The habits of the Amish have always confused me a little, and reality television hasn’t helped.
After reviewing Amish Mafia a couple of weeks ago and watching some of the characters split their time between horse-drawn buggies and imported luxury cars, I asked myself a question that I know most of you probably already knew the answer to: What can the Amish use, anyway?
Are they allowed to drive cars? What’s up with the phones? Do they make their own clothes? And how do they craft their famous furniture? Do they get to use power tools? Can they use modern hammers and saws that were made with power tools? Or do they just have to sand down blocks of wood with grit until they make a beautiful china hutch? Are the Amish morally obligated to make sure that the dinnerware that goes into the hutch isn’t made in some soulless factory somewhere?
OK, I kid. A little. But when you’re not a part of a community like the Amish and don’t have much contact with said community, these questions do pop up from time to time.
Thankfully, I ran across a very informative article from the good people at National Public Radio that tried to answer that central question—can the Amish use modern stuff and technology. Their answer: It depends.
It depends on a lot of different factors: Some communities shy away from technology more than others. Some Amish, particularly those working in a more entrepreneurial trade, need technology more than others. It’s really all about—and this is a word you hear a lot around our little Plugged In community—discernment.
From the article:
The difference between Amish people and most other Americans is the deliberation that takes place before deciding whether to embrace a new technology. Many Americans assume newer technology is always better, and perhaps even inherently good.
“The Amish don’t buy that,” says Donald Kraybill, professor at Elizabethtown College and co-author of The Amish. “They’re more cautious—more suspicious—wondering is this going to be helpful or is it going to be detrimental? Is it going to bolster our life together, as a community, or is it going to somehow tear it down?”
I never knew I was Amish. But perhaps I am. At least a little. (Another question: Can you be a little Amish?)
Oh, I believe technology can be quite good and enriching. Entertainment can be, too. And yet, the central questions that Kraybill says the Amish ask (Is this helpful or detrimental? Is it good for the community or bad?) those are questions I ask a lot in this world of ours. I think we all should.
In fact, those are the core questions I ask during every review I write and, to a lesser extent, many blogs. Does this movie, TV show, game, phone, device or invention make me a better person for having (watched, played, listened to, used) it? Is it good for me? Is it good for the people around me? Does it draw me closer to God? Could it push me away?
In many cases, the answer isn’t a simple “yes” or “no.” My iPhone helps me stay in touch with the people who are important to me. But it can also be a distraction or even a temptation. A television show could have some really positive messages but some really nasty content.
In other words, it depends.
Discernment is hard work. There are few blanket answers to this stuff—as much as we’d sometimes like there to be. But maybe in the end, it simply gets down to asking the right questions. Just like the Amish try to do.
Which leaves me with one more real question to ask:
Would I look good, do you think, in a full beard?
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