Past-Tense Amish

Over a period of the past ten years or so I've cogitated occasionally over what it means to be a Christian group or individual from an Amish background, but not currently living an Old Order Amish lifestyle.  Although it's not to my credit necessarily, I think sometimes I've focused on what I don't like seeing in ex-Amish people (or people formerly from another conservative Anabaptist lifestyle).  For example:

1.  A focus on what was wrong within the Amish group.  Usually this involves rehearsing  agonized growing-up experiences, with the story teller looking like a victim-hero--noble aspirations and longings squelched, while the Amish culture is cast as ignorant, unsympathetic, closed-minded or harsh.

2.  Flaunting elements of a newly-adopted lifestyle that are particularly offensive to the Amish.   On the flip side, someone told me recently how much they appreciate the respect it shows when such people dress modestly in the presence of their former associates.  Showing restraint with a host of other behaviors is similarly appreciated.

3.  An apologetic stance.  This is in contrast to a respectful stance.  Be nice to them because they don't know any better sounds a lot different than They take following God seriously and I respect them for it.

4.  A superior stance.  See number 1.  They'd be so much better off (happier, more free, more relevant) if they saw things as I do, and did things as I do.

Is there any right way to leave such a group?  I really wish I could point to a method and say This is it, or even These are right reasons for leaving such a group.  Right now I'm not prepared to go there.
Instead, I'll reference several general ideas that have been swimming back and forth in my consciousness over the past number of weeks.  They are related to how I think we should view our Amish background.

One is the repeated admiring references to the Amish way of life that I see in the writings of respected authors in a variety of fields.  An off-the-top-of-my head partial list includes:  Wendell Berry, Barbara Kingsolver, Gene Logsdon, and John Taylor Gatto.   Several of these people have clerical training, and at least one of them is an educator.  Some of them are particularly interested in responsible use of resources, community building, self-sufficiency, craftsmanship, and sustainability.  All of them have authored multiple books.

Almost certainly these people have a somewhat idealized view of Amish life, particularly in their farming, their community life, and their education.  In other words, they haven't lived inside of it long enough, if at all, to see its warts.  They are, however, people who do not have "baggage" (like that of many ex-Amish) that prevents their seeing what is truly laudable.  They are also people who can evaluate some things far more dispassionately and with far more training and practice in making rational comparisons than people can from inside the circle.

My growing sense is that we are acting foolishly when we pedal away from this heritage with "good riddance" sentiments.  Maybe what we really need is eyes to see and appreciate this heritage.  If wise people around us can see its value, why can't we?

Another perspective that guides my thinking about being Amish is the Anabaptist hermeneutics list (hermeneutics is how a text--especially the Bible--is understood and interpreted) I first saw while I was teaching an Anabaptist history class.  I really don't know much about the origin of this particular list, but I loved how it expressed concisely the things I "felt in my bones" about cherishing the way of life I had grown up in and now choose deliberately for  myself.  Six years ago I wrote a blog post on it here.    I suggest you read that post for better context, but I will repeat part of it here:

(1) The Bible as Self-interpreting--Any specific Scripture can be better understood through knowledge of and reference to other Scriptures. Each part harmonizes with the whole.

(2) Christocentrism--Christ is at the center of Scripture. The Old Testament points forward to Him, and the New Testament reveals Him.

(3) The Two Testaments--We understand the Old Testament through the lens of the New.

(4) Spirit and Word--The Spirit brings the Word to life. Lacking a proper respect for the Word, people can justify all kinds of excess by claiming the motivation of the Spirit. Lacking the work of the Spirit, the Word has little more life than any words on any paper.

(5) Congregational Hermeneutics--Understanding of Scripture comes by active participation in a brotherhood of believers--with strong relationships a prerequisite. This also provides the "staging area" for the practical outworkings of Scriptural norms.

(6) Hermeneutics of Obedience--People grow in their understanding of truth by being obedient to the truth they already understand.

The text following the dash in each numbered paragraph is my wording.  It is a summary of much longer text in the original document.

Hiromi and I have had some fairly intense conversations over some of these points.  His "a whole group can be wrong" is bolstered by a recounting of what happened in Japan before WWII when the whole country viewed their emperor as a god.  I counter with this: "When a whole group is focused on understanding and obeying Scripture, they're not likely to be wrong in any way that puts them at odds with the will of God.  Operating within the counsel of a church body is a protection against error--not an inclination toward error."  The "whole group" in Japan was united on a very different foundation than that of a Christian group.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am not always comfortable with the status quo.  I am deeply grateful, however, to be part of a church group that operates with an Anabaptist hermeneutic. In the Anabaptist hermeneutic we have common ground with Amish groups--more so than with many evangelical or mainline Protestant groups, and we should celebrate the link of that amazing gift instead of apologizing for it.

The third "fish" swimming in my sea of thoughts is the "memory" place occupied by the Amish.  By this I mean simply that their way of life provides for the rest of us a reminder of what following Christ might look like if we took it as seriously as we might.  It preserves a memory in other areas as well.

One example in the "other" category comes from the Land Institute in Salina, Kansas.  Wes Jackson, the founder and director, is well-known in sustainable agriculture circles.  He is a former Stanford professor and operates and writes on a decidedly secular foundation.  Guess where he looked, however, when he decided to experiment with tillage by horsepower on his land.  That's right.  The Amish, because of how they had kept alive the memory of this way of farming.  They were the experts.

Paul Yoder, who learned to know Christian people in Europe who had lived under Communist rule in the former Soviet Union for many years, has recounted what these people told him.  When new freedoms in recent years allowed a more open expression of faith, most people had no idea how to conduct church services, for example.  It was the grandmothers who remembered how it once was, and who could help provide guidance.  This is what the Amish can do for us also--provide a memory of how to do church.  For example, we have almost entirely departed from the pattern of preaching regularly on prescribed topics throughout the year.  What if we returned to that model, temporarily at least?  I suspect we'd find it a blessing.

I saw the memory-thing happen in a gathering I was once part of at Hesston college, following a talk there by David Kline.  I wrote about it here.  In short, Kline answered a question by suggesting to the gathered group that they consider the use of the lot in making congregational decisions.  Most of those present had shifted to a congregational practice of having salaried, professionally-trained pastors--a practice not without problems as I'm sure everyone present understood.  Here again, the Amish way provided a memory of how it once was that might be of help to church people in our time.

If we (and all who are no longer Amish) can note honestly the things to be appreciated in the Amish way of life, if we can identify and celebrate the things we share, and if we can look to the Amish to show us the way in areas that may not be working so well for us, then I believe we're on our way to benefiting from the ways in which our lives are linked to theirs, and we'll be enriched by it.  On the other hand, if we're convinced that allowing the Amish to influence us means nothing except "moving backward,"  we'll find ourselves influenced instead by something else, which may not be as honorable as the Amish way.  In any case, it's less likely to bear the gravitas of centuries of continued practice.