Temperatures are dropping and that can mean only one thing: the return of the “Amish Miracle Heater”. The device got worked-over pretty well in the press last season, but regardless (or perhaps in part due to all the attention), the sales campaign of the Canton, Ohio-based Heat Surge company was by all accounts wildly successful. Which means the latest round of ads hawking the heater,…
Three points I wanted to discuss on the Missouri Amish abuse case. I confess my previous post on the issue was a bit hastily and not too terribly well written. I also wish I were more of an expert on the Amish approach to two kingdoms doctrine as it would likely come in handy in such cases. I find the two kingdoms doctrine fascinating but…
This is a disheartening story (no longer online) which I’ve meant to address, about child abuse in one Amish community. Four bishops in a Missouri Amish community have been charged with failing to report sexual abuse inflicted by an adult member of the community upon two children. Clearly there is no moral question that abuse of any kind is a criminal matter, and not one…
The Amish settlement at Kokomo, Indiana, founded 1848, is the third-oldest in Indiana. Yet despite having been in existence for over 160 years, Kokomo remains a tiny settlement of just 2 church districts. Meanwhile, other settlements founded in the state at roughly the same time have grown and thrived. The Nappanee and Adams County settlements approach 40 and 50 church districts respectively, while the Elkhart-Lagrange…
Amish do not participate in Halloween, and many are not too keen on Daylight Savings Time either. When attending church in Lancaster in the summer for example, Amish may refer to the 8 o'clock 'slow time' church start time, in other words, 9 am on DST. Church begins at the same time, the whole year round, regardless of what the clock says. Earlier in the…