Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Answering Questions Part 1

The response from yesterdays post was interesting! I will be doing several posts to answer all your questions .

Why is it so important and why do all Amish wear head coverings? I don't mind them, just always wondering why they do.

The Amish women and girls wear head coverings because of the passage in 1 Corinthians 11:5 where it says; But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. And in verse ten where it says For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.

Do the Amish ever listen to music, or play musical instruments?

Amish churches do not approve or allow listening to music (radios, CD's etc) The only place most of them hear anything is when the ride with a "taxi" Most drivers who haul Amish for any length of time know they love to listen to Country and have their radio turned on for them. New drivers usually didn't to begin with and it was torture trying not to think of what we were missing on a twenty minute drive that could have been filled with George Strait and Alan Jackson. (Funny thing is, since we have our own vehicle and I can listen to anything I want to. I have lost my taste for Country.)

A lot of Amish churches have a no musical instruments rule, including the one I grew up in. But a lot of others allow harmonicas.

I find, what little I know of the Amish way of life, very interesting, comforting, simple. Am I wrong? Why would you want to leave it and do many folks leave that way of life? Do you still practice it at all?

The Amish way of life is so much more than what you can see by just visiting Amish country. The majority of those born Amish will remain Amish until they die. But there are always some who will leave for many different reasons. For some they leave as rebels, others want to see what they are missing in life, others change their religious views, and other similar reasons. We no longer live like the Amish in most ways, but I am sure there are little quirks that we have and some views on different things that our Amish roots show through.

Why did you leave the Amish? Were you shunned?

Since I am chronicling my journey from a little Amish girl to where we are today I will come to the part where we made the hardest decision in our life, that of leaving the Amish. I will share the details then. And yes we were and are still shunned.

Do the kids in the Amish community know about all the stuff as far as technology goes, and have they seen it, and how do they feel about the way other kids dress.

Amish kids know far more about technology than most people give them credit for. They don't think anything about the way others dress. They have seen it ever since they can remember and to them that's just the way non-Amish dress. No big deal to them at all.

How do the Amish view the outside world in general? Do they see the people who do not live as Amish as sinners or just as "others"?

To the Amish the outside world is a dangerous place. Though they would not go as far as to say you have to be Amish to go to heaven they do believe it enhances the chance to get there.

Well, this is something I've always wondered...do Amish women have home birthing? Do they have one particular lady as a midwife?

In the area I grew up most of them went to the hospital to have their babies, but there were a few brave ones that did home birthing and yes there was one particular lady who enjoyed being a midwife. There are other Amish areas where home birthing is the preferred method.

If a bad farm accident occurred would they utilize an ambulance and ER?

If there is a need, ambulances and ER are welcomed by the Amish. And have been used often.

Do the women gossip? Are their any meddlers?

Gossip, sadly is one thing very common among the Amish, and "oh, yes" there are definitely meddlers.

I always kind of wondered why they weren't supposed to attend professional sporting events?

They used to quote scripture, in German of course to warn us about sports. "For that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God."

What do you still retain from your life as being Amish, like what WON'T you change?

This one is a little harder. One thing we still retain from being Amish is the language. It is still the easiest to speak and the one we use 90% of the time we are at home. Some other things are some of the convictions we have, that we were taught by our parents. We see no reason to throw all such things to the wind just because we are no longer Amish.

23 comments:

  1. I'm really enjoying your blog and thanks for visiting mine! You just answered so many questions I have had about the Amish.

    Have a great day!

    Jackie

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  2. Thanks so much for taking and answering our questions...this post was most interesting!☺

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  3. Thanks so much for answering so many questions...extemely interesting to learn.
    Sunny :)

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  4. Thanks for the great post - very interesting and informative!
    Blessings

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  5. thanks for taking time to answer the questions. since this is just part 1 i have one more quick question, are marriages arranged or chosen by parents or is everyone allowed to marry whom ever?
    thanks again
    http://randommusingsfrommypov.com

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  6. Just wanted to way how much i enjoy your blog - thanks you for being so open and forthcoming - I'm sure I am among many who are very interested in what you have to share.

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  7. Thank you for answering questions.
    I had an Amish Friend for a brief time from Shipshewana. She owned the Rise and Roll Bakery. I so enjoyed writing back and forth with her but she had to stop writing after a bit beings I was English. She had accepted Christ as her Saviour ~salvation by grace not being good or working her way to Heaven. Her Amish group all believed this way. Do many people leave over salvation by grace?

    I read a blog~ Living Off Grid and I am going to get her newsletter about joining the Amish. She and her family are joining the Amish. I asked her this question but have not received an answer~ What do the Amish do about the great commission left by Jesus about spreading the Gospel to the whole world as in the last of Matthew?

    I love your blog~what a blessing it has been to me!

    I am a Fundamental Baptist and we still keep to the old paths and believe in being separate from the world~close to the Mennonites but not as strict with standards.
    I find it strange sometimes that God planted me in an Independent Fundamental Baptist Church and other's such as yourself into an Amish home. God does not play favorites so He must have a reason.
    None the less~ I would love to live the AMish lifestyle. I have spent a lot of time with the AMish and live close to Jamesport, Mo. I have visited every AMish community I can find in the U.S.

    I do not like Country music either. It is hard for me to keep my mind on spiritual things while listening to the music of the world. I only listen to Gospel music. I have a hard enough time keeping this ol' flesh in control!LOL

    I pray a special blessing on you and your family. I know living under the bann must be really hard~ I have been praying for your little girl and I am so glad she is doing well.
    Blessings~
    Carrie
    Isaiah 41:10

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  8. You are so amazing at writing out all of your gentle answers to our many questions! Thank you for sharing and being so honest about things that many people don't understand.

    Blessings,
    LMM

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  9. It's funny because most "groups" have the very same strengths and weaknesses as everyone else. Pretty interesting, considering on the outside how different everyone appears! If Carrie (above) is reading a blog about a family joining the Amish, I'd say being on the computer blogging isn't real high up there on their "should do" list! ha ha :) Very interesting!!

    It was really nice to talk to an Amish lady in Jamesport because she has teens also and she worries about them (with most of the same worries) just like I do. We kind of chuckled about that. We think about them being out late, not wanting to go to church, being in cars - whether they're driving or not!, who their friends are, etc. And we agreed faith and prayer are what gets most parents through the teen years! :)

    Thanks for answering our questions!! This is a lot of fun (for us anyway!). :) Take care ~

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  10. What a fascinationg blog you have. The Amish have always been a particular interest of mine, mainly through their beautiful quilts, and I'm delighted to learn more.

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  11. Please keep up with the questions and answers. Thank you so much!

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  12. Thanks for taking the time to answer so many questions. The most difficult part of leaving the faith must be being shunned by the community you grew up with.
    I grew up as a Catholic and left the faith behind long ago. I will follow your journey with interest.

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  13. Thank you so much for opening your heart and life up to us. I really enjoy reading your blog (especially this one) and you've answered so many questions that I've had.

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  14. This is SO interesting!

    I don't know if anyone has already asked about this, but I've heard it's customary for teens to go and try out the sins of the world for a season... rock music, booze, the whole nine yards. Is this true?

    I also heard that most of them return to the fold after this.

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  15. Wow - very interesting! I look forward to reading your blog and seeing your story unfold. Thank you for sharing this.

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  16. Another excellent post and I look forward to reading about why you decided to leave - I see that it cost you much in the way of relationship with your parents (I'm so sorry) - and what faith or denomination you are now a part of. Blessings to you, sweet friend.

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  17. I'm so glad you did this Q & A. It is fascinating to learn about a different culture and the things they believe. Your blog is so much fun to read!

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  18. I have now read over all the questions and answers. But here is a question for a latter time.

    Have people ever come to the Amish and wanted to join?

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  19. You explain it all so calmly and clearly. Wow. Thanks for sharing so openly.

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  20. We live amongst an amish community...when we moved here they were the first people we met and became friends with!
    They made us feel like family!
    My best friend is amish and I refer to her children as our amish grandbabies! :-) We teach them english and they teach us german!

    We have learned so much from them.....
    and we feel very blessed to be a part of their world!
    Hubby and our friend "the bishop" talk religion all the time and hubby helps with the german and english translation of the bible!

    We are also friends with a few that have turned english!
    Their families have come to us and asked us to help them get their children to come back to the amish way of life!
    Its so sad that they have to be shunned for leaving but I guess that is what keeps most from wandering!

    I enjoy your blog..... now I am off to can green beans!

    XXOO
    Dolly

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  21. I am really enjoying your blog. Your are very graceful in answering all the questions. I will keep reading on.

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  22. I just found your blog, hope you can answer this. You said Amish aren't allowed to listen to music, but not why. For example with the head covering thing you mentioned the Bible verse, is there a Biblical reason? Honestly I think being Amish is a great way of life, but no music would be impossible! lol Also do Amish secretly have hidden conveniences? Like a tv hidden in wall or something? Seriously. I would think many Amish would hide things from each other - a radio for example. Just human nature I would think.

    Anyway thanks for reading, hope you can answer! : )

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  23. Hmm. I don't know if my comment posted, sorry if this is a duplicate! I'm really curious about the music thing. You mentioned the Bible versus about head covering, but not one for music. Is there a reason biblically why they don't listen to music? I really am attracted to the Amish life, but I am not sure I could live without music! Or an iPod for example. lol Are there things Amish keep hidden? Seriously. Like a tv hidden in a wall or something. You'd think there would be things families or individuals would hide. It's just human nature. Thanks so much for reading this and hopefully you can answer. : ) I really am enjoying reading your blog.

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Thank you so much for taking time to comment. I love hearing your thoughts.