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If they don't use electricity, how can the Amis h sometimes have water heaters, stoves and refrigerators in their homes? Many appliances that we run on electricity can be converted to run on natural gas. Also, som e have windmills on their property which generate power. This is accepta ble because it is self-reliance on a natural , Godly source of power as opposed to being connected to our power lines with their man-made electr icity.
A community event for the Amish, entire families pitch in to help. Men an d boys of all ages take part in the work and sheer numbers compensate fo r the lack of modern equipment. The framing is usually completed before the noon-day meal - a feast prepared during the morning by the women - a nd the remainder completed in the afternoon.
I see that the Amish use the same modern medicine and doctors I do. Nothing in their beliefs prevents the Amish from seeking modern medical h elp, although they do not have health insurance. They do band together, however, within their communities and see that anyone who needs financia l help for medical problems is not turned away. Local doctors report tha t Amish tend to be good patients, both in that they appreciate good heal th as a gift from God and that they pay their bills.
Why is it that Amish cannot own or drive cars, but they can ride in t hem? At first glance it might seem inconsistent, but the philosophy is that wh ile owning a car might separate the community (not everyone could afford them, they might become used as status symbols, and they would inevitab ly hasten the slow-paced Amish way of life), Amish will accept rides (or even pay for them) to meet various transportation needs such as travel to outside employment or for medical attention.
Because the Amish lifestyle is a deliberate effort to separate from the w orld and maintain self sufficiency, they decided in the early part of th e century that linking with electrical wire would constitute a connectio n with the world and would violate the Bible's instruction not to be con formed with the world. That decision, viewed now, shows amazing foresigh t as it has protected the Amish community from outside influences such a s radio and TV.
The Amish observe many of the same holidays the rest of us do - but just the religious ones. For example, they celebrate Christmas (and in some o rders, Old Christmas), Good Friday and Easter, Ascension Day, Pentecost, and Thanksgiving.
While it is not uncommon for a person born into the Amish faith to leave that church and culture for a more liberal lifestyle, it is quite unusua l - but not impossible - for an Englishman to give up modern accoutremen ts for the extreme discipline of the Old Order Amish. Such a conversion would include formal instruction in Amish beliefs and language as well a s baptism - not to mention significant lifestyle changes. You would prob ably enjoy reading about Donald Beam - an Englishman who did just that - in The Amish of Holmes County.
The Amish forbid photographs of them being taken based on the Biblical in struction that Thou shall not make unto thee any graven image, or any li keness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth bene ath, or that is in the water under the earth (Exodus 20:4).
The Supreme Court has ruled that Amish who are self employed do not have to pay Social Security tax, as it is a form of insurance and as such con flicts with their religious beliefs. Amish who are employed by non-Amish employers, however, do pay this tax.
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