Customer Reviews

Amish Life

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this book has only 48 pages but,i learned alot that i DID NOT know about amish.
what stands out in my mind is how the amish TRULY live their faith. i have never
seen a group of people so devoted to their beliefs and way of life. i think there
is much to admire in the amish. amish people are all about their faith and FAMILY.
john hostetler's book contains different subjects:history of,view of other anabaptists (like mennonites),arriving in america,agriculture,non-technology,amish
who do not farm,family life,schooling,young people,spiritual "birth",marriage,
bonding of amish community, amish rules,losing amish to the outside world,being
amish in america,dealing with government,and,joy of life (each subject i just mentioned is presented as a short essay in the book). this is a great book for
readers wanting a straight,clear understanding of the amish and their way of life.
this book does have color photos of the amish life. nice.

This pamphlet defines the Amish lifestyle both in photographs and words. Although the author, John A. Hostetler (1918 - 2001) was born into an Old Order Amish family, he himself was never baptized into the Amish community. As an adult, he joined the Mennonite Church. He first published this pamphlet in 1952 to counteract inaccurate popular literature on the Amish. It has remained in print ever since. It is a simple, straightforward introduction to a way of life that we 21st Century 'Englishers' find hard to understand.

The religion of the Amish people originates in sixteenth century Europe coincident with the beginning of the Protestant reformation. Zurich, Switzerland was the original home of the Anabaptists who disagreed with the 'mainstream' Protestants of the time over infant baptism. The Anabaptists believed that baptism should only be conferred on adults who were willing to following the disciplines of the new Church. They also renounced oaths, reveling and drunkenness, the use of force in war or civil government, and personal adornment. They have and will "move to other lands rather than take up arms or defend themselves."

One of the interesting sections in "Amish Life" defines this Order's view of other Anabaptists, most especially the Mennonites. There is also a discussion on how Amish spiritual rebirth and baptism differ from the religious commitment of modern fundamentalist Christians.

Even though the Plain people don't make an effort to convert outsiders to their way of life, their numbers are increasing. When I was a child, I don't think there were any Amish in my county. Now every parking lot in town has at least one hitching post for horse-drawn vehicles. The Amish seem to be much more efficient at farming the land up here than the 'English' (that's the rest of us): "The account of creation and the parables in the Bible inform the Amishman that he must be a steward of the soil...The Amish believe that with good management the land will not only yield a livelihood, but as in the Garden of Eden, their farms should reflect pleasantness and orderliness."

This author also explains the practice of 'shunning,' the biblical basis of which is found in the teaching of Paul (1 Corinthians 5:11). It is one of the practices that separate the Amish from the Mennonites.

The final few pages of this 48-page pamphlet discuss both the cost of being Amish, and the joys and satisfactions of full participation in an Amish community. The author's final words on his subject are: "In a world that has grown cold for lack of human contact, traditional communities like the Amish have important lessons to teach us."

This book was of course written in the pre-Internet days when there was a need for such basic overviews, but now that the kind of information contained therein is readily available, the book is largely redundant. Still, I was fortunate enough to come across a copy cheap and it is a welcome addition to my small collection of books on the Amish as it still is an interesting read.

This is a good, general-purpose overview of Amish life. There are better, more thorough books on the topic, but this will give the layman a good introduction.

For more information, I would recommend "On the Backroad to Heaven: Old Order Hutterites, Mennonites, Amish, and Brethren", by D. Kraybill.