News reports told of a grieving Amish grandfather asking young relatives
not to hate the gunman who killed five girls in an Amish schoolhouse
massacre in Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County. A member of a nearby
Brethren community explained that their Amish neighbors were trying
to follow Jesus' teachings in dealing with the "terrible hurt”: “I
don't think there's anybody here that wants to do anything but forgive
and not only reach out to those who have suffered a loss in that way
but to reach out to the family of the man who committed these acts."
“We forgive,” said an Amish elder, “because God has forgiven
us. God extends his forgiveness to us in Christ, then we must receive it. Once
we do, we must share it with others.” This belief is central to the lessons
Jesus imparted to his disciples in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew, chapters
5, 6, and 7) when he told them to pray: “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive
our debtors.” Then he added: “For if you forgive men their trespasses,
your heavenly Father also will forgive you.”
Contrary to most other Christians who consider Jesus’ demands in the Sermon
on the Mount as desirable ideals but unattainable for ordinary mortals, the Amish
believe that, as disciples of Christ, they must obey Jesus’ commands in
all aspects of life even though they may seem attainable. So they must reject
the law of revenge, as expressed, for example, in the Old Testament’s book
of Leviticus: “Your eye shall not pity; it shall be life for life, eye
for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.” Like Mahatma Gandhi,
the Hindu leader, the Amish believe that "an eye for an eye makes the whole
world blind."
In the face of heart-breaking adversity, the Amish insist that they must remain
faithful to their petition in the Lord’s Prayer: “Thy will be done.” Being
guided by Jesus’ counsel is what sustains them, Amish elders told me, in
coping with whatever difficulties they might encounter. Selfishness, they believe,
needs to be rigorously suppressed. Otherwise prayers will be tainted by self-interest,
instead of focusing on the will of God and the needs of others.
When hurt by grievous misdeeds, the Amish are taught to remind themselves that “sinners
were all drawing near to hear Jesus.” So Christians likewise are called
upon not to turn their backs on those who have sinned but rather to imitate the
way God "bestows the benefits of his creation continuously on the bad and
the good and the righteous and the unrighteous": loving the enemy, refusing
to retaliate, and following the Golden Rule.
The Amish are a 17th century offshoot of the Mennonite movement that itself is
an offshoot of Luther’s reformation. To pursue a more disciplined Christian
life, the Amish formed their own congregations and migrated to places where neither
the state nor established churches would interfere with their pursuit of Christ’s
commands. Before God, they insist, all men are equal, and no hierarchies or privileged
ranks are permissible among the faithful.
Amish people frown upon pursuits that are focused upon material profit, pride,
and power. They categorically reject any justification of conflict and war and
refuse to render any kind of military service.
Surely the Amish are not beyond quarreling among themselves over right and wrong
ways to conduct themselves, their business, and their communal affairs. Very
different from most mainstream Christians, however, they try to keep out of the
affairs of the world and stay focused upon practicing what Jesus preached.
Few of America’s self-styled Christians would want to adopt the rigorous
life-style of the Amish. But why do so many, particularly our leaders, not recognize
the immorality and futility of conflict resolution by violence and vengeance?