June 9th 2008-Bruederschaft

Today was delightful!  

As we travelled into Amish country and learned about the lives of the Amish and Mennonites, I felt like I could link  what I was learning into early American history this fall.   So much of our history is linked to the Protestant Reformation.  As Luther and Swingli rebelled against the Catholic Church and began the Reformation,  another group formed the Radical Revolution.  These Anabaptists-so named by their enemies- believed that it made more sense to be baptized as consenting adults.  The Anabaptists or Bruederschaft- as these reformers preferred to be called-split from the Catholic church and became known as Mennonites.  A second split within the Mennonites led to the formation of the more conservative Amish, who felt the Mennonites had strayed from God’s prescribed way of life. As the first German settlers in the colonies, the faith of the Mennonites can be further examined. 

The very idea of separation of church and state is suggested by the Anabaptists, who themselves suffered purges as the church wished to extinguish this new line of thinking regarding baptism into faith.  What a great way to link our foundation  with the rationale that not only should this new country not have a state religion, but that none should  be persecuted because of their religion.  

I think we could discuss this by comparing early religions-Puritan, Mennonite, Amish, Episcopalian, Quaker and clarify their similarities and differences and how their origins lie with protesting against the established religion-Catholicism, and what brought these different Protestors to the American colonies. We could extend this by looking at the deists and the role that the philosophy of Diesm played with the establishment of this pluralistic country as well. 

 

The dinner this evening was a highlight of the trip. It was insightful to see this family living their beliefs simply, modestly and with great satisfaction with life.  They preach by example and it is effective.  The children were charming, and I felt privledged to get to eat in their friendly home . What a moving and meaningful evening.