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(2) The Old Orders live the truth taught in the Book of James, that "faith without works is dead." For these practical Christians, "one's manner of living outweighs concerns about proper belief." I think of how easily I move in the realm of Bible studies and long discussions, but how far behind I lag in putting faith in practice.

(3) The Old Orders value constancy above innovation or novelty. They take pleasure in repeated patterns of life, greetings, and rituals: "Dress is old-fashioned, worship patterns are ancient, and songs are old." I blush to think of how many times I have pored over catalogs researching the latest whatever-it-is.

(4) Finally, the Old Orders discipline themselves in a gentle way of life: Against the deadliest sin, pride, the Amish cultivate "gentleness, steadfastness, and devout living."

The Anabaptists challenge almost every one of what Kraybill and Bowman call America's "core values": individual rights, moral autonomy, competition, success, participation in government, and the yearning for progress and material improvement.

Against such modern values, many Anabaptists espouse a church-centered, anti-individualist way of life so diametrically opposite to modern sensibilities that the fact they are able to sustain it is nearly miraculous.

No persecution, cultural pressure, or lure of prosperity and convenience the world has thrown at them has been able to derail these modern monastics from their path of "extreme discipleship."

And that strong perseverance, surely, is a rare and precious enough quality that we should spend some time in its presence, learning what we can learn.

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More Christian history, including a list of events that occurred this week in the church's past, is available at ChristianHistory.net. Subscriptions to the quarterly print magazine are also available.

Christian History Corner, a weekly column from the editors and writers of Christian History & Biography, appears every Friday on Christianity Today's website. Previous editions include:

Eat, Drink, and Relax | Think the Pilgrims would frown on today's football-tossing, turkey-gobbling Thanksgiving festivities? Maybe not. (Nov. 19, 2004)

Now That You've Got Political Power, What Are You Going to Do with It? | History offers warning and hope for our modern-day Christian populism. (Nov. 12, 2004)

How to Pray for Our Troops | This Veteran's Day, let's commend our men and women of the services to the God who brings good even from the most evil circumstances. (Nov. 05, 2004)

Reports of the Revival | The Confederate camp became "a school of Christ." (Nov. 05, 2004)

Courting the Catholic Voter | A new book tells the fascinating story of how America's Catholics decided past elections. (Oct. 29, 2004)

The Politicians' Patron | As the Roman Catholic "patron saint of politicians," Thomas More is not quite a model for all seasons. (Oct. 22, 2004)

The Vanishing Act of the Church in Turkey | A church worn down by Christian rivalry and Islamic jihad hangs on in the land of Nicea and Ephesus. (Oct. 15, 2004)

Cockroaches and the Nicene Creed | To an accompaniment of whale songs, the worshippers glory in God's creation; there's no service quite like the annual blessing of the animals at St. John the Divine. (Oct. 08, 2004)

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November (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48