The Amish Voice 11
Lord Jesus, that there is nothing
unclean of itself: but to him that
esteemeth any thing to be unclean,
to him it is unclean.
But if thy
brother be grieved with thy meat,
now walkest thou not charitably.
Destroy not him with thy meat, for
whom Christ died.
Illinois Reader Writes:
Summing up why
I felt like writing was: Like I mentioned
before, you do write some good articles. It
is disappointing to me that you under-
stand scripture the way you do and yet
you don’t seem to be able to keep from
discrediting the Amish church. In most of
your writings you somehow seem to be
able to mix your good thoughts with your
negative thoughts against the Amish
church.
We could sure stand improvement, could-
n’t we all. In your last letter you even went
after Jacob Ammon. I am not in a position
to dispute what you wrote about him, but I
never knew so many counts against him.
Again I took it to show us what kind of
leader and founder of our faith we are fol-
lowing.
I heard John Coblenz say that if you coun-
sel people who are needing help because
of depression or stress then usually they
seem to be traveling in the right ditch be-
cause they are so opposed of the ones that
are in the left ditch. Let’s be careful, you
and me both.
Joe Responds:
I appreciate your chal-
lenge to me. I will try to be more sen-
sitive and not come across as if I was
angry at the Amish Church. In reality, I
believe that of all people groups, the
Amish have some of the greatest val-
ues of any culture.
I would like to say, “If I was allowed to
choose which culture I wanted to be
born and raised in, I would pick the
Amish culture (church) without even
thinking twice. But when it comes to
knowing how to be born again, I
would, in most cases, have to find
another culture (church) to explain
the new birth to me.
Illinois Reader Writes:
Back to the man-
made rules. If our heritage has no value to
us, then our church ordnung seems to be a
burden, and if those guidelines feel like a
restriction, then also people tend to be-
come dissatisfied and start looking for
something a little easier. If this is the case
then sometimes when they get literature
like you are sending, some will leave the
church because this seems like the easy
way to go. Sometimes they will only be
happy at the new setting for so long, then
they move on to more liberal church, and I
know of some that have gone this route
and have moved to the 3
rd
or 4
th
different
setting and don’t seem to know what they
want.
Joe Responds:
I understand what you are
saying. And I have to agree with you, it is
always very saddening to watch this hap-
pen. However, keep in mind that just
because some follow that route, does not
mean that all will follow that route.
Illinois Reader Writes:
In our commu-
nity the ones that leave the Amish church
are people who are dissatisfied. You don’t
get our faithful members even though I
realize we need to keep working to better
our church weakness. I have no desire to
belong to another church.
I am not one that thinks you have to be
Amish to get to Heaven either. I have Eng-
lish friends, who I believe are born again
Christians. I probably have as much strug-
gle as you do with the idea that the more
backward we live the more God will bless
us. I don’t think that’s how it works.
Joe Responds:
Well said, my dear
brother in the Faith. May the Lord con-
tinue to bless you richly, as you follow
His Spirit. Truly, you understand the
Truth of God and belong to His family.
Thank you for sharing your challenging
thoughts and powerful testimony.
Illinois Reader Writes:
Will close this
letter in saying I hope this letter is not so
offensive to you that you won’t give it
some consideration and maybe benefit
from it to the extent to where your feel-
ings might improve towards the Amish
church. I doubt that you have any interest
in putting this letter in your paper, but if
you should just sign me an Illinois reader.
Pray for us, we are like minded,
Sincerely, an Illinois Reader
— The End —
Four Inch Hat
When I was young and full of pep
I often made a crooked step
But now I am old and my head looks flat
Because I wear a 4 inch hat
But now if I am honest and true
That 4 inch hat will surely do
But should I tell a lie at that
What good would do my 4 inch hat
An Amish church split was caused because half wanted 4in
hat brim and other half wanted 3¾ in hat brim. Church that
left with 4in hat brim, 1 year later went with the 3¾ in brim.
True story, written by Andrew Wengerd on the barn wall.
Andrew Wengerd was the father of Dan Wengerd and
Grandfather of Loren Wengerd. —Holmes County
Lord of Glory
Lord you are my Glory
Through the awful darkness
Lord you are my Light
When the way is as night
Lord you are my strength
When mine has melted as wax
Lord you are my strong tower
When the rain is as a shower
Lord you are my comfort
When I’m beaten and battered
Lord you are my everlasting hope
When the lies of Satan seem as a rope
Lord you are truly my King
To you honor and praises I bring
Life here below does trouble bear
But for all eternity a crown I’ll wear
—Cindy Miller, Tennessee