The Amish: a people of

preservation
These people trace their heritage back hundreds of
years, and yet, despite all the time that has passed
and the many changes that have taken place in
society, they still live and work much as their
forefathers did. Their families and their farms are
their top priorities, second only to God.
The Amish are very devout in their faith. They
believe in the literal interpretation and application of
Scripture as the Word of God. They take seriously
the Biblical commands to separate themselves from
the things of the world. They believe worldliness can
keep them from being close to God, and can
introduce influences that could be destructive to
their communities and to their way of life.
They have been employing horse-drawn power
since the days when horsepower had a whole
different meaning! In comparison to our fast-paced
society, the simpler, family-centered Amish way of
life holds a special fascination.

Listen and fill in the gaps:

What the Amish lose in speed they gain in fellowship. Work under the right circumstances
is ________________________________.

A tractor is allowed for belt power, but not to _______________________________.

By _____________________________, the Amish also keep their old people from

becoming obsolete as fast as the machinery of their youth is outmoded.

Shared within the family, hard work _______________________________; youve done it

before with your parents and youll do it again in the same way with your children.

The Amish find their ________________________ in labour rather than in escape from it.

Much of what seems different about the Amish is only their continuing to practise what
everybody used to, long after almost _______________________________________.

Answers

The Amish: a people of

preservation

Listen and fill in the gaps:

These people trace their heritage back hundreds of

years, and yet, despite all the time that has passed
and the many changes that have taken place in
society, they still live and work much as their
forefathers did. Their families and their farms are
their top priorities, second only to God.
The Amish are very devout in their faith. They
believe in the literal interpretation and application of
Scripture as the Word of God. They take seriously
the Biblical commands to separate themselves from
the things of the world. They believe worldliness can
keep them from being close to God, and can
introduce influences that could be destructive to
their communities and to their way of life.
They have been employing horse-drawn power
since the days when horsepower had a whole
different meaning! In comparison to our fast-paced
society, the simpler, family-centered Amish way of
life holds a special fascination.

What the Amish lose in speed they gain in fellowship. Work under the right circumstances
is as enjoyable as pray.

A tractor is allowed for belt power, but not to pull equipment in a field.

By resisting technological change the Amish also keep their old people from becoming
obsolete as fast as the machinery of their youth is outmoded.

Shared within the family, hard work becomes a seasonal ritual; youve done it before
with your parents and youll do it again in the same way with your children.

The Amish find their happiness and meaning in labour rather than in escape from it.

Much of what seems different about the Amish is only their continuing to practise what
everybody used to, long after almost everybody else stopped doing it.

Script
Their ancestors were Swiss mountain farmers from the canton of Bern,
already a stubbornly rural and tradition-loving people, they sidestepped the
priesthood in the reformation of the 1520s and began to read the Bible and
meet in groups with lay leaders. In simple response to the teachings of
Jesus they abandoned warfare, refused to take civil oaths and made
baptism an act of voluntary adult commitment to the church.
What the Amish lose in speed they gain in fellowship. Work under the right
circumstances is as enjoyable as play; shared work is, in many cases, the
Amish mans recreation. A tractor is allowed for belt power, but not to pull
equipment in a field. That would be crossing an invisible technological line
that the Amish define for the sake of their community. They sense just how
much change their community can support without coming a part of the
scenes by getting on the uncontrollable escalator of progress. By resisting
technological change or at least, slowing it down to controllable speed, the
Amish also keep their old people from becoming obsolete as fast as the
machinery of their youth is outmoded. Maintaining simple ways of farming
lessens the distance between the generations.
Shared within the family hard work becomes a seasonal ritual; youve done it
before with your parents and youll do it again in the same way with your
children. Greater speed and size in their implements might eliminate some
labour, but the Amish find their happiness and meaning in labour rather than
in escape from it. So much of what seems different about the Amish is only
their continuing to practise what everybody used to, long after almost
everybody else has stopped doing it. By not forgetting the art of the windmill,
the Amish preserved for the rest of us a visual link with our own pre
urbanized past.