Amish & Electricity?

[Ecclecticmum]

Can someone refer me to the passage and/or reasoning as to why certain orders (I won't say all, because I read something about some orders using cell phones, which would require charging, which means electricity) refuse to use electricity?

 

And why this would possibly stretch to solar or other earth/natural powered devices? And to doctors offices that may be treating them?

 

Thank you :)

[VeritasMama]

Well, from what I've read they don't have a problem with electricity, they have a problem with using technology to make their work easier. Hard work is an important aspect of their religious beliefs, and so they work hard in order to become holy and fulfill their religious duties.

 

When my ds8 was in a NICU, their was a set of premature Amish twins next to him. The use of technology in this case was not a problem, it was keeping their children alive and not displacing their duty towards their own work. The mother and grandmother were staying at the Ronald McDonald House as I was, and they were quite friendly in a lot of ways.

 

I'm no expert here, hopefully someone else will correct me if I'm wrong and be able to provide more details and sources for info.

[Starr]

I don't know why they don't have electricity in their homes but the conservative Amish here ride in other people's cars, go to the store and doctors offices.

[beaners]

I don't know about being treated at doctor's offices, but I know many Amish/Mennonites that CAN have generator supplied electricity as required for their manufacturing or farming businesses. They can't run lines to their houses though.

[sparrow]

I assume the Amish charge their cell phones at the same neighbor houses that allowed them to use their landline phones in the past. They still don't have electricity in their own homes. Our local Amish visit the same doctors/hospitals we do.

 

As I understand it, electricity and cars/tractors are not used to avoid temptation and prideful thoughts (my tractor is bigger than yours). They're still pretty proud of the Belgians that do their plowing and unfortunately, many do not treat their animals well.

[LaxMom]

Right. My Amish friends have electricity because they need it for the milk cooling tanks, etc., on their farm. They have a refrigerator to keep food, but no lightbulb in it, and an electric wringer washer. I'd say they're middle of the road, neither super conservative nor liberal enough to have cell phones.

 

It cracked me up when I first discovered that... I came in and saw Miriam in the utility room with that thing and jokingly scolded her. She said, "what? You thought I beat the laundry on a rock or something?" :lol: She's very funny.

[Jennifer]

I think one of the reasons may be to not be dependent on "the grid". Amish in western new york often have stoves and fridges that run on electric powered by gas generators...so they are not dependent on electric supplied by others, and if gas wasn't easy to get (i don't know if it's gasoline or natural gas??) they can do without. I think using gas (either gasoline or natural) is still being dependent on the work of others and that the Amish are splitting hairs regarding the issue...

 

Amish near my hometown still use buggies and horse drawn plows, but shop in our local grocery store for staples. So I'm not sure where/how they draw the line.

 

Jennifer

[Ecclecticmum]

This is what I was looking into: Genetic Based Diseases of the Amish

 

And I found this: Amish Plagued by Genetic Disorders

 

And in the second one, there were a few things that startled me, hence trying to research into it further. These were the quotes:

 

Suggesting that the doctor wasn't able to use electricity:

And the doctor was treating these challenging cases under the most rudimentary conditions since Amish custom prohibits electricity. Still, he doesn’t complain. In fact, he calls the heritage beautiful and says, “We are not come here to change them.â€

 

 

This makes it sound like solar panels for medical equipment would be out of the norm, and possibly not accepted in other orders?

Certain homes, like the Miller’s, have taken small steps toward change. Some with lifesaving medical equipment have asked for special dispensation from the Amish bishop to install solar panels to run the machines.

 

 

She was shunned trying to help her child:

Iva Byler, mother of the three girls with Cohen Syndrome, made an even more drastic change eight years ago, after her third child in a row showed signs of this crippling disorder.

Now, when she needs to go to the doctor, she wheels the girls into her van. She’s left buggy rides, and the whole Amish lifestyle, behind. But the price was being shunned forever by the community, as well as her ex-husband and her two healthy adult children.

 

 

On Pre-marital testing (free, I think?) to check whether the couple are related (thus if they checked, could cut down on the tragedies):

There are no cures in sight yet, but these doctors are able to offer the next best thing: pre-marital testing, to help future parents avoid these tragedies.

 

It’s a powerful new tool for the Amish, if they choose to use it.

 

Despite the illnesses in his family, Miller would not use such tests. “That's our-- our lifestyle is that way. We-- we trust God to take care of that, you know? We just, just the way we—we - live.â€

 

 

Closed Gene Pool:

Right now, the best prevention for many of these mutations is to prevent intermarriage, which is hard to do.

 

Marrying outside the faith could create a healthier gene pool, but it would also ultimately destroy the very essence of what it means to be Amish.

 

 

So I was looking into Amish Genetics, which led me to the electricity question.

[Forget-Me-Not]

What is allowed/forbidden varies quite a bit between sects. Most of these things are left up to the local elders.

[Whereneverever]

Yeah, this varies sharply by area. When I was younger and lived in the Midwest I worked for a home health agency and had a few Amish clients. They had permission to have a sink with running water, a few outlets, a flush toilet, ect, in the house for the home health workers to use for themselves and to make it easier to assist the clients. They even had a tv there for overnight workers- they just kept it draped when not in use.

[Sharpie]

This varies significantly on sect and what the Bishop allows. In my area, the Amish are allowed one tractor with rubber tires & skidsteer & every attachment imaginable on their farm. They have phones, some in the house, others in an outside building. They do not have electricity in the house but utilize solar, windmills and have gas generators for barn use. They utilize hospital care as I have taken my Amish neighbors to the emergency room before. I know one family that was seeking medical specialists for a condition their child had. Again, it totally depends on the sect and from my understanding the Bishop sets the "rules" for each sect.

[FaithManor]

Well, from what I've read they don't have a problem with electricity, they have a problem with using technology to make their work easier. Hard work is an important aspect of their religious beliefs, and so they work hard in order to become holy and fulfill their religious duties.

 

When my ds8 was in a NICU, their was a set of premature Amish twins next to him. The use of technology in this case was not a problem, it was keeping their children alive and not displacing their duty towards their own work. The mother and grandmother were staying at the Ronald McDonald House as I was, and they were quite friendly in a lot of ways.

 

I'm no expert here, hopefully someone else will correct me if I'm wrong and be able to provide more details and sources for info.

 

 

This seems to be the general concensus amongst the Amish in our area, except that one Bishop is VERY tight fisted and if he had it his way, they would not take advantage of the health care system...he's of the, if your kid dies, he dies and it must be God's will mentality. Not all of the people listen to him though.

 

A few, just a very few Amish here have telephones wired to a pole at the end of their driveways. These are used for emergencies. They aren't allowed to be inside the house so the family will not be tempted to chat on them or use them for convenience's sake. However, there are some that don't have them at all and shun all use of the telephone...see my post in the secondary thread on reporting unsupervised kids. We've had a few tragedies because of this. I've also noted that if the man has a woodworking business and sells his furniture to "the English", he may be allowed to have electricity in his wood shop, and the woman, if she runs a full-time bakery, may have it to secondary kitchen where it powers a very large, industrial strength mixer - I've seen an instance of each of these. But, again, this is probably sporatic. It seems, at least in my experience, that depending on the Bishop the family is under and personal belief, the allowances for this or that can vary quite a bit between communities.

 

Most of the Amish in our community will avail themselves of hospital care...no problem. However, there is a small group of ultra-conservative that absolutely will not. There have been some child deaths that could have been avoided due to this. I don't think there is a hard and fast theology of electricity or technology put to paper. It appears to be more rooted in the traditions and preachings within the local group.

 

Two of the funniest things dh and I have ever seen was when we were in Goshen, Indiana. I was there for a few days for a sacred music seminar on conservative, sacred music traditions - the highlight of the event being some absolutely WONDERFUL pipe organ music in the college chapel - and we saw a buggy with a very young Amish couple inside just a be-boppin'. We rolled down the windows (they were stopped at a stoplight and we were in the turn lane sitting next to them) and they had a RADIO going...totally pop music. I wish I could remember the song. Cracked us up! A day later we saw an Amish wagon, pulled by a draft horse, with a FISHING BOAT AND BOAT MOTOR on the back. We chuckled hard. I suppose they may have been hired to move this for someone else, but that seems slightly implausible since it would be easier and faster to hire someone with a truck than an Amish wagon! Who knows what they were going to do with it? I'm at a loss.

 

Neither Goshen nor the area I currently live in is "touristy" in terms of people flocking to stare at the Amish or eat their food or buy their quilts, etc. So, I think we see more typical Amish life. I'm not certain what it would be like in Lancaster County, PA or similar areas where the Amish have become "a destination". Hopefully, someone can speak to that situation...are they as conservative, more conservative, more liberal in their outlook on tech useage, etc.?

 

We hired an Amish roofing crew to do our new roof. They had no wait time unlike some of the area contractors and their work ethic is amazing. It is some of the best work I've ever seen, their geometry is excellent - didn't waste a thing, didn't over-buy, didn't have a single corner that was not dead.on.perfect.

They used power tools and hooked up to our outside power source. This absolutely HUGE roof with a very steep roof pitch was done in 2.5 days. I think they enjoyed our bathroom though! The men were in here an awful lot for that. :D

 

Again though, I have come to believe that the rules are not hard and fast and not much is actually on paper. It seems that it can vary some between families and communities, and the bishop's interpretation of tradition also carries a lot of weight.

 

Faith

[QueenCat]

What is allowed varies so much. It also varies significantly between Amish and Mennonites... many people get the two mixed up.