What Is Up With The Amish Lately????

[crusader rabbit]

Seems Amish teens are "allowed" to engage in a rite of passage and act like drunken, perverted idiots for a while..

Just like most other teens....

They just do it with 'permission."  Then they get it all out of their system and go on to live a circumspect life, unlike the rest of us who continue to act like drunken, perverted idiots several times a year for decades.

Maybe they have the right idea.

Crusader

[Timothy]

I believe that they're allowed their "oat sowing" and either return to the flock or remain with the heathens, aka...the rest of us!

Kind of a "coming of age" sort of thing.

My brother attended Miami of Ohio during his transition from enlisted to line officer.  They were a large part of the community there and during a few visits I made while he was matriculating, I spoke with a few youngsters in town.  They were quite pleasant young folks, not much younger than I at the time!  I've always been impressed with folks that can actually live to a lifelong conviction to family and faith!

[tombogan03884]

The fact they more or less condone learning what they'll be missing is interesting.

[Solus]

The fact they more or less condone learning what they'll be missing is interesting.

Yes it is. 

Another tradition is Bundling...where a courting couple spend the night in bed...expected only talk to learn about each other.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundling_(tradition)

[kmitch200]

Another tradition is Bundling...where a courting couple spend the night in bed...expected only talk to learn about each other.....

I wonder how many of these are followed by a wedding 2-3 months later? 

[Sponsor]

[tombogan03884]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumspringa

Another thing I found interesting in TW's link was that the percentage of teens who leave the faith was higher in colonial times when there were fewer differences in life styles.

[Solus]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumspringa

Another thing I found interesting in TW's link was that the percentage of teens who leave the faith was higher in colonial times when there were fewer differences in life styles.

Yes, interesting.  Got me to thinking about checking converts to their lifestyle to shed some light on what is at work here.  Found this at the link below

Why do people wish to be Amish? As our way of life becomes more hectic, we may see a slower, simpler style of living as appealing. Some people leave their high pressure jobs in the urban jungle, move to the mountains, and conduct business via computer, phone, and fax, the very pieces of technology that were supposed to make our lives easier. The Amish lifestyle is seen as a return to nature, even though barely half of our local Amish are actually farmers.

Some readers who write us tell of broken homes, divorced parents, fathers who abandoned wife and child. They view the Amish community as a place were they would be secure and welcome. What many of these people see is just the surface, a seemingly idyllic life. But being Amish involves many challenges for the outsider.

http://www.amishnews.com/publishersmessages/wanttobeamish.htm

My google search was  "amish converts" and there were a lot of other links for those interested in this phenomena.

[Big Frank]

This thread made me want to listen to Weird Al.