History Of Amish
Amish history begins in the early 16th century with the Protestant Reformation. There was a widespread dissatisfaction with the traditional policies and intertwined church and government, people were looking for changes.
As people started studying the scriptures of the Bible, they began to question the Catholic Church because they believe the teachings were straying away from what is in the Bible. In 1517 a priest named Martin Luther led a protest; he was excommunicated from the Catholic Church and became a leader in the Protestant Reformation. The Lutheran church helped make Protestantism a permanent part of Christianity.
In 1525 a landmark took place in Amish history, in Zurich, Switzerland. A group of students and craftsmen petitioned the local church and civil authorities for change. When their appeals were rebuffed, they baptized each other in a secret meeting and the Anabaptist movement was born. Anabaptist means “re-baptize.
Menno Simons was an important figure in Amish history, in the mid-1520s he began to question some of the church teachings; he decided that infant baptism was not in the Bible. Simons began to explore Swiss Brethren church. In 1535 Simon’s bother Peter along with a group of people were killed for their beliefs. Simon then cut his ties with the Catholic Church and joined the Swiss Brethren Antibaptist. Simons quickly rose to a leader of the Swiss Brethren Antibapsist. Within a decade of Simons’ baptism into the church, his followers were being identified as Mennonites. Amish history is steeped in Mennonite tradition.
Even after almost a hundred years, the Antibaptists were still being killed, fined, imprisoned and deported for their beliefs. In 1648 the war caused by political ambition and conflict between the Catholic and Protestant churches ended. Many of the areas affected were devastated and the population almost completely wiped out. Landowners were desperate for labors and tenants. The landowners offered religious freedom to the Amish in return for their excellent farming abilities. During the next several decades, though they still suffered from persecution, they also enjoyed some acceptance. The Amish were even admired in some places for their talent in farming and frugal lifestyle. This interaction with non-Mennonites eventually became an issue in the Alsatian church. Amish history would soon include the Amish church.
Jakob Ammann was a key figure in Amish history;Ammannwas born in 1644 in Bern Switzerland. He was a member of the Reformed Church through his 20s. He became a known Anabaptist around the age of 35. According to AmmannPunishment for non-conformity was too lenient and shunning practices were not strict enough. He wanted to return to more conservative Anabaptist doctrine.
According to Amish history in 1693 Ammann called for a meeting of all the leaders of the churches in the region to argue his issues. The senior leader in the region, Hens Reist had decided he would not practice shunning. Reist decided not to attend the meeting.
Ammann called another meeting to give Reist a chance to agree or disagree with Ammann’s views on the issue, Reist refused to attend the meeting again. In the heated argument at the meeting, about half of the leaders sided with Ammann and the other half with Resit.
Amish history was made when Ammann then excommunicated Reist and all the other leaders who sided with him. Reist and his followers continued to be known as Mennonites. Ammann followers were referred to as Amish.More conservative members began to follow the Amish ways. The Amish church began to grow. Amish Religion the Amish celebrate Holy Communion twice each year and practice foot washing. Persons are baptized when they are admitted to formal membership in the church, about the age of 17 to 20 years.
Amish religious services are conducted in High German. Pennsylvania Dutch (which is not Dutch but a mixture of High German, various German dialects and English) is spoken at home and in daily discourse. Children learn English at school.
Religious services are held on a rotating basis in family homes and barns. A large wagon, filled with benches for the service and dishes and food for the meal that follows, will often be pulled to the host's property.
The use of musical instruments is not permitted in an Amish church service or at any time, as it is considered wordly and vain. Singing, however, is important to Amish life, whether at work or at play, at home or in church. Selections from the Ausband (the Amish hymnal) are commonly sung. Group singing is always in unison and never harmonized.
Beliefs:
They believe in the importance of individual Bible study and the necessity of living a life free of sin after adult baptism.
Amish practices are their revulsion of Hochmut (pride, arrogance, haughtiness) They place high value on Demut (humility) and Gelassenheit (calmness, composure, placidity).