Well, I’m only referring to the many Amish that live just 10 miles down the road from me. We have every brand of Amish you could wish to meet–as well as Mennonites and Dunkards. My real knowledge comes from my dear friend who finally left and was gloriously saved soon thereafter. Her testimony, coupled with her inside knowledge of the Amish are two things that have made my husband and I feel that the Amish should be a target of our evangelistic efforts.

But I love their homemade preserves and homegrown herbs–and shop in the H&M Country store frequently. My 7 year old daughter is completely enamoured with them (as we are constantly running into these folks) and has announced that she would like to be Amish when she grows up. (The horse and buggy thing does it to her everytime.) I bought her a bonnet for dress-up, but I am always quick to remind her that they don’t believe in the free gift of salvation paid for by Jesus’ blood; and as Bible believers we believe in “by grace alone,” through “faith alone.”

There are definately some cultish Amish and Mennonite groups.

There are also some cultish Baptist/Pentacostal/whatever churches scattered around.

But perhaps you haven’t met people like the ones I’ve met, who’s whole desire is to please the Lord. And yes, they are Amish (Beachy, to be precise). And yes, we have some doctrinal disagreements. But their particular church is not cultish, nor are any of the Amish or Conservative Mennonite churches I’ve made friends in.

Ok, just kidding, but it is a funny video.

My wife had me reading this blog and I couldn’t resist a comment.

I realized after going back and reading all the comments that no one was tearing you down … sorry about that! I tried to go back and edit my comment, but couldn’t … oh well!

I just assumed what I said because I see it all too often and it just bugs me! I guess what they say happens when you assume is true - LOL

Be blessed!!

~Heather

I definitely agree with eating the good stuff and spitting out the pips!

Shannon is right that the Amish stood out a lot less a hundred years or so ago, although IIRC they had already made choices that marked them out from others from the beginning - I think that buttons, for example, were fashionably militaristic at the time, so the Amish made prohibitions on them.

I think one would see this effect any time a group makes an commitment (explicit or otherwise) to a particular sort of dress or other cultural element - even if they allow slow change, they’ll become more and more different to contemporary fashions. Judge’s robes, Catholic vestments and religious habits, Orthodox Jewish Chassidic clothes were all once nearly normal clothing for a given time and place.

Externals vs internals is one of those find-the-right-balance things - after all, we are creatures that are a union of body and soul. If our internal state doesn’t bear external fruit and evidences, there’s something wrong. Externals can be very helpful, but it is also really important not to let them become a crutch or a replacement for one’s heart. They should be like the old definition of a sacrament, an outward sign of an inward grace.

It reminds me of wedding rings. AFAIK, no Christian denomination actually requires wedding rings as a point of doctrine, nor any other external sign that one is married. Yet (at least in the UK and US) most married women wear them (and a growing number of men). The wedding ring isn’t a substitute for a loving marriage, but it does function as a reminder to oneself and others of the existence and nature of the married state. This tradition has enough force that we would probably wonder a little about a married woman who didn’t wear one (aside from poverty or practicality in a particular situation), or - especially - anyone who stops wearing one.