It ain't authoritative if it ain't in the King James version.
Posted on 04/02/2014 8:25:03 AM PDT by Laissez-faire capitalist
After Rumspringa (running around) is over, the Amish young person returns after being gone for two years, and agrees to live according to the Amish ordnung (rules for living) pertaining to clothing, trnasportation, electrical appliances/power, etc, how do Amish bishops, ministers and deacons deal with the inward person(s) that none can see?
Which is a greater threat to an Amish person's salvation - the "English" or the carnal man/sinful nature that we (Christian or non-Christian still possess and have to deal with until we are are glorified in heaven?
The Apostle Paul: I do the things that I don't want to do, and I don't do the things that I want to do. Who will deliver me from this body of death?
The Apostle Paul said that he was not perfect by any means, but he said that he forgot that which was behind and pressed towards the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
If an Amish person (like the rest of us) is going to have to continually crucify the flesh and keep the carnal "man" under submission (as Paul said) - regardless of where they are at - why then bother to leave their local Amish community at all?
Rumspringa won't help with that by any means when they return. There are sins that Amish people can engage in that one might never see.
1.) Is it all about doing outward things and conforming to them?
2.) If salvation and living for Jesus Christ are truly the most important goals in life, how does Rumspringa help with these? Every 16 year old Amish person can stay and fight the good fight of faith and would not have to leave to do this. This fight will continue and be ever-present regardless of where they are at.
3.) How can leaving for two years get rid of inwardly craving sin or deal with sinful thoughts that would creep into any person regardless of whether or not they left at 16 years of age?
3.) And are Asians, Africans, Native Americans the "English," too?
I still can’t figure out why the traditional Amish clothes, that men and women now generally wear, is somehow better than what the Greeks wore during the time of the Apostle Paul when he was preaching to them and writing letters (which became part of the New Testament canon of scripture).
Did the Amish leaders somehow discover that their clothes were the epitome of godly clothing and better than all the other styles that any Christian of any time period ever wore?
If they must pick a style that would somehow be the most Godly, wouldn’t first century Apostolic Age Greek or Jewish garb be the best? /sarcasm.
Hmmm.
It ain't authoritative if it ain't in the King James version.
Elephant versus the gnat. Sigh. Which to strain and which to swallow?
I don’t think there are too many Amish on the interwebs to answer your question.
Do they want dependence on deacons, bishops and ministers within their community, or do the bishops, deacons, and ministers in Amish communities want them to be dependent on them and their governance?
I've learned not to think too hard about what the Amish do & don't do. They are horribly inconsistent, in my opinion.
Something for you to read, then ...
The Amish
http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/denominations/amish.htm
It wouldn't work if the entire world were Amish, but it is a perfect way for a highly disciplined and conformist community to eliminate future potential troublemakers.
At the age of rebellion give every member an opportunity to explore the outside world. If they like it more than the community they grew up in, then they will voluntarily choose to leave.
If, however, they choose to stay then they are more likely than not in agreement with the community's way of life. Also, they were the ones that made the decision. They know that they were not forced to stay.
The Pilgrims didn't really have it as good as the Amish. If they discovered bad actors among them then their only option was to banish them to the woods which in most cases was certain death. In such cases bad actors might not openly disclose themselves for fear of banishment. So bad actors would remain in the community continuing to wreak havoc in secret.
The only thing the Amish would have to fear are those that decide to remain in the community even though they would like to leave, but don't think that they could survive on their own among the 'English'.
They do speak to non-Amish people who visit their communities.
Fictional books about the travails of Amish life fill the shelves of Christian bookstores making things falsely idyllic, and Mennonites speak with Amish people from time to time. Mennonites would use the web. And there are non-Amish people who do join them from time to time.
Would you want anyone to be brought into or kept under this bondage to human rules? Perhaps in time, the fallacies they live by can be communicated to them - over time - can make a difference.
Why live a life of mega-legalism?
I have bought some construction wood from Amish in Upstate NY - and they have some decent (modern) milling equipment. Perhaps the electrical appliances thing doesn’t apply to making a living?
“Would you want anyone to be brought into or kept under this bondage to human rules?”
As far as I know, their rules are a voluntary covenant of the community, so I wouldn’t call it “bondage”. I wouldn’t choose to live under their rules, but I also am not going to begrudge them their choice.
Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
Matthew 23:24
I am beginning to like the set-up they had in Shyamalan’s The Village.
The Reformed churches look at the soul as sinful. We are tainted with sin to the point that we are spiritually dead.
Both impact the way we see the world in very different ways.
Anyway I go with the latter.
The Bible: Its Original Languages and English Translations
http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith7068
The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy
http://www.bible-researcher.com/chicago1.html
the King James Version is full of errors. Any historian can tell you that. Just look at the preface to the “Revised King James” for my authority on that subject.
I think you’ll find that the Amish with modern milling equipment (or refrigerators for cheese they sell) also have gasoline or diesel generators. There are two principles at the heart of the Amish limitations on contact with modernity: avoiding “fancy” which they regard as violating the Holy Apostle Paul’s injunction against being conformed to this world, and an absolute prohibition on the use of credit. Purely utilitarian modern devices are generally allowed, provided they can be used without using any good or service not paid for in advance or at the time of purchase — utilities billed after use are forbidden not on the basis of being “fancy”, but on the basis that they are bought on credit.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.