The Amish Voice 10
means of knowledge would you feel com-
fortable to put those statements in print?
Joe Responds:
I can’t say that I have
been closely related to those who
have taken their own lives for the rea-
sons I shared, but I can say this; I have
attended their funerals, talked with
their families and even taken grocer-
ies over the family members who
were now all of a sudden without a
father or husband to lean on. In fact,
just a few years ago, three adults
within the same community, took
their lives within a two week period.
This happened in Dundee OH.
In the past year, three single (Amish)
people have come to our ministry for
help. Each one of them had tried to
take their life at least 2-3 times and
failed. And I might add that one of
them has been living in our home
since January of this year. And on
many occasions, our family will hear
this single girl singing away, even at
the midnight hour. You might ask,
how can this be? And the answer is,
because someone told her about Jesus
and the payment He made for her sins
2000 years ago. Once she fully under-
stood the reason Jesus came and died
for her, she cried out to Him for salva-
tion and He saved her; it changed her
life.
Romans 5:1-2
Therefore being justified
by faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom
also we have access by faith into this
grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in
hope of the glory of God.
Illinois Reader Writes:
It is very obvious
that you grew up in an Amish Schwartzen-
truber setting by the remarks you make
about the man-made rules and some of the
things you mention concerning the ord-
nung, like: denim suspenders, standup
collars, etc. you name quite a few things
that never were a part of our ordnung.
I get the picture that because of the situa-
tion you grew up in, you put all the Amish
in the same category. Our man-made rules
will not buy us a ticket to Heaven. If Amish
churches are going to survive, then there
will always be guidelines or man-made
rules as you call them.
Joe Responds:
I was born and raised in
an Old Order church in Ashland OH. And
yes, our guidelines were fairly strict, just
a notch above Schwartzentruber.
I try not to put all Amish people in the
same category, but as you suggested,
because of my upbringing, I have a ten-
dency to write according to the stan-
dards I was raised under. I should also
point out that the Amish Voice goes to
many different sects of Amish that
range from Schwartzentruber to
Beachy, and sometimes it is hard to
know how to be fair in my thoughts and
writings.
Sometimes, I get letters from people
who receive the Amish Voice, telling me
that I come across as hateful. To those
of you who feel that way, I apologize for
sounding that way. Anyone who knows
me, knows that I have a great love for
my people and feel most at home when
I am amongst them.
I appreciate the statement you made
above, “
Our man-made rules will not
buy us a ticket to Heaven
”. You under-
stand a God-given truth that not every
Amish adult understands. And for that
reason, I often speak to the one who
may not yet have had his or her eyes
opened to God’s grace, as given to us
in Eph 2:8-9.
You also said
“If Amish churches are
going to survive, then there will always
be guidelines or man-made rules as you
call them.”
Yes, I agree with you. If you
pulled the man-made rules out from
under the Amish church and made
them unimportant, the culture would
collapse.
I have an understanding why the rules
have been placed there;
men have put
them there in order that their members
might be protected from ungodliness.
However, consider the following,
along with that seemingly good idea:
1. Man-made rules have a natural
tendency to make the Spirit of
God non-affect. They (rules) also
have a great tendency to
cover up
God’s simple plan of salvation.
Consider the following Scriptures
in light of what I just shared:
Romans 2:29 says:
...circumcision is
that of the heart, in the spirit, and
not in the letter (laws and regula-
tions); whose praise is not of men,
but of God.
God's true people are the people
who have been circumcised spiritu-
ally—in the heart; not in the letter
of the law.
Consider another reason why man-
made rules and regulations in the
church might be harmful:
2 Corinthians 3:6 says,
Who also
hath made us able ministers of the
new testament; not of the letter,
but of the spirit: for the letter kil-
leth, but the spirit giveth life.
Question: How many rules and
regulations will it take to cripple, or
even worse, snuff out the Spirit?
2. Man-made rules in the New Testa-
ment are always condemned,
rather then approved.
Colossians 2:6-8 says:
As ye have
therefore received Christ Jesus the
Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and
built up in him, and stablished in the
faith…
Beware lest any man spoil
you … after the tradition of
men...and not after Christ.
Colossians 2:14
, [Jesus]
Blotting out
the handwriting of ordinances that
was against us, which was contrary
to us, and took it out of the way,
nailing it to his cross;
In my opinion, it is one thing for
individuals to have guidelines and
rules; it is another thing for the
church to pass out restrictions and
regulations.
Consider the following Scripture:
Romans 14:13-15 says,
Let us not
therefore judge one another any
more: but judge this rather, that no
man put a stumblingblock or an
occasion to fall in his brother's way.
I know, and am persuaded by the
Continued next page —>
The Spirit
Giveth Life
The Letter
Killeth