Should Christians today be living like Mennonites?

Did you know that Mennonites are anabaptist? So are Amish, for that matter. My family, at least partially comes from Pennsylvania Germans, who were also known as Pennsylvania Dutch. Maybe they were Amish.

Anyways, spiritual warfare is a battle for the mind. Satan likes to use death by a thousand cuts. Not to the flesh, but to the mind. I know that different Mennonite groups believe different things. But the jist of it is to "be ye separate". Which may apply more today for the Christian than ever.

When I was growing up, I would watch maybe a few hours of TV a week. As an adult, we all said if TV gets any worse, we're going to need to get rid of it. Well... I won't use a cell phone. I have yet to own one. I use a public library for computer. That's my compromise. Plus, I'm cheap, though I like to think of it as thrifty. It limits my hours on the computer.

When the government started to hand out free cell phones to welfare recipients back in the day, even to people who already had land lines, I knew something was up. Putting a child in the public school system these days is suicide for that child's mind, just like letting them watch TV. We need homemakers today more than ever. The world is competing, or vying for the minds of children to addict them, then make money from it. It's not a coincidence that children are being drowned in sex every day, in every way. Children these days need 24/7 protection. That's way more important than two incomes.

I think going Amish may be a bit to far, though the thought is intriguing, but it's not practical for most. The rich man who couldn't walk away from his riches?..... But Mennonites use electricity and cars, right? The point being, dumping TV and social media may be the best move a Christian could make. Starting to separate from this world in a radical way, since we put if off for so long.

Thoughts?

Dave... said:

Did you know that Mennonites are anabaptist? So are Amish, for that matter. My family, at least partially comes from Pennsylvania Germans, who were also known as Pennsylvania Dutch. Maybe they were Amish.

Anyways, spiritual warfare is a battle for the mind. Satan likes to use death by a thousand cuts. Not to the flesh, but to the mind. I know that different Mennonite groups believe different things. But the jist of it is to "be ye separate". Which may apply more today for the Christian than ever.

When I was growing up, I would watch maybe a few hours of TV a week. As an adult, we all said if TV gets any worse, we're going to need to get rid of it. Well... I won't use a cell phone. I have yet to own one. I use a public library for computer. That's my compromise. Plus, I'm cheap, though I like to think of it as thrifty. It limits my hours on the computer.

When the government started to hand out free cell phones to welfare recipients back in the day, even to people who already had land lines, I knew something was up. Putting a child in the public school system these days is suicide for that child's mind, just like letting them watch TV. We need homemakers today more than ever. The world is competing, or vying for the minds of children to addict them, then make money from it. It's not a coincidence that children are being drowned in sex every day, in every way. Children these days need 24/7 protection. That's way more important than two incomes.

I think going Amish may be a bit to far, though the thought is intriguing, but it's not practical for most. The rich man who couldn't walk away from his riches?..... But Mennonites use electricity and cars, right? The point being, dumping TV and social media may be the best move a Christian could make. Starting to separate from this world in a radical way, since we put if off for so long.

Thoughts?

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For one thing, you would have doctrinal differences with the Amish. Amish believe salvation is understood as a gradual process, not just a single event. It is achieved through a combination of faith in Jesus and a lifelong commitment to obediently living out the terms of their baptismal covenant and community rules. Also, adult baptism is necessary in the salvation process. I lived among them in upstate New York.

Also, as you said, what kind of Mennonite? The LGBT affirming Mennonites? There are many different sects of Mennonites. There are Mennonites in Belize that only use horse and buggy, no electricity, outhouses, no education past eighth grade just like Old Order Amish. For both Amish and Mennonites, salvation can be lost, so depending upon whether you are a Freewill Baptist or not you would be at odds or not.
However, I believe you are asking whether or not Christians should live a lifestyle similar to them. I must say, I saw much to be admired among the sect of Amish I lived close to in New York. The sense of community is as strong as I have ever witnessed. The 'plain people' have no adult children living jobless at home with addictions to 'gaming and social media, etc.

Walter said:

For one thing, you would have doctrinal differences with the Amish. Amish believe salvation is understood as a gradual process, not just a single event. It is achieved through a combination of faith in Jesus and a lifelong commitment to obediently living out the terms of their baptismal covenant and community rules. Also, adult baptism is necessary in the salvation process. I lived among them in upstate New York.

Also, as you said, what kind of Mennonite? The LGBT affirming Mennonites? There are many different sects of Mennonites. There are Mennonites in Belize that only use horse and buggy, no electricity, outhouses, no education past eighth grade just like Old Order Amish. For both Amish and Mennonites, salvation can be lost, so depending upon whether you are a Freewill Baptist or not you would be at odds or not.
However, I believe you are asking whether or not Christians should live a lifestyle similar to them. I must say, I saw much to be admired among the sect of Amish I lived close to in New York. The sense of community is as strong as I have ever witnessed. The 'plain people' have no adult children living jobless at home with addictions to 'gaming and social media, etc.

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Hey Walter.

Good points. Yes, I was speaking of the way that they live, as opposed to their theology, which I'm not really familiar with at all. I just know that they consider themselves to be Christian.

Is there anyone out there who feels compelled to start to separate in what would be considered a radical way by todays standards? I always thought that the idea of a modern day Amish would be a good one. Just taking the idea and applying it anew for the problematic areas that we see in todays world. Like no TV, no social media. No public schools. We can drive cars, use electricity, use regular phones without the social media part. Just something like that. In my opinion, the kids these days are gone. They don't have a chance if they are allowed to be a part of those things that I just listed.

It seems to me that the Amish are separate for more practical reasons, at least that's how it appears from my vantage point on the outside. For me, it's motivated more for spiritual warfare reasons. Todays children minds are owned by the media and the government.

Dave

Dave... said:

Hey Walter.

Good points. Yes, I was speaking of the way that they live, as opposed to their theology, which I'm not really familiar with at all. I just know that they consider themselves to be Christian.

Is there anyone out there who feels compelled to start to separate in what would be considered a radical way by todays standards? I always thought that the idea of a modern day Amish would be a good one. Just taking the idea and applying it anew for the problematic areas that we see in todays world. Like no TV, no social media. No public schools. We can drive cars, use electricity, use regular phones without the social media part. Just something like that. In my opinion, the kids these days are gone. They don't have a chance if they are allowed to be a part of those things that I just listed.

It seems to me that the Amish are separate for more practical reasons, at least that's how it appears from my vantage point on the outside. For me, it's motivated more for spiritual warfare reasons. Todays children minds are owned by the media and the government.

Dave

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Good points. We have community's of Old Believer Orthodox Christans that fled persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church long ago. They spend many hours each day in prayer and meditation on the word. They have electricity but no electronics. They dress very modestly and seem to deeply desire a simple separate life from our corruptions and compromise of God's Word. I want study them mire as they have a fascinating history that seems to have had God's has had God's hands on there growth and Preservation

Walter said:

Good points. We have community's of Old Believer Orthodox Christans that fled persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church long ago. They spend many hours each day in prayer and meditation on the word. They have electricity but no electronics. They dress very modestly and seem to deeply desire a simple separate life from our corruptions and compromise of God's Word. I want study them mire as they have a fascinating history that seems to have had God's has had God's hands on there growth and Preservation

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Wow, apparently I was very tired while typing that last post! Too late to edit unfortunately.

Traditional Mennonites have a desire to keep away from a lifestyle that can lead to sin. There is a desire to stay separated from the 'way of the world' but still be a witness to those living in the world. A Mennonite church in Madera, California regularly not only led the chapel service at the Madera Rescue Mission, but they also brought and served dinner for all the residents. They were a much more conservative church than other Mennonite churches in the Central Valley of California and they wore the traditional Mennonite dress (very similar to Old Order Amish) and witnessed the love of Christ is such a way that many of the men in residence at the mission would attend services held at their church. They did not preach that anyone must 'do anything' to be disciple of Christ or shun television/computers in order to 'keep pure' but when asked would say that they felt that for themselves it was a way to avoid temptations. I talked with one of the members of the church that told me he had never watched the news, attended a dance, drank alcohol, attended a commercial theater, played cards, or kissed or dated women. He was in a 'courtship' though. He did smoke a pipe though.

The shadow side of the Mennonite story, I suppose it has been the flip side of the community ideal that Mennonites have also tended to break fellowship with each other. Many schisms. It seems to be a sign that they take their relationships quite seriously—as well as their ideals of rigorous discipleship. But surely the countless splits that have characterized the tradition for hundreds of years have rarely been healthy or life-enhancing. Generally, they have been demoralizing and rancorous. The splits that have occurred in regards to same-sex marriage seem to have caused most of the schisms. Maybe separation within the fellowship is not always undesirable.

My friend is a pastor of a Mennonite church, a half block from where I used to live in Bucks County, PA.
Their lifestyle wasn't very strange or too different from the community around them.

I moved away and now live in a retirement community surrounded by Amish farmland in northern Chester County, PA.
A Mennonite/Amish church is just a bit down the road from where I worship (although most Amish attend home services).
There are families in our local church with Amish origins, Zook, King, Stoltzfus, etc.

There is as much variety among their communities as there are among Baptists, a diverse blend of traditional and modern practices.

It's unusual not to see horse and buggy's as we travel out.
But all the houses have electricity. Many have cell phones (I'm told that flip phones are most common).
Barns sport solar panels to run lighting and a variety of machinery.
Their greenhouses are equipped with grow lights and heaters.

It's not unusual to see a team of horses in a field pulling mechanical harvesters or seeders.
And there's usually a tractor or backhoe sitting somewhere on the farm. After winter snow storms the local Amish shovel us out, the father in an ATV tractor and his boys shoveling the walks.

Their education centers around topics conductive to an agricultural lifestyle (the farm next to us has a sign advertising small engine repair). Communities have small one-room schoolhouses. Eighth grade is the high point of their formal education.
That's not to say they don't value education. Running a large farm requires a diverse set of skills, marketing abilities, etc. They are very industrious! There aren't any fat Amish farmers.

Yet they have many of the same problems we deal with in our modern society.
One can't get away from sin simply by isolating ourselves from others... sin is crouching at the door wherever you go.

Rob

Deacon said:

Barns sport solar panels to run lighting and a variety of machinery.
Their greenhouses are equipped with grow lights and heaters.

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Hey Deacon

I never thought about solar panels and how they would be perfect for the Amish. When I was younger and fished a lot more, and the Amish by me would use battery powered electric motors on their boats. I wondered how they charged them, though. I think a gas station would do it for a few bucks back then.

What excuse do we give for watching TV? There really is no excuse. I mean, as a Christian, it's addicting and we all know it's used to indoctrinate. Death by a thousand cuts, spiritually speaking.

Dave

Walter said:

Wow, apparently I was very tired while typing that last post! Too late to edit unfortunately.

Click to expand...

Walter

No Worries. I have dyslexia and sometimes I can't understand my own posts. And thank God for spell checkers. Not just for bad spelling, but my typing is getting sloppy in my old age.

Dave

Kids need to be kept away from TV, Gaming, and internet as much as possible, and kept away kids that are using those things.

Early morning prayer, and hard chores with increasing responsibilities.

Dave... said:

Did you know that Mennonites are anabaptist? So are Amish, for that matter. My family, at least partially comes from Pennsylvania Germans, who were also known as Pennsylvania Dutch. Maybe they were Amish.

Anyways, spiritual warfare is a battle for the mind. Satan likes to use death by a thousand cuts. Not to the flesh, but to the mind. I know that different Mennonite groups believe different things. But the jist of it is to "be ye separate". Which may apply more today for the Christian than ever.

When I was growing up, I would watch maybe a few hours of TV a week. As an adult, we all said if TV gets any worse, we're going to need to get rid of it. Well... I won't use a cell phone. I have yet to own one. I use a public library for computer. That's my compromise. Plus, I'm cheap, though I like to think of it as thrifty. It limits my hours on the computer.

When the government started to hand out free cell phones to welfare recipients back in the day, even to people who already had land lines, I knew something was up. Putting a child in the public school system these days is suicide for that child's mind, just like letting them watch TV. We need homemakers today more than ever. The world is competing, or vying for the minds of children to addict them, then make money from it. It's not a coincidence that children are being drowned in sex every day, in every way. Children these days need 24/7 protection. That's way more important than two incomes.

I think going Amish may be a bit to far, though the thought is intriguing, but it's not practical for most. The rich man who couldn't walk away from his riches?..... But Mennonites use electricity and cars, right? The point being, dumping TV and social media may be the best move a Christian could make. Starting to separate from this world in a radical way, since we put if off for so long.

Thoughts?

Click to expand...

There are aspects of Mennonite theology (traditional "anabaptist" theology) that I believe we could benefit from. But their theology has modernized to an extent just as ours.

I disagree that it is bad to put a child in public school (my son and his friends thrived in public school) but it would depend on that school and how much time the parents will invest in their children. If the parents, for example, cannot raise their children in the faith and instill in them a sence of values (perhaps they have prioritized work over raising godly children) then outsourcing that responsibility may be their best option.

I agree with the traditional Anabaptist idea that we need more separation from the World than currently exists among most churches.