What needs noting is that this oft repeated story is only the tip of the iceberg. LNP's failure to report on the larger context of longstanding tension between Evangelicals and Old Order Amish practices, reveals a bias that favors Evangelicals. There's a struggle being waged for the identity and soul of the Amish church. Failing to report on the effects this saga is having on the lives of our fellow human beings is a disgrace to journalism.
Here's a couple examples of what LNP is not telling you about this subject.
It's this Dark Age mentality that contributes to the ugly turf wars that frequently plague Amish society. It also leaves Amish adherents vulnerable to proselytizing that is little more than what could be expected from Dark Age barbarians.
As a child I watched my older brother dramatically withdraw from our family, in large part because of an encounter he had with a neighbor, who managed to persuade him of the inferiority of our family's faith and way of life. ( How, "four centuries ago." )The irony is, we were Amish. The same people who are currently revered world wide for how they dealt with a horrible tragedy in one of their schools. And yet, it is very likely my thirteen year old brother was told that if he doesn't reject and Dis-associate from most of what my family was and did, he would burn in hell for all eternity.
promoted on their web site is their intent to promote emotional and spiritual healing. What bothers me is, being ex-amish myself, I am aware of allegations that this group mistreated an Amish relative of mine whom they were trying to minister to. I contacted one of her siblings to ask if he would confirm the allegations. He strictly adhered to Amish custom of refusing to speak ill of others. I tried to explain the legitimacy of public interest in knowing the track record of a group who was garnering news coverage and publicly asking for support for a mission in which more innocent people would be entrusted to their care and influence. He proved himself a loyal Amish man but not a good defense attorney, by informing me that the family had an agreement with the health care provider, that assessed his sister after her stay with the "Glory Barn" folks, to not report her condition to authorities.So I called the editor of the paper that ran the Glory Barn story, he informed me they were aware of the allegations. I wonder if he would take the same approach if his paper were covering a group of Pagans under similar circumstances. Given the popularity of fundamentalist Christianity in conservative circles in Lancaster, ( which is the purer version the Glory Barn participants want to convert all the Amish to.) this situation doesn't pass the smell test.
From where I stand, a head line like this deserves a couple four letter words.
Shedding 'Light' on the Amish BY LORI
VAN INGEN, Intelligencer Journal Staff
2 comments:
I wouldn't get too exercised about it, Ezra. The Amish have always been easy pickings for other religious groups, but they just keep breeding and growing.
What happens to the Amish is secondary to whether our goverment and the news media get involved and influence things one way or another.
If they can do it with the Amish, then they can do it with any other religious group. As my Mom used to say, "put that in your pipe and smoke it".
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