The Amish Way: 10-book giveaway & interview with Donald Kraybill, Steven Nolt, and David Weaver-Zercher
Are Amish “born again”? Are cars immoral? When describing church, why do Amish use the term “Gmay” instead of “Kirche”? And who actually decides the rules that guide Amish life?
The Amish Way: Patient Faith in a Perilous World is the first book to explore Amish spirituality and religious practices in-depth, addressing these and many other questions along the way.
Authors Donald Kraybill, Steven Nolt, and David Weaver-Zercher (who previously collaborated on Amish Grace) dissect the many ways religious beliefs shape daily lives of the Amish.
I had a chance to read an advance copy this summer, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s the kind of book that is easy to pick up and digest, with many vignettes and contributions from Amish themselves making it a very engaging and lively read.
The authors do a great job of fleshing out the tenets of Amish Christianity, and the many Amish voices give it a high degree of credibility and realism. You come away with a deeper understanding of why Amish live the way they do, a clearer conception of what they believe and what holds Amish communities together.
Coinciding with the release of the book this week, the authors have kindly answered some interview questions for the blog today. We are also giving away 10 copies of The Amish Way in this month’s book giveaway contest.
The Amish Way 10-book giveaway contest
There are 3 ways to enter this contest (please read carefully because rules have changed slightly since the New York Amish book contest):
1) leave a comment on this post= 1 entry
2) mention this contest on Facebook=3 entries
3) mention this contest on your blog=5 entries
…for a possible total of 8 9 entries (whoops, 1+3+5 actually equals 9 😉 and I may need to sign up for remedial math!).
This time around, you’ll see sharing on your blog and/or Facebook packs more of a punch, but even a quick comment on this post gets you a chance to win. And by doing all 3 of these, that’s not a bad chance to win one of the 10 books!
(If you mention the contest on your blog or Facebook, just drop a quick email to amishamerica@gmail.com letting me know you did so I can include your extra entries)
The 10 winners will be drawn and announced Wednesday, October 12.
Donald Kraybill, Steven Nolt, and David Weaver-Zercher on The Amish Way: Part 1
Amish America: Generally speaking, in what ways does Amish spirituality differ from that of mainstream Christians?
Donald Kraybill, Steven Nolt, David Weaver-Zercher: Like other forms of Christian spirituality, Amish spirituality aims to help people align their wills with God’s will. What makes the Amish way distinctive is that in the Amish case, God’s will is discerned through the local Amish church community. In other words, their spirituality is community-oriented, not self-oriented.
This communal orientation is striking and shows up at many turns. One example would be in the skepticism Amish people show toward people who say that God spoke to them individually. For the Amish, God speaks through the community, and individuals are best guided by submitting themselves to the wisdom of the Amish community, past and present.
Another distinctive aspect is how Amish spirituality directly touches a broad range of issues from dressing to occupations, from technology to household furnishings.
AA: Barn-raisings are well-known examples of the mutual aid Amish practice, though they occur relatively rarely. Can you share other examples of ways tenets of Amish spirituality are manifested in daily living?
Kraybill, Nolt, Weaver-Zercher: Family prayer times—before and after each meal, and often before going to bed—are perhaps the most obvious example. But Amish people demonstrate their spiritual orientation in numerous less obvious ways—sometimes in ways that outsiders wouldn’t characterize as spiritual.
For instance, the Amish commitment to plain, uniform dress is rooted in their view that God wants people to demonstrate modesty, humility, and submission to the church. Their reticence to adopt new technologies demonstrates their commitment to communal tradition and also a commitment to rhythms of time that refuse to conform to the world.
They realize that many new technologies—cars that take people far and wide, and video technologies that link people to the larger world—can undermine one’s commitment to the local, Christian community.
AA: In The Amish Way, you describe the Amish as a “community of accountability”. Shunning, you point out, is often negatively perceived by the public, but that “holding members accountable is the flip side of the community barn raising that outsiders celebrate.” Can you explain this relationship between mutual aid and church discipline?
Kraybill, Nolt, Weaver-Zercher: One way to put it is this: the Amish believe that one reason the church exists is to help individual church members when they are in trouble. Troubles take many forms, of course.
For instance, if a family member is ill or incapacitated, the Amish believe that the church exists to assist the affected family financially or in other ways; they believe that the church is shirking its duty if it doesn’t help that family.
