo gets stuck in momma and you have to go in and straighten out the legs and head. A lot more light than you ever thought you needed before.
And after enough barn fires I suppose you stop using things with fire in them. :-)

[RnMomof7]

They are "Christian" related in beliefs to the anabaptists and Mennonites

[WriteOn]

Doesn't surprise me that your chief source of information is movies.

[Calvinist_Dark_Lord]

Are the Amish people Christians? Just wondering.

As far as i know, their creed is within orthodox parameters. i live in an area of the country where there is a large community of the Amish. The do have some different views. They are universally pacifist, and will not resort to violence even to protect their lives. Their religious life is controlled by a local group of elders, who make the "rules" for that particular order. There are different degrees of use of technology, from the Mennonites, who are for the most part secular with no aversion to modern technology, to the old order Amish who use no modern technology at all. In the area in which i live, their life style has a certain appeal in light of what stresses modern society places on a person. It would be much easier, for example, to get up in the morning, and walk to work, not having to worry about whether or not one will have a job next week, as is the case of most of America these days.