So, the BBC had yet another documentary about the Amish last night. Following on from the programmes about the Stoltzfus families, the BBC gave us a programme about David and Miriam Lapp and their adorable children.
And, just as with the Stoltzfus families, I found myself simultaneously liking the Lapps, but also cringing at their complete obliviousness of what humanity has achieved, for better or for worse.
David and Miriam came across as genuinely likeable, but there was that awful frisson when Miriam started talking about the rod (as the Bible states), as an effective method of chastisement of her children, while smiling all the while. At this point, her youngest son pipes up to implore her not to use the rod (in her case a wooden spoon – with a smiley face drawn upon it!) on him. She grinned. I found that shocking and not at all cute or lovely.
In the end, I once more found myself thanking my lucky stars that I was not born into an Amish community. The chains around the human spirit would have proved too much for me.
Seems you have a problem with parents disciplining their children.
Regardless, the discipline of Amish parents does not necessarily result in ideal citizens as you would learn from the Stick Figure Production documentary “Devil’s Playground” about Rumspringa.
Some Amish teenagers have even been arrested for being drug dealers.
I don’t believe that beating children is a good way to bring them up.
I realize that the Lapps are in favor of corporal punishment, but I didn’t find that scene gruesome at all. The child in question was too young to hide fear and he obviously didn’t fear that spoon one bit……he was playing with it. Now, Miriam Lapp may use that spoon on occasion, but if you look at the body language and the interaction between the children and their parents, they have loving and gentle interactions with one another. I didn’t see it as anything more than that.
Thats not a beating when spanking a disobedient child.
A beating is what America did to Britian during the revolutionary war.
I thought Miriam was generally very smiley and I didn’t think it was a terrible moment when she described her discipline methods – even though I disagree with them. Generally, I thought they were a lovely family and I was very touched by this programme. I think its wonderful that this couple, despite their very simple and prescibed existance have nevertheless had an awakening…really touching.
I tend to agree with this.
I agree. This was a truly insightful programme into the lives of Christian Amish. I was touched by their simple and family-loving way of life. The lack of need for materialism was refreshing and for me, thought provoking.
Lack of need for materialism is one thing. Being bound by archaic, and sometimes somewhat bizarre (e.g. no bicycles!), rules is another. I can do the former without the latter.
It may be ‘bizarre’ for you Geoff in your world, but evidently not for them.
Evidently.
Hee!
The Bible is the word of God. Whether or not you agree with it is irrelevant; they follow it to the letter, and look HOW happy they are. I’ve yet to find SO many families as content with SUCH a simple and blessed life, as the Amish.
Follow God’s instruction and ignore “opinions” – you won’t go wrong. God is perfect, ergo, his instruction manual gives you guidance for a happy life.
Matt, thanks for your opinion. However, based on the evidence I see, god is a human invention, and the bible is a collection of writings by human authors.
Geoff, its difficult to explain God’s existence- as difficult as explaining the taste of honey. Sincerely seek – from the bottom of your heart – saying, ” God , if you exist , reveal yourself to me” everyday ..and wait. I too had your belief that God was created by man but before I came to a final conclusion I did what I suggested to you … and my beliefs were turned on its head by Him whom I now worship as God my creator through a personal encounter which he gave me. No wonder Jesus said that He would reveal himself not to the wise of this world but to children!!
Sorry Zubin, you might believe that; however that does not make it true. Personal encounters are not sufficient evidence except in the minds of those that have them. The brain is capable of many peculiar beliefs. Look up Cotard’s syndrome sometime, and then try and convince a sufferer of that that they are not dead but alive.
I enjoyed this programme.I am a Christian but for me, that wasn’t what was pertinent. I found their entire way of life fascinating. Life is so frenetic, that to see people able to live in this world without all the things we think we can’t live without, mobile phones, computers, cars etc, was really refreshing. I found myself envying the total simplicity of their lives. Yes, they work hard but they have something to show for it. And their families definitely benefit. Family life today is under threat, these people know that family is important and something to be valued. We have so much technology that is supposed to make our lives easier. All it seems to be doing is making life faster and isolating us even more from each other. Maybe it’s time to take note and realise that we need to simplify our lives and concentrate more on the small things…..?
Lynn, I sympathise with your viewpoint, but the means to live simpler is within ourselves. I concur with you that concentration on the small things in life is valuable. I just happen to do that without the need for gods. Family is important, but I suspect that the Amish would disagree with me over what a family is.
Yes,Geoff, I agree. The mere fact that I am sitting in front of this computer proves that we are not always strong enough to resist the lure of technology. I yearn for a simpler life, for myself and my children. I despair that children are forced to grow up so quickly, not knowing a childhood. What I loved about this programme was how the children had such freedom and innocence. My 10 year old is more like a teenager despite our efforts to keep things simple. We have tried to hold off on the gadget buying, she’s just got an MP3 player and her requests for a mobile phone have been ignored. We live in the country and I am keen to move to an even more rural area to try to escape the frenetic pace of a town/city. We tried living in London before we had children(we’re originally from South Africa) and just couldn’t take the pace of life there. It was too loud, too fast and way too superficial and impersonal. Society is losing sight of the importance of connections, everyone is only in it for themselves. It’s very me-orientated…what can I get out of it…Anyway, sorry for the soapbox speech. This is something I have a very strong opinion about and as I said, I have long found the simple Amish way of life enviable. I mentioned to my daughter tonight that we need to move to America and go to live with them. Needless to say she was horrified…esp when I said there is no tv, no phones, no computers
Lynn, no need to apologise for the soapbox!
As I said before, I can sympathise. When I was young, I lived in London and loved it, but now I’m very content to live in the country, and don’t miss city life at all. Nonetheless, technology is extremely useful, and I don’t think should be dismissed as simply “a lure”. My computer and the internet is what enables me to keep in touch with my “nearest” and dearest beyond my physical neighbourhood, and that’s a boon, and it enables broadening of horizons far beyond what was available to my parents or others in the world today.
Connections *are* important, but they can occur in all sorts of ways and places, and while some of them can only be mediated via technology, they’re not necessarily the worse or the poorer for that.
While I think the Lapp family seem really lovely people, and I do slighly envy what seems a very simple life, realistically though I don’t think god would deem all modern technology as a sin if they had any. Its all about control and it does not need to damage any ”family time”. I don’t really like the way the Amish elders seem to dictate their parishioners lifes and the fact they could not be honest and tell their elders in fear of being ex-communicated tells me something is wrong. God forgave sinners and nobody has the right to say anything different.
Yes Karen,I agree with you. I however think that the Lapp family is challenging those beliefs within their community. The challenge for us is greater- not to become Amish but to incorporate their value and priority systems of 1st place to Jesus, then family , then work, centering their lives around the principles, words and faith in Jesus while living in the midst of technology and within the hustle and bustle of modern life. I guess the key is to love …love of God and of man under the power and leading of the Holy Spirit. Then as scripture says….we would truly become..”the lamps to be kept on the lamp-stands”..children of God. “Bloom where you are planted”
I just watched this documentary and realised what we are missing in life…….simplicity and love towards one another. The world is in turmoil and yet they seem to escape it, instead, focussing on their beliefs and values. I wonder if the world would be a much better place if only we held the same values……..love goes a long way.
You see the happiness, yet cannot account for it, since you seem to be rejecting God. You could never experience the joy these Amish have in life WITHOUT God, to pretend otherwise is just foolishness. The remainder is a big wooden house, nice people and lots of hard work. They alone do not create happiness. Impossible.
It may be impossible to you Matt, but it’s clearly not impossible for many of us to achieve happiness without gods or goddesses.
During the show, there was a simply lovely piece of music played in the background. It sounded like Bach and was sung by 2 women – anyone out there know the song/singers etc? it was breathtaking
Bit late on the responses, but I just Googled to find out what happened to the Lapp family. I too was taken with their “simple” lifestyle. But the undercurrents of their life is far from simple. Remember how they had to hide the fact that they had been re-baptised for fear of excommunication. In what way is that a good life to lead. That your elders will cast you out if you do not follow their strict and unbending rules and therefore you have to “lie” to them or “avoid telling the truth”. What the programme did not discuss (and good, because it was about the Lapp family only) was that the Amish community is in a state of turmoil and are split into many divisions. Let’s take the simple life and the religious life separately. We can all lead a simple life, making decisions that we do not have to hide from others for fear of exclusion. I though Miriam was great and she seemed to understand that the elders had some strange ideas that rather got in the way of being a Christian.
I think the piece of music you mention was a variation of Pachabel’s Cannon – I agree a lovely piece of music. This was a wonderful, thought-provoking programme.
I think the family is wonderful, although I don’t agree with the wooden spoon as a punishment. I never or have spanked my child. She is 21 yrs. old now. But, as a child when she fibbed or said a swear word, I had no one to blame but myself. When she done something that I didn’t approve of, I just pulled her aside and talked to her, in a calm voice… after that…she went outside to play and I went about my house work…. end of story.