The Book ' The Devils Playground '

Today I am going to talk about the Amish People, but before I do that I would like to begin by explaining what it means to be Amish

The actions that people make around us can help us succeed as a society. In The Book of Martha, Martha’s actions helped solve a huge problem that humanity faced: greed. The human mind is capable of experiencing many emotions, and though we try to avoid negative emotions, there are times when we are victims to our own mind. In reality, humans have more negative characteristics other than greed. By practicing religion, one can find a way to better themselves. Our community and society revolves around our belief of a higher being. Through the teachings of God, we make decisions that will benefit our society. A way in which people practice their religion is by attending mass, held at a church. The church that I decided to visit is called, “The Parish of Santa Rosa,” in which I got the chance to interview one of the Pastors.

As I read my novel “Devil on my Heels,” by Joyce Hinton, there was a theme the appeared over and over again in the book. The theme that appealed to me was you’re unique in your own ways, don’t let people judge you by the outside/ appearance. It is the point of view where you realize no one in life is perfect, you’re unique in your own fashion. As where many people in life can or could feel this way.

With the modern world symbolizing damnation, the Amish religion counters by symbolizing salvation. These statements alone, with such confidence in the religion, help explain why there is an impressive and astonishingly high, (80-90%) return rate among the tested Amish.

Located in the heart of downtown Cedar Rapids this Historical brick building with its’ decorative molding and beautiful stain glass windows is the home of a subculture of biblically based Christians. This church family meets every Sunday like many churches who revere Sunday as being the Lord’s day, set aside for rest and worship of God. Biblically based Christianity is a vast culture of faith in God carried out by many subcultures called churches, made up of people who seek to worship God and to foster a personal relationship with him. One of the most important things that make a subculture is a question of what is it that brings these people together? This foundational question is not only the question of the subculture, but is also the defining

Amish culture is a European born group of Christians who are descendents of Mennonite church. Due to few fundamental religious differences, they separated from Mennonite regime which made them go through a series of violence causing a remarkable decrease in their population. However, after gaining ground sin United States and Canada, they are living their lives peacefully in isolation. The current culture of Amish people is a true representative of simplicity, humility, thrift, obedience,

17-century life was a hard life that involved a hard days work and worshipping god around three times a day. Since the colonies had been settled Native Americans had fought with the puritans and epidemics had been going around (“The 1692 Salem Witch Trials”). Many believed these were strong messages from god telling

The novel, The Chrysalids by John Wyndham, foretells of a futuristic story which unfolds about injustice and oppression of the innocent. In a dystopian world a group of eight telepathic children struggle to grow up undiscovered and when the time comes, to escape. A religious creed is set up “The Definition of Man” as a ‘purity standard’. As a result, people lived with much fear and self-hatred. The standard set one neighbour against the other in fear of another ‘tribulation’. A world scale disaster had occurred many generations ago and out of the chaos the ancestors and consequent generations held to what they thought was the ‘true image’. Anything else was the ‘devils’ work. So people lived under surveillance and suspicion, bigotry, and oppression. The people of Waknuk felt superior to those not ‘the norm’ and thus believed they had the right to dominate and maintain their power. Therefore “The Definition of Man” is manipulative, unjust, and inhumane to those living in Waknuk and the Fringes.

The topic I chose for this paper was how do the Amish carry forward ideas of the Radical Reformation? I chose this because Amish communities are seen in a lot around Iowa and they are not “normal” in the eyes of other people living. Most people don’t understand why they live the way they do or what they even do with their lives. I find it quite interesting to research the Amish people and learn more about them instead of always wondering about them. This paper is going to explain how the Amish kept the Radical Reformation going and what it means to them in every way possible. My question is how do the Amish today compare to the Amish at the start of the Radical Reformation and what changes have happened since they moved to North America.

The Documentary “The Devils Playground” is based on the lives of Amish youths who go on a journey called rumspringa and try and decide whether or not to devote their lives to the Amish church. This documentary explained that the Amish religion is a branch of Catholicism in which the members do not get baptized until they are adults. The reasoning behind this is that the Amish live a very minimal and secluded lifestyle and they feel that before committing their life to the church and to Christ a person must be old enough to know what exactly that promise entails. An Amish community is comprised of people who spend a majority of their time working and helping their neighbors; they do not have many basic commodities such as electricity or cars. When an Amish youth turns sixteen they are able to go on what is called rumspringa, on which they go out and experience the real world beyond the secluded Amish community in which they grew up in, these kids are given a whole new level of freedom. This journey, in a way, exposes these kids to a sociological imagination, which allows them to, “understand the larger historical meaning for the inner life and the external career of a variety of individuals.” (Mills 1959). This means that these Amish kids are able to see how their life’s play into the bigger picture of society and how a majority of others live their lives. The point of rumspringa is to push these kids right in the mix of the world with no previous exposure in order to

The Amish and the State is wrote with the intent to identify the cultural values and social organizations of the Amish order along with how the traditional values of the Amish counteracted with the modernity of the state. This book covers the most prominent aspects of the Amish order dating all the way back to their very existence during the Radical Reformation in the sixteenth century. It entitles one to see and feel the persecution the Amish order has faced since 1525. Donald Kraybill believes that the Amish order, even though some individuals view their religious practices as being extremely impractical, is a major attribute toward the freedom

Regardless of one’s religious views, or lack thereof, it is fair to say that the Bible has its fair share of potential applications to modern society. A premier example comes through the parable of the prodigal son. In this tale, the younger brother sets out to live an independent life only to blow his inheritance on rather impure things, while the older brother remains by the father’s side and does things in ways that would be considered right by most people’s standards. Upon the younger son’s return, the father elects to throw a feast, leaving the older brother baffled at the seemingly unjust scenario. In a newspaper column, David Brooks writes about the wisdom of the father’s actions and the need for application of these tactics into current government strategies. Now, while Brooks’ points on the

Cambodian brothel owners are evil people. In an article titled "The Evil Behind the Smiles", by Nicolas Kristoff, a writer for the New York Times, interviews Sina, a thirteen-year-old Vietnamese victim of forced prostitution. Kristoff says, "As in many brothels, the torture of choice was electric shock" (Kristoff). Shocks are one of the most painful torture methods, without leaving any scars on the face or body of the victim. Sina is an innocent thirteen-year-old girl, who does not deserve to be tortured, and anyone who would torture an innocent child is sinister. The brothel owners are also evil because they kidnap young children and force them into a life of prostitution. When interviewing Sina, Kristoff found out that she had been, "...kidnapped

The summer of 1950 was a scorcher. It was the end of July in the Arizona desert and Fred Thomason had just about all he could take of the rolling fireball that was his car. Freds hair was drenched in sweat and the alcohol sure wasn't making things any better.

This unassuming suburban home in America demonstrates many characteristics of the previous society. Christianity is traditionally a western religion with its roots in Western Europe. Although the religion soon transferred