Christopher Hitchens - Jodi Picoult - Unusual Occupations 1939 - Amish Exiles TV - The Amish TV - David Weaver-Zercher - Leaving Amish Paradise TV - Amish: Out of Order TV - Witness 1985 -
63,205. Do you know why the Amish girl was excommunicated? Too Mennonite. Christopher Hitchens v Alister McGrath, Georgetown University Washington, 2007
6,326. Our culture promotes individuality, while the Amish are deeply entrenched in community. To us, if someone stands out, it’s no big deal because diversity is respected and expected. To the Amish, there’s no room for deviation from the norm. It’s important to fit in, because that similarity of identity is what defines the society. If you don’t fit in, the consequences are psychologically tragic, you stand alone when all you’ve ever known is being part of the group. (Self & Culture & Individual & Amish & Conformity & Society & Alone) Jodi Picoult, Plain Truth
63,206. The automobile is considered a needless luxury. For two hundred and fifty years the Amish have never changed location, mode of living, manner of dress, or manner of occupation which is farming. Unusual Occupations, 1939
63,207. The fear of going to Hell and burning eternally is a fear unlike any fear I know about. (Amish & Hell) Amish Exiles, exile
63,208. You leave the Amish, you’re on your own. ibid.
63,209. They are the plain people: the Amish. With communities in twenty-eight American states. ibid. commentary
63,210. Columbia [Missouri] is where exile Amish teens and young adults can find jobs, friends and a new home. ibid.
63,211. For some ex-Amish that close-knit community can be a poor replacement for their friends and family back home. ibid.
63,212. In the Amish culture allegations of abuse are dealt with by community leaders. (Amish & Abuse) ibid.
63,213. They still crave contact and yearn to be close to family. ibid.
63,214. Some move back, and some move on. ibid.
63,215. Rooted in the Protestant Reformation, the Amish church began in Europe and soon spread to North America. Today, Amish communities exist only in Canada and the United States. The Amish PBS, caption
63,216. Amish people do not want you to take their photograph up close. They believe it breaks the second of the ten commandments. ibid. coach driver
63,217. There are more than 250,000 Amish in the United States. ibid. caption
63,218. ‘When a man is working the soil, he’s as close to God as he could get.’ ibid. Amish bloke
63,219. Amish families began settling in Pennsylvania in the early eighteenth century. They speak a German-based dialect known as Pennsylvania Dutch and refer to non-Amish as ‘English’. (Amish & Pennsylvania) ibid. caption
63,220. The Amish are Anabaptists – Christians who practice [sic] adult baptism. ibid.
63,221. ‘We don’t get attached to the things of this world. We do our best.’ ibid. Amish
63,222. In their late teens young Amish must decide if they want to be baptised and join the church. ibid. caption
63,223. The Amish do not have church buildings. Families take turns hosting Sunday worship in their homes. ibid.
63,224. The Amish have no trained clergy. Ministers must be male, are chosen by drawing lots and serve for life. ibid.
63,225. A church community is made up of twenty-five to thirty-five families. Each sets its own Ordnung and the rules can vary widely. One church may allow bicycles. A mile away, another church may prohibit them. ibid.
63,226. By 1910 most Amish communities had banned phones in the home, but permitted the use of public telephones. ibid.
63,227. By the 1920s most Amish were prohibited from owning or driving cars, but were allowed to travel as passengers. ibid.
63,228. By mid-century connection to the electrical grid was also banned. ibid.
63,229. On October 2 2006 a non-Amish man entered an Amish schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. The gunman shot ten Amish girls. Five died. ibid.
63,230. In 2007 Andy Miller and five other Amish men were cited for violating state building codes. They had refused to submit building plans or install smoke detectors in their homes. ibid.
63,231. By the 1950s, many Amish parents had stopped sending their children to high school. ibid.
63,232. Shunning usually involves cutting off regular contact with those who have been excommunicated. ibid.
63,233. Anabaptists who believed in strict shunning began the Amish church in 1693. ibid.
63,234. Fifty years ago nearly all Amish supported themselves by farming. Today fewer than half do. ibid.
63,235. Thousands of Amish families have left their home states in search of cheaper land and more space. ibid.
63,236. The family unit is not the most important social unit in Amish life; the Amish church is the most important social unit. David Weaver-Zercher, historian