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Christianity Today, September (Web-only), 2007 |

Excerpt

Amish Grace and the Rest of Us

The Amish response to the Nickel Mines shootings wasn't just plain Christianity.

Donald B. Kraybill, Steven M. Nolt, and David L. Weaver-Zercher | posted 9/17/2007 09:59AM

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Excerpted from Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy by Donald B. Kraybill, Steven M. Nolt, David L. Weaver-Zercher (September 27, 2007, $24.95 cloth) by permission of Jossey-Bass, a Wiley Imprint.

Related Elsewhