I will argue a bit later that they are not non-modern, but they do place higher value on certain intangibles than is allowed by science. An Amish friend of mine, Greg Mollner, a convert to the faith, was a medical student at the U. of VA before joining a North Carolina Amish community and accepting a literal belief in the Bible including the creation story and a traditional dating of the earth s origins. Although he and his family have eschewed even some of the conveniences Lancaster Amish have allowed, I do want to point out that when their daughter was kicked in the head by a horse, they had no question about taking her by medevac to the Duke hospital, where, with the help of the medical staff there, a miracle occurred, and she is nearly fully recovered. But when it comes down to a tussle between the Bible s truth and a competing claim by science, the Bible s court holds sway for Greg and for the Amish. Many of my students have seen the corrosive effects of technology on community and personal life from small farming communities decimated by new agri-businesses to whole cultures eviscerated by the onslaught of the West s material success.
Electricity is a good example.
When federal regulations concerning the cooling of milk on dairy farms changed in the 1960s, the Amish were faced with a dilemma. The new regulations required that milk be cooled to 55 degrees within two hours of milking, a temperature not achieved easily without benefit of electric cooling. For reasons of wishing to be separate from the world, the Amish did not allow electricity, but Amish bishops in some of the districts decided that it would be better to make compromises on the use of electricity than to risk jeopardizing dairy farming as a way of life. It was agreed that farmers could generate electric power in their barns to run bulk cooking tanks and automatic milkers, but the power could not come from the public grid, and it could not be used for other purposes. The phone is another example.