World of Amish Quilts

The World of Amish Quilts

How can the splash of color, synonymous with many Amish quilts, well up from a people whose life is so reserved and disciplined? Is it not both a visual and theological irony for the "quiet of the land" to mix such austerity and beauty?

An encounter with antique Amish quilts is incomplete if it does not include some understanding of the people who made them. If one studies Amish quilts without relating the finished textile to the community of its origin, one is left with only a partial look at these wonderful bedcovers.

The Amish are traditionally recognized for their strict lifestyle. Black hats, drab carriages, and sad faces are quick labels often used to identify them. But by wearing the right kind of glasses-those that look beyond oversimplification-one will discover that the Amish live in a delightful world of faith, community, and beauty.

Beauty and craftsmanship are traditions among the Amish. Meticulously manicured lawns and gardens, correctly shocked stalks of field corn, well groomed houses and barns belong to their way of life. They find joy in the push of a bean through the springtime soil, in filled chairs around the supper table, and Sunday visits. Loaded canning shelves and full hay mows satisfy their bodies and spirits. To do something well and attractively is always more gratifying for them than doing one of those qualities without the other.

Who Are These People?

Who are these people? Where did they come from? Where are they going? Why do they live the way they do?

The Amish are, most basically, a people committed to God. They believe that their lifestyle and practice must embody their faith. They intend to live, in every part of life, consistently with Jesus' teachings in the New Testament.

The Amish believe that Jesus taught his followers to be a community to each other that nurtures its members to greater faithfulness. It is from this unique belief that the Amish receive much of the solidarity they need to continue living with the tensions they feel with the outside world. One cannot be Amish alone. It requires the support and fellowship of others who share the same beliefs. The community becomes the conscience for the individual. And the community discerns together the do's and don'ts for its members.

Community is a Refuge

Most Amish do not see their community as restrictive. Rather, it is a harbor from rampant Western individualism they believe responsible for the demise of the church, home, and family. It is against this backdrop that the Amish church continues to grow, having doubled in size in the last 20 years. There is peace, security and joy in living as the Amish do. Though not without its struggles and problems, the Amish community nurtures its members in wonderful and precious ways.

So as a result of trying to follow their faith daily in life the Amish find themselves to be separate from the world. Because they are committed to their faith-life, they are wary of anything that could become a possible route to acculturation into the "world." The Amish believe that becoming involved in the larger society takes one away from family, community, and church. Their leaders are constantly concerned with the purity of their fellowship. So they tend to draw lines in black and white areas before the issues become gray to help identify their church's separation from the world.

The Old Order Amish, the strictest of all the Amish groups, have traditionally shunned the use of electricity from local power companies, have not permitted telephones in their homes, have rejected ownership of automobiles, and usually discontinue their formal education on the completion of grade eight. Their farming is generally done with horses and mules. Dress regulations are quite severe. Solid colored fabrics are usually the rule for men's and women's clothing. Their primary language within the community is Pennsylvania Dutch (Deutsch) although they are also fluent in English. Yet the Amish are not simply figures cut from the very same form. They are individuals, and as a result, diverse within the structures. It is this blend of diversity and regulation that keeps the Amish culture alive and vital.

The Problem with Technology

For the Amish, advanced technology is not evil or wicked in itself. They do not think that a vehicle with four wheels that travels at high rates of speed is necessarily designed by ungodly forces. But the Amish do believe that the automobile is a major factor in breaking up the family. A car in the driveway increases the temptation to be places other than home, thus making it difficult to spend the majority of evenings each week with one's family.

The same concern is behind the Amish rejection of electricity from local power companies. The Amish are not opposed to the correct alignment of electrons and neutrons that produces electricity. Their caution is that if it is too readily available in the house, members could be tempted to acquire all kinds of appliances and gadgets that may lead to the accumulation of possessions and luxury. They may buy a radio. And if a radio, why not a television? And if one has a television, why not watch movies that are aired? And if one watches movies at home, why not go to the theater and cinema as well? They believe the drift into the world can be subtle. That explains why the Amish are so leery of keeping up with style and technology. Separation from the world, they believe, is a biblical value that also holds them together as a people of God.