questioning the amish faith - 11_09_23
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School
University of Missouri, Columbia *
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Course
2150
Subject
Philosophy
Date
Dec 6, 2023
Type
docx
Pages
3
Uploaded by fjhohensinner
REQUIRED BEFORE CLASS
1.
Describe some elements of the Amish church that are still important to the
main characters-Ephraim and Jesse and their wives (focus on values)
Hard work and simplicity are still important values that Ephriam and Amanda still
live by every day.
They and their children work on their farm everyday.
Ephraim
abides by the Amish value of dress, and speaks Pennsylvania Dutch, and wears
his beard correctly.
Ephriam and Jesse still practice obedience to God and the
bible, regarding their struggle with the church leadership and authority.
They still
stay true to their religious beliefs even when they are tragically informed with the
cancer of their daughter and their financial struggles.
Everyday they strive to live
by God’s word by spreading it to those around them.
Both couples still value the
Amish community as their priority.
2.
How does the version of Christianity that Ephraim and Jesse practice seem to
differ from the core teachings of the Amish church?
(It is important to
remember this is just a story of a few individuals and not very representative
of the whole)
The version of Christianity that Ephraim and Jesse practice differs from the core
teachings of the Amish church because they seek a separation between their
church and their culture.
They don’t like the idea of all the rules of the Amish
church, but still want to follow God and the bible.
Because of this Ephraim sells
his farm, installs a phone, spread’s God’s word around town, changes his view of
death, etc.
Their version of Christianity relies on taking things back to the basics
and getting rid of setting guidelines for every aspect of Amish life.
Ephraim and
Jesse sing hymns in English, have bible studies, and spread the word of God to
those not in their community.
They dislike how their bishops have the final say in
how the church members must live.
Both Ephraim and Jesse simply care about
teaching and living God’s word, not what language the bible is written in, or the
language the hymns can be sung in
.
It is not prohibited to read the bible in
English.
3.
What questions does this film raise for you? Expand on these questions with
at least two sentences below the question so we better understand your
question.
How quickly are church members excommunicated for their mistakes?
-
In class we learned that ex-communication is usually for those who break
the rules.
However, the film portrays a different view on excommunication.
In the film, it seems like every mistake resulted in ex-communication as a
punishment, especially Ephraim and Jesse, who were both
excommunicated.
Are there religious meanings to any of the more trivial Amish rules like
suspenders or buggy color?
-
Ephraim and Jesse constantly repeat how the Amish rules have no true
meaning and aren’t backed by any religious or biblical practice.
They
aren’t in favor of how every aspect of their life is controlled by the bishops.
IN CLASS QUESTIONS
4. A. For those needing to revise- State one higher order concern you need to work on
and summarize an inline comment example of that higher-order concern.
What is your
draft plan of action based on the big box and inline feedback?
I need to work on a few things in order to revise my paper to be better.
For my
introduction I need to add more relevant background information about the Amish and
Rumspringa.
I also need to add more information on how Rumspringa is experienced in
diverse ways.
Another thing I need to do is place my evidence on Rumspringa in my
paper so it flows better.
I also need to revise the section where I talk about the broader
social purpose of college and my personal change journey in college.
Overall, I need to
work on the overall organization and structure of my paper in order to make my paper
better.
5. Discuss at least two examples of overstatements in Trouble in Amish Paradise
One overstatement in the documentary was that they said they were frozen in time.
I
think what they mean by this is that their lives are bound by a strict set of rules and they
almost live their lives the same way everyday.
Another overstatement in this
documentary was that when they break rules they are completely excommunicated and
shunned from the church and their family.
This doesn’t seem true because by the end
of the documentary we saw that they had been excommunicated, but their family and
cousins reached out when their daughter was sick, so they weren’t completely shunned
by their family.
Also, health care costs were still an issue for them.
They struggled to
find a way to pay for their daughters' hospital bills after they gave their life savings away
to those in need.
6. Why did they allow themselves to be filmed?
I believe they allowed themselves to be filmed because they wanted to be able to share
the Gospel with outsiders and people who aren’t part of their community.
They also
probably wanted outsiders who watched this film to realize just how strict their
community and church rules are.
7. Write down insights to your question #3 from in-class notes or any other people's
questions
Being excommunicated is not always permanent because people always go back to
their community for various reasons.
The main reason I believe they go back is
because they miss their family or their faith.
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