this post was submitted on 05 Oct 2024
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[–] [email protected] 57 points 2 months ago (5 children)

I don't think jewelry wearing is compatible with the Amish conception of propriety and modesty but I'm not going to say it wouldn't happen.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 2 months ago (3 children)

The "rules" the Amish live by are determined by the Elders of that group. They can be quite strict or fairly loose. And can vary by a fair bit from colony to colony even as neighbors. Cell phones can be fine for one group and be forbidden for the next.

Like some much in life, the rules are open to interpretation.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago (1 children)

On top of that, many people will see a Mennonite and think "Amish."

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago

I'm one of those, but I will educate myself. Thanks for the information.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I saw some Amish or similar community teens freaking out in a Sheetz over the touch screens. They were having so much fun.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

I remember freaking out over the first touch screen I ever encountered (at mom's bank ATM when I was a kid). It really is magical until it's mundane lol

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Right I get that, but the underlying value that the prohibitions are designed around is promoting humility and preventing vanity.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

But they're people. People can revisit and reconsider the values they live by. They can change things despite the tradition they were born into or even the tradition they helped establish. That allows the society to progress and survive changing conditions. Let's support it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

If the jewelery was given as a gift in good will, it would be worse to reject it or to accept it and never use it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

That sounds like pride and pride sounds like sin!

[–] [email protected] 87 points 2 months ago (4 children)

My grandpa rents some of his fields out to an amish guy who also rents a lot of other fields in the area. The amish in our area are known to be pretty loose with their rules so my grandpa wasn't surprised when the guy showed up with combine harvester but he was kind of surprised with how new it was. My grandpa asked him how he could drive a combine when they weren't allowed to drive cars. To which the amish guy responded, "Well, I don't actually drive the combine; it drives itself. I just sit in it."

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 months ago

Most based Amish dude I've ever heard about.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 months ago

Jewish people on Sabbat vibes.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Sounds like the Amish would be ok with a robotic vacuum as long as it charged itself from a solar panel.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago

Quite possibly. A lot of their electricity aversion stems from avoidance of relying on an electric grid owned and maintained by outsiders.

(Which to be fair is also pretty based)

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 months ago
[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Really depends on the community, some have cars.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

Also worth noting often if you see what looks like Amish folks driving a car, especially if its for personal errands they're often not Amish but Mennonite.

I very consistently manage to shop at the same time as one Mennonite family, so I'll see them getting groceries then load up their car and drive home

[–] [email protected] 39 points 2 months ago

Good for them. Culture should evolve.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Maybe it depends on the branch of Amish. I’ve heard the ones in the Midwest are a little more relaxed than the ones in Pennsylvania.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago (2 children)

The Amish around where I live (Midwest) run a bunch of great little stores (which is most of the contact I have with them personally, but my partners mom has friends in their community who come to visit now and then.) The stores all take credit cards and have refrigerators for the cheeses/dairy, and many of them do use machinery for farm work. Some even use cell phones.

I haven’t noticed any jewelry (haven’t paid attention), but they really do seem to pick and choose which portions to adhere strongly to.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

My understanding is the faith has exclusions to the rules for when its necessary for work, so an Amish IT Administrator wouldn't be impossible!

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It mainly depends on if it makes them money or not.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

That does, honestly, seem to be the threshold for the communities around me.

Can they use it in a way they can argue complied with their religion? If yes, and money, do thing. If yes, no money, do thing. If no, but money, try harder to argue, then do thing.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Yeah the more I've found out and paid attention over the past few decades. I think the Amish how they were originally envisioned, died out many many years ago.

The current ilk, use that perception to make money and at best give lip service to the original ideals.

I figure in 50 years Amish will be indistinguishable from any other modern religion.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I mean even now they are just another niche religious community.. I get what they were going for, but..

Their communities have a lot of problems. Like a lot. And because they mostly have that year of going into the world (intended as a culture shock, but really is just an introduction to modern convenience technology, which is mmmmm so enticing) their numbers are dwindling. And that sucks for the culture loss, but I doubt they will even exist in 50 years, honestly.

Or say they do exist in 50 years.. they will be the people buying all the cheap shit that doesn’t meet emission regulations because they “have to weigh each new innovation”.

For as long as I’ve lived in close proximity to Amish communities (most of my life, again Midwest), they have always made weird questionable allowances that I don’t really understand because I’m not part of the community. Most of them get around their religious limitation by just hiring someone, that’s why they need money. I know this because my family was hired on multiple occasions (because we often did poultry trades and other livestock deals with them) to operate machinery (chainsaws, modern farm equipment, etc) on their behalf.

And doesn’t that just seem like modernizing with more steps?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

Also inbreeding is a huge issue, I know back in the nineties there was a big deal about the large communities (Midwest, PA, NC?) intermarrying to try and help the issues

[–] [email protected] 26 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Everyone's just making shit up based on their feelings anyway, let them do as they ~~wilt~~ will.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago