The Amish Life

Our world today is fast paced. Everything we do that revolves around our lives is based on speed. Doing things fast and efficient has ingrained its' way into our culture. However, there are some cultures within our society that do not live by the rule faster is better. Let me introduce you to the Amish. They are known for the simple culture and lifestyle they live. They waste not want not. Most people see the Amish as just a bunch of antiquated farmer of whom nothing can be learned from. However, there is plenty to learn from this fascinating culture. As horticulturalist, they are primarily seen tilling up the hillsides of back wood country roads. It is my intent that upon reading this paper the reader will have a different perspective of the Amish.

The Amish belief and value system is core to the way the live. The Amish are mostly known for their cultural simplicity. Owning and even driving automobiles is strictly against Amish beliefs. Instead they turn to bikes, manual scooter and most noticeably, horses and buggies to travel. They keep their lifestyles simple by utilizing lanterns and fire lite stoves in the house and shun electricity and other modern electronics. Through their beliefs and values, they live a slow paced, quiet, religious lifestyle that may seem foreign other cultures. We need to learn and understand their cooperative society and value system which they call Ordnung (Hostetler, 2006).

Do not be fooled by the simplicity of the Amish culture. Their culture is very structured in many different aspects of life. Communications is one example. While they do not believe in telephone, sending telegrams, keeping daily journals and passing them on, the Amish get their messages across. Another difference is their belief in education. With regards to school, Amish children only attend classes to the eighth grade. The Amish belief is that a full education will provide their youth with temptation into the modern lifestyles. This was not always the case. There used to be a time when Amish parents could be arrested for not sending their children to school. However, that changed in 1972 when the Supreme Court agreed, in a 7-0 decision, that the Amish had the right to educate their children in manner they felt necessary to preserve their culture (Wisconsin v. Yoder, 1972).

The Amish are private people who believe that God has called them to a simple life of discipline, dedication, humility and most importantly, faith. Their belief is that God has a personal and abiding interest in their lives, families and communities. This belief is the force that holds them together in spite of the pressures of the outside world. It's important to understand that, the Amish are Christians. What seems to create this indifference about the Amish is their lack of evangelism, witnessing, adult baptism and all around conservative nature. It's not like they have a religious opposition to evangelism, it's just that it has be forgotten and never revived.

The Amish did at some time in the past believe and even revel in evangelic duties. However, out of necessity to keep alive during a time when many cultures were being persecuted for religious beliefs, they compromised. Moving church service into houses and abandoning evangelism. To this day the trend continues so as to make evangelism almost seem improper. For the Amish, this has also helped preserve their way of life. By not being evangelistic, they have effectively excluded outsiders from their ranks, thus preserving their culture.

Preserving the Amish culture is important to the citizens of Amish communities. As stated earlier, the Amish live simple lives. They view The Bible as the sovereign word of God and use it as a guide for living the way they do. Their choice is to "live in the world, not of the world". This existence is a far cry than the rest of modern society and the way we live.

To help them the Amish adhere to the rule of the Ordnung. The Ordnung are rules that keep believers living their lives in line with The Bible teaching. Things like transportation, hairstyles and dress are defined by the Ordnung. In simple terms it is "a communal blueprint or collective wisdom that governs what is considered to be moral for the individual and necessary for the survival of the community" (Kuhn, 2008).

Anytime someone in the community proposes to use a new technology to help on the farm they turn to the Ordnung to determine if it is allowed. It's important to note that the Ordung is not a list of do's and don'ts, but a guideline that is open to interpretation. A technology doesn't have to be the newest and high tech piece of equipment. A proposed technology has a greater chance to be accepted if it will have minimal social impact and is a natural extension of an existing technology. Using a nylon rope in place of a hemp rope would be an example of a natural extension.

This is not to say the Amish do not use any technology. As stated earlier, the Amish have learned to compromise with the outside world. Compromise continues to be essential to Amish survival. Most of these compromises are limited to farming and have economic roots such as competing with non-Amish farms that are necessary to insuring Amish survival (Morgan, 2006).

The Amish strive to keep the community self-sufficient and based on societal relationships and bonds. "Among the dissident groups such as the Amish, the isolation has been socio-culturally engendered; it has been the result of conscious and knowing acts of resistance over a period of as much as four centuries" (Kuhn, 2008). The Amish, through remarkably resolute ethnic symbolism, have created a cultural shield that has led to the cohesion of Amish society (Lande, 1998).

The Amish have not only survived but thrived because of their large strong families, commitment to community survival and ability to maintain strict social order. Since community is the one major focus of the religious and social nature of the Amish, it is only natural that it is part of the Amish culture. It is easy to see that growing up Amish would be very prohibitory and would not allow for any choices. The Ordnung, on one hand is quite involved and takes a long time to learn and understand the details. On the other hand, as with Anabaptists, personal choice is important.

Because the Amish believe in personal choice, any member is free to leave. However, the consequences are severe and include the individual being shunned. For this reason, they offer a solution called Rumspringa which means "running around" (Walker, 2002). At age 16, all children of Amish parents are given the option of Rumspringa. Depending on the individual, Rumspringa can last minutes, hours, days, weeks, or even years. During this time they are allowed to do whatever they like, which includes partying,