In the same way, the Amish believe the church is shirking its duty if it doesn’t help a wayward person return to the church’s ways. This happens through church discipline, when church leaders talk to, plead with, and sometimes punish a person who has chosen to forsake the ways of the church.
AA: There exists a negative stereotype of the heavy-handed Amish bishop. How does ministerial authority function? To what degree do bishops actually set the course for a congregation?
Kraybill, Nolt, Weaver-Zercher: The bishop in a local congregation is the team leader among the ordained men (typically a deacon and two ministers). The bishop does not have complete independent authority to make decisions. When the rules and regulations are reviewed twice a year, members of the congregation must agree/approve them in a formal vote. Likewise if a bishop proposes to excommunicate someone, that decision is also ratified by the congregation.
Furthermore, a bishop may consult or at least take into account the views of nearby bishops as well. All of these factors provide a check on his power.
If an issue is brewing in the congregation, before a bishop will propose an action to the membership, he will want to have the support of the other ministers and also expect that the congregation will endorse the proposal.
The bishop does have considerable authority (as a gatekeeper of sorts) in that he can determine which proposals he will bring to a members meeting and which ones he will table. The bishop is also the key interpreter of the mean and practical implications of the rules and discipline ratified by the congregation.
Nevertheless, the personality and leadership style of bishops vary greatly and determine the extent to which he is viewed as a heavy- or light-handed servant of the congregation.
AA: In The Amish Way, one of your informants, Bishop Eli, expresses his disapproval of a “two-track system of salvation”. What is meant by the idea of a two track system? How do Amish view salvation?
Kraybill, Nolt, Weaver-Zercher: Bishop Eli’s complaint was focused on Christians who separate theological belief from obedience to a certain lifestyle, that is, Christians who say that a “personal faith” can exist separate from practical matters of daily living.
For the Amish, reducing the Christian faith to a “personal relationship with Jesus Christ” is inadequate in two ways: it shortchanges God’s demand for holy living, and it discounts the importance of a Christian community to help individuals understand and meet that demand.
—————————————————————————————————–
Part 2 of the interview with the authors of The Amish Way.
About the Authors Donald B. Kraybill, Ph.D., is senior fellow at the Young Center of Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. Steven M. Nolt, Ph.D., is professor of history at Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana. David L. Weaver-Zercher, Ph.D., is professor of American religious history at Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania.
Windmill, barn raising, and Amish church photo: Cindy Seigle
Thanks for the information–I look forward to reading the book!
As always, a very interesting and informative article. I look forward to reading the book. Enjoy this website alot.
Many years ago in grad school I did research on the Amish. I met an Amish family and I stayed in Lancaster with them. I admire their sense of family, ethics and how they stay true to their religion. The family have moved to Kentucy and we still write to one another. I would love to read your new book.
Very interesting article, I would love to win the book, I also admire there sense of family and religion and how they are so forgiving
Interesting interview so far, and I look forward to part 2. Ive read many of the authors works, and look forward to reading (and possibly winning) this book!
Looking forward to reading another good book about the Amish. Winning it would be a great bonus!
I’d love an opportunity to read this book. Please enter me in the contest. Thank you!
I would love to have the chance to win. Any Amish books are enjoyable and informative.
I would love to win this book. I read Amish fiction as well and this book could help me with that too and give me reasons for some of the questions I have. I grew up around Amish people and find them so fascinating.
As an Old Order Mennonite, I enjoy reading the books written by these three gentlemen. My brother mentioned sending an email recently to Don Kraybill after reading one of his books. Don responded by replying that he once travelled with Dad by horse and buggy to visit an Old Order Mennonite school. So, yes, as a collector of everything written by Don Kraybill, I need a copy of this book. If I don’t receive one of your free copies, I will be obliged to buy another book. And I have not yet purchased the New York Amish book!
Please enter me into the contest. I very much enjoy reading your articles as well. Thank you.
Sounds like an interesting book, since I take an interest in Anabaptist theology. In fact, I am smack in the middle of making a fresh translation of Michael Sattler’s (first generation Swiss Brethren, from which the Amish descend) tract concerning salvation, and how the Anabaptist view contrasted with the typical Protestant view. Basically the Protestants look at the cross as something that Jesus died on, but the Anabaptist view the cross as something on which they took up daily and died to selfishness, following Jesus’ example.
Yeah, well, I’ll get off my soapbox and stick my entry for the free book in the box. Mike
Very interesting article, can’t wait to read more!
I enjou this website and would love a chance to win this book
This book will answer some of the questions I have had about the Amish – particularly the “born again” experience. We love the Amish people and have a few Amish communities not far from where we live. I love reading about them and am anxious to read this book.
This book sounds very interesting! I will enjoy reading it. I have read previous books by Donald Kraybill and Steven Nolt and have found them very informative and enjoyable. Thank you for offering the free books to your readers!
would love to read this book. Alway love learning more about the Amish ppl
Please enter me in this contest. The book sounds so interesting and would answer some questions that I have been wondering about.
CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com
I look forward to the near-daily reminders from the website and enjoy the information and beautiful photos from the Amish countryside. The exerpts from the new book give us all some additional insights–looking forward to reading it.
Thanks for this book giveaway. I’m looking forward to reading more about Amish theological views.
I’ve truly enjoyed reading about the Amish and their views on spirituality.. learning that what they believe is spiritual is not so apparent to us, as outsiders. Thank you for the chance to win a copy of the new book!
i would love to read this book.The amish ways are very interesting…………..diane veness
I enjoyed this article/interview very much. Would love to read the book.
Very interesting post. Please enter me in the giveaway.
I would enjoy having this book. I like to study different religions and can learn a great deal about them. I read alot abput the Amish and this looks like a good book. Would love to win one.
very excited about this book! and hoping to win it 😉
Entering for a chance at this book.
Sounds like a great book!
I am voraciously reading every book about the Amish that I can find as I research for my own fictional novel that takes place in Amish Country– I hope I win this one! I am really enjoying your website. The emails, so full of information, are keeping me motivated as I research and write.
I can’t wait to read this book too!
I hope I win a copy.
I have learned a lot about the Amish through recent books and would like to win a copy of the Amish Way. I live near 3 different Amish communities and can see the differences, would like to understand more.
I’m reading this book already. It’s great.
Thanks for the great site. And hoping to win a copy!
I am fascinated by the Amish culture and try to read everything I come across. I would love to be lucky enough to win these books.
Thanks for considering me.
I am currently spending a week in Holmes County, OH, and there’s nothing that would top the week off better than winning a copy of this book. Thank you for the chance.
I shared this on my facebook as I’d love to receive a copy of this book. I always enjoy when I see a new entry from Amish America. Thanks Erik!!!
Please enter me in the 10-book giveaway. I love reading about the Amish.
I love reading about the Amish, I admire their love and devotion for God, and their deep ties to family. I would love to visit Amish country one day!
I would like to be entered in the 10 book giveaway. Erik, keep up the good work here!!
Terry
I would love to win this book as most people in Ireland do not understand what an Anabaptist is.This book would be a help to me in explaining things to people.Plus such a book would not be on sale in Ireland and I do not have a credit card to order it online.
P.S.- have blogged about the giveaway
This looks like a book I would enjoy! And expect it to be filled with FACTS about the Amish! Too many of the “Amish fiction” books are not really as the Amish are. I’ve lived in a large Amish community all my life, and have many Amish relatives and friends.
I would love a copy of this book!
We have so much to learn from the Amish. This book would be a great boon to help me do that!
I enjoy reading Amish fiction and would love to win this book to learn more about their culture and beliefs.
Well I think that Sharon O. nearly spoke for me in her post. I also want to “throw my hat in the ring” for the book giveaway… Unfortunately, I closed my facebook acct and have decided against blogging (though several of my friends do)… this temps me to do both, just for the extra chances… I would much rather send the info to 100 or more of my nearly 300 contact via email instead. I will take my one chance here though! I do look forward to the book as I have others by the authors and rely on their expertise! Love this site too Erik!
Count me in on the contest!
I would love to win this book. Sounds very interesting! Thanks for this website,
Kate
I wanted to be Amish when I was younger…now I just have a massive admiration for their ways and their commitment. I am happily posting about this book on both my blog and Facebook – and even if I don’t win I’ll write about it when I can afford a copy!:-)
Always interesting reading from Kraybill, Nolt and Weaver-Zercher. I was checking this book out at Barnes and Nobles the other night and thinking about ordering it for the Christian bookstore where I work. I’d probably end up buying it, but I’ll wait and see how this contest works out!
Christina