Uncle to Nephew: You broke your covenant to the Amish Church

February 1, 2011

Dear David,

You mentioned that you don’t read in the Bible about “ordnung.” Well, probably a lot of it is tradition, but history teaches us over and over that when people leave the church, their children, or maybe more often their grandchildren will not belong to any church. And where do you find a church that observes more of the commandments or ordinances that we can plainly read about, such as feet washing, the woman’s head covering and no outward adornments as we read in I Peter 3:3 and I Timothy 2:9, bann and shunning and not to have communion with open sinners? All of these things we can plainly read about in the Bible. Please study the confession of faith and look up the references.

Most of you have promised to remain faithful to the church, and if you now leave the church and join another one you are covenant breakers, and this is just like leaving one wife and marrying another in God’s eyes.

Well, I hope I didn’t write anything to offend you, much more to welcome you back to the church.

Sincerely, Uncle Mel

--------------------------------- David responds to Uncle Mel ---------------------------------

Dear Uncle Mel,

You say we have promised ‘to remain faithful to the church’, how many churches does God have? Had we remained Amish, how much concern would you have for our faithfulness, diligence etc. to walk in a Godly manner? Seems as long as one dresses in the ordung and 'do what ya do' we are automatically on our way to heaven.

You say,"...bann and shunning and not to have communion with open sinners..." So when members leave the Amish church, does that make them “open sinners”? Members that do not leave and live with a lack of the fruit of the spirit, ect. Are they “open sinners” as well? And if I was a Catholic, and left that church and joined your Amish church, would I be an “open sinner” then, too?

In Heb 12:1 we read, “... let us LAY ASIDE EVERY WEIGHT, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,” To me the odnung is a weight to LAY ASIDE. When I go about running a race I would LAY ASIDE all hindrances. I picture me as Amish, to be ‘weighed down,’ like carrying 2 five gallon buckets full of 'stuff' (of man-made rules) and try running!

There are so many vital things and principles in the Bible to pursue such as the fruits of the Spirit in Gal 5. And much more, that I don't have time or place to pursue all the Man Made Rules.

The custom of the women’s covering has become a symbol of identifying what church she belongs to. I don’t belong to any of your Amish FLAVORS. And I identify and look like one of the ladies of where I worship. The submission thing can be in order with or without the outward symbol or custom. Just because the Amish woman wears one, doesn’t prove anything one way or another in whether she is submissive or not. Many of these coverings are ‘outward adornments’ you claim to be exempted from.

A woman in my church may feel satisfied to go out in public with her ‘outward adornments’ (things that are classified ‘worldly’ by the Amish) in the very same way an Amish woman feels going out with her ‘outward adornment’ (The covering). Neither woman would think of going out without it. Who am I to say what her standard must be? When I think of looking at my fellow man and what they should or should not do, I’m reminded of the splinter in my brother’s eye, and convicted of the log in my own.

1 Peter 3; 3 also says, “or of putting on of apparel;” So what does this verse REALLY mean? Shall we, as well, not wear clothing? The same verse also says, “…of plaiting the hair,” Plaiting means, ‘an interweaving, braiding, a knot’.

I can ask, “What does ‘worldly’ mean?” and get quite different answers from the Amish man than I will get from others. So I have learned that the Bible can be read through Amish eyes. I have learned that the Amish through their tradition, respond and live in ‘Trained Behavior’ (do what ya do), rather than true conviction.

If one chooses to live Amish and enjoys that way of life, I have no problem with it. But if you try and put YOUR conviction to live that way, upon me, and measure whether I am Godly by it, I have a problem. If the Bible is our road map, let’s do our best to live by it. Nowhere do I see it telling us to be Christians and Godly shall we be, stay, or become Amish. If that were the case, the whole world should be Amish. And, by the way, how much of the ’world’ are you converting to the Amish, if that’s the real, true way of the Christian?

--David