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Amish Beliefs and Religion
By Leon Tuberman
The Amish are a group of peoples whose life is a religion. They can trace their roots to the Catholic Church and the Protestant Reformation headed by Martin Luther in the early 1500’s. The first groups to form were called Anabaptists. Their name was derived from their beliefs on infant baptism. They believed that infant baptism that the Catholic Church performed was not adequate for eternal salvation. Instead a person must commit themselves fully and willingly to God and be baptized into the faith again. A young Dutch Priest name Menno Simmons joined the Anabaptists movement. He was a charismatic leader and terrific writer who brought the scattered Anabaptists together. Soon these groups were known as Mennonites a play on their leader’s name. Sometime later, there was a division among the Mennonites on the subject of shunning. Shunning was performed as a church discipline in order to bring the sinner to repentance. Jacob Amman believed however that the shunning was not intense enough and should apply to all areas of relationships and not just the communion table. This caused another group to be formed the one we now know as Amish. There were many divisions that took place because the Amish Reformation predecessors focused on individual interpretation of the Word of God. The early leaders were not well educated or chosen for their intellect instead they were elected on the quality of their lifestyle. The Amish life and religion can be understood more fully if you understand their core beliefs. The Mennonite Information Center in Lancaster county Pennsylvania reports the Amish believe as follows: • God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that any who believes in him shall not perish but shall have everlasting life.
• Through faith in the death and resurrection of Christ, we are reconciled to God.
• The Bible is the literal inspired word of God
• As Christians the Amish believe they should live as brothers and that, the church should be separate from the state.
• Committed to a peaceful lifestyle that glorifies God.
• Faith without works is dead and faith calls for a life of discipleship
• God exists as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
• Jesus Christ was the only son of God and he died for the sins of the world.
• The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin and then gives us the power to overcome and live in obedience to God.
• Salvation is through grace by our faith in Christ Jesus, a free gift given to us by the Father for any who will repent (turn away from) their sin and believe.
The scripture at the heart of their worship and belief is in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial custom] but be transformed by the renewal of your mind so that you may prove what is the good and perfect will of God”. This is the basis for their communal living separate from the “world”. 2 Corinthians 6:14 further elaborate on the source of the Ordnung, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers [ Do not make mismatched alliances with them or come under a different yoke with them, inconsistent with your faith] For what partnership have right living and right standing with God with iniquity and lawlessness?” Also 2 Corinthians 6:17 “Come out from among and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing: Then I will receive you kindly and treat you with favor.” The strict adherence to these scriptures among others form the foundation of the Amish Ordnung (an unwritten pattern of living passed down from generation to generation) Shunning also has its roots in the holy scriptures it came from 1 Corinthians 5:11 “But now I write to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of Christian brother if he is known to be guilty of immorality, or is an idolater [whose soul is devoted to any object that usurps the place of God] or is a person with a foul tongue [railing, reviling, slandering, abusing] or is a drunkard, swindler or robber. You must not so much as eat with such a person.” Amish believe that the scriptures are to be followed verbatim and that obedience to God is complete. Amish pacifism is the one area that most people understand the least. Maybe this will shed some light on the subject: A Mennonite Information Center Representative said: “There is no assurance that the use of force will save my life or the life of my family when confronted by an attacker. We could talk of many instances of un-hoped for rescue, whether by mediation, nature or Divine intervention, when Christians refused to use force during an attack. If the end results of an attack is death so be it; death is not threatening to a Christian. The hope is that the attacker will at least glimpse the love of Christ in our non-violent response. A Christian does not choose the non-violent approach to conflict because they are assured of its success; rather this response is chosen from their commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ.”
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To die for one's religion is to put a high price on conjecture. Bertrand Russell
It's fascinating how such nutty beliefs can translate into an admirable lifestyle the rest of us can only aspire to.
 |  | nick Oct 10, 2008 11:49 | |
It is interesting to know about how these beliefs were solidified and have remained so for such a long time.
Everyone has the right to believe whatever they wish to believe, as long they do not intrude upon other's beliefs.
Amen to "non violence"
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