The Amish Don’t Go to Doctors or Hospitals: True or False?

False.

Though many Amish are likely to treat ailments with natural or traditional approaches first, they generally have no problem with seeking modern medical care when the situation warrents.

For financial or holistic reasons, the Amish may be less likely to seek out professional help than the non-Amish, especially with minor ailments or injuries. Generally, the more conservative the district, the more likely they are to rely on their own home treatments first, using doctors and hospitals only as a last resort.

Is there such a thing as an Amish doctor or an Amish hospital?

The Amish end their formal educations at the eight grade and professional degrees are not pursued, so the Amish would not be adequately schooled to become a doctor. There are, however, non-Amish doctors who specialize in treating the Amish.

There are also hospitals and other facilities with a decidedly Amish clientele, such as the Clinic for Special Children in Strasburg, Pennsylvania; the Mount Eaton Care Center in Mount Eaton, Ohio; and the Pomerene Hospital in Millersburg, Ohio.

This answer has been provided as an excerpt from the upcoming book, Plain Answers About the Amish Life by Mindy Starns Clark. Learn more below.

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True or False: The Amish Reject Modern Technology?

False.

The Amish are very selective about the devices and innovations that members are allowed to possess, but they do not reject all modern technology outright. When a new technology becomes available within a district, church leaders will evaluate its potential for causing harm to Amish life and values and then make a decision accordingly. No technology, regardless of how labor-saving it may be, is permissible if the leaders determine that it will be spiritually detrimental to the community.

To the outsider, the Amish restrictions on technology are among the most confusing of their rules and often seem contradictory. Why do the Amish not own or drive cars, yet they will ride in vehicles driven by others? Why won’t they have a phone in the house but put one in the barn? To make sense of these questions and more, consider the Amish value system:

• Humility: A lack of fancy electronic devices provides less opportunity for pride.

• Submission: Following the technology rules of the order demonstrates obedience to God, to the group, and to history.

• Community: Staying off the grid prevents dependence on the outside world.

• Simplicity: Life without computers, email, or other forms of electronic interruption is more peaceful.

• Thrift: A low-tech life prevents excessive phone bills, car insurance premiums, cable TV charges, internet costs, music download fees, and so on.

• Family: Owning and driving one’s own car provides too many opportunities for temptation and allows one to roam too far from home.

Rules that seem contradictory usually relate to the overriding goal of being masters over technology rather than slaves to it. Anyone who has ever felt prisoner to a constantly ringing phone or a full email inbox can surely understand that concept!

Though the rules vary widely from district to district, many technological items are allowed in Amish homes and farms, including calculators, flashlights, manual typewriters, gas grills, chain saws, roller-blades, and more. Some districts allow manual lawnmowers only, though others permit gas-powered lawnmowers and even weed whackers.

Contrary to popular belief, the Amish do not think that technology itself is evil or wrong. They do believe, however, that if left unchecked, technology can destroy the Amish way of life by undermining its traditions, bringing inappropriate value systems into homes, and ultimately breaking communities and families apart.

This answer has been provided as an excerpt from the upcoming book, Plain Answers About the Amish Life by Mindy Starns Clark. Learn more below.

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False.

The Amish are Christians and do not fit the modern, generally accepted criteria for what constitutes a cult. They may be confused as one because they follow a very restrictive set of rules and face excommunication (shunning) for certain infractions of those rules.

However, unlike a cult, the Amish religion is not centered on a single human authority, they do not require their members to pool their finances, and the tenets of their faith are compatible with most major Protestant denominations. Thus, they are not a cult but simply an ultraconservative Christian faith culture.

The Amish adhere to these tenets of the Christian faith:

• There is one God.
• God is a trinity.
• Jesus came to earth as God in the flesh, died, and rose again.
• Salvation comes through grace by faith.
• Scripture is the divinely inspired word of God.
• The church is the body of Christ.

As foreign as many Amish practices are to most people, their faith culture is a Christian one. The Amish are not a cult, they do not try to earn grace by their lifestyle, and they do believe in salvation.

Feeling that it would be prideful to claim an assurance of that salvation, however, most Amish districts prefer that their members maintain what they call a “living hope” or a “continued effort” on the topic, trusting the ultimate fate of their soul to God’s providence rather than claiming it with certainty.

With no central religious authority, each Amish district must make decisions about what is and isn’t allowed for its members on matters both large and small. Consequently, what may be perfectly permissible in one Amish district can be utterly forbidden in another. Outsiders might consider all Amish to be conservative, but that conservatism covers a wide range.

This answer has been provided as an excerpt from the upcoming book, Plain Answers About the Amish Life by Mindy Starns Clark. Learn more below.

Filed under: Amish Facts, Mindy Starns Clark by AmishReader.com
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