Customer Reviews

Think No Evil: Inside the Story of the Amish Schoolhouse Shooting...and Beyond

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"Think No Evil" is a thoroughly astounding read! Authors Jonas Beiler and Shawn Smucker share the horrific details of the Amish Schoolhouse Shooting of October 2, 2006. I was amazed that even the style of writing was able to convey the peace and forgiveness of the Amish people. Not only did the Amish families who lost children, siblings and friends glorify God by not holding a grudge, these same people were able to minister to the shooter's family in their own time of need.

I am completely amazed at the faith that oozes from the pages of this book! Even though I recall hearing about the shooting back in the fall of 2006, my heart broke all over again as the story unfolded in these pages in greater detail that what I knew before. But the tone of the writing and the evident faith of the people represented in this book has healed that brokenness and restored hope. Christ is alive and well and living in the hearts of the people of Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. My prayer is that this work will serve to kindle the same love in those who read this book.

After such a tragedy how could the Amish not think of doing evil to the man that shot and killed their innocent little girls. It was an amazing site to behold for the world who takes an eye for an eye. Revenge is mine this world says--watch out. Forgiveness is the choice the Amish families made that tragic day October 2, 2006. "We forgive because we can not forget...God commanded them to forgive seventy times seven."

The author Jonas tells of how the peaceful Amish community quickly sought to comfort the shooters wife and his two small children. They knew they had nothing to do with the act done to their children.

I found it almost unbelievable as I read how the Amish community--who tries avoid the outside world and their influence as much as possible--was bombarded by the media monster after the killings by having cameras everywhere wanting to know every single detail of the tragedy.

The author says, "From the beginning...they saw this horrible tragedy as a way to bear witness to the world about the radical forgiveness they practice, which was learned from Jesus, who said of those who nailed him to a cross, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."

Jonas also relates."...The Amish were wise enough to tear down a "monument" that would remind them, ..of the pain dealt them by one man.." The author asks the question "Am I willing to dismantle those things that have caused me bitterness and pain in my own life?"

Great question, this is one amazing story of an ultimate, unbelievable event of forgiveness, and love not only to the killer of their children but to the killers' family and to a community that embraces violence.

This will definitely give you a deeper understanding into the Amish community and how the world watched and responded. You'll just have to read this for yourself. It will touch you deeply. You won't look at forgiveness the same. Thanks to the publisher for a review copy of this book.

Nora St. Laurent
Finding Hope Through Fiction

I bought this book because I have experienced the outrageous power of forgiveness already. But this book helped me feel the power of letting go in a visceral way that is otherwise easy to miss in the blinding tsunami of the feelings of hurt.

When I got the book, I sat down to read a chapter or two one evening. Hours later I finally got up from that chair when I ran out of pages. I doubt if I was ever captured by a book the way this one grabbed my heart. I wept for hours and literally scanned the years of my own history to find people to forgive.

Then I bought 4 cases and begged all my friends to sit down and read it right now. This book is one of my favorite treasures, ever. You gotta read Think No Evil

I have to start out with just Wow.......!!! I am not sure if it was just the place I was at in my life or what, but I did not expect this book to have the great impact on my life that it did. When I received this book in the mail, I was sitting down with a cup of tea at the table (not my normal place to read) and I sat there just reading and reading. The tears started streaming down my face as I read this tale of horror, but mixed with how to survive, how to forgive and how to go on when you feel like your heart was ripped out by another person's sinful actions. The story of the Amish school shooting just seemed like a small part of this book, but instead I saw that Mr Beiler instead addressed the fact that these horrible things may effect you the rest of your life. The widow of the man who shot those young girls, the mothers who may feel guilty for leaving the school room with their daughters in there, the girls that survived and that is not to mention the flashbacks. I learned that forgiveness does not mean forgetting, but as one person stated which reached my heart was "We do not forgive and forget, we forgive because we cannot forget." Right now going through my own painful lesson in forgiveness, I realized that I can forgive because I can't forget. I have to forgive because I cannot let one person's sin ruin my life and continue on with the pattern.
This book will deeply touch you as it addressed much more than a horrible tragedy, but the story of how the author himself dealt with other personal grief as well. It really helped me understand what the verses "Love your Enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you." really mean in our daily lives. Don't miss this powerful book -

Cried from the time of the incident through the rest of the book. We should all learn from this. This is a great part of what Bible Christianity is.
I also had a reeducation on the ways of the Amish. Before this, I had the impression that the Amish were unforgiving followers of OT law. And that they are saved by their Amishness. I had one college class, where at least 5 classmates chose the Amish in their class reports. None of them revealed these basics of forgiveness.
Another thing that I thought I knew was that the Amish forsook the teens that did not choose the Amish life and went into the world to stay upon coming of age. But Mr. Beiler makes clear that he remained in his community physically and was in close contact with his Amish family all the time. Even though he went into the world. That's a new learning to me.
Also his wife also is former Amish and maintained a close relationship with Mr. Beiler's mother. Very sweet. Glad to know it.

Think No Evil by Jonas Beiler and Shawn Smucker is an inside look at the Nickel Mines Amish School shooting of October 2, 2006. Beiler grew up in an Amish home before deciding at the age of 15 to live on the outside, so he has a unique perspective to share on this story that captivated the nation. The world couldn't look away as the news came in about a man who walked into an Amish school, sent out the boys and women, tied up the girls, boarded over the doors and windows and then proceeded to shoot all ten of them before taking his own life. The Amish community immediately offered forgiveness to the shooter and his family, reaching out to them again and again in a way that the world couldn't seem to understand. Beiler uses his own life story and the history of the Amish to offer a foundation for the unbelievable forgiveness the Amish offer those who hurt them. He tells the story of what happened in that small classroom with equal amounts of detachment and compassion. Churches spend millions of dollars a year trying to attract media attention to the story of Jesus without much sucess, but the Amish, who shun modern life conveniences, including the media, created a world wide sensation and curiosity about a God who empowered these people to offer such loving forgiveness. Their story is one of learning for all of us. Refusing to forgive only hurts the victim by creating a lifetime of hurt and bitterness, a lesson the Amish have learned through their history of non-violent resistance and martyrdom. It was difficult at times to read the words through the tears, but unlike most true crime books that are written to titillate with prurient details, he keeps the details about the shooter's actual intentions and what happened between him and the girls to a minimum, maintaining their dignity and privacy without sacrificing the power of the story.

This truly is an incredible story of unconditional forgiveness in the aftermath or unimaginable tragedy. Jonas and Shawn do a great job of pulling the reader into the story and challenging each of us to forgive those who have wronged us. You will not regret buying this book!

Think No Evil: Inside the Story of the Amish Schoolhouse Shooting...and Beyond, by Jonas Beiler, with Shawn Smucker

In October 2006, the world was shocked when a man entered an Amish schoolhouse and shot 10 girls inside, and then killed himself. When the Amish proceeded to forgive the killer, the concept of Amish forgiveness may have shocked the world even more.

Jonas Beiler is perfect to tell the story of the Nickel Mines schoolhouse shooting. While he was raised in an Amish family, he chose not to be baptized and left the Amish way of life. Eventually he became a counselor, and had a unique understanding of the struggles the Amish victims and their families went through after the shooting, and the modern world's incredulity that the Amish could forgive the gunman.

In a half true-crime, half autobiography book, Beiler sets the scene of the Nickel Mines community, details some of his own life, and describes the horrific shooting. While he does heavily concentrate on forgiveness, the writing isn't overly preachy. Beiler presents why the Amish forgive, and the benefits it gives them, and asks readers to consider doing the same.

I enjoyed this book, mainly for the insights into the Amish way of life.

4/5.

I enjoyed the book so very much. It brings a new outlook on life knowing how the Amish faith is so much a part of their daily lives. I truly wish I could have that kind of faith.

This is the heartfelt telling of the schoolhouse tragedy interwoven with the author's biography, the culture of the Amish and the history of the rural community where it happened. A culture that shuns worldly ways demonstrates to the world what genuine forgiveness looks like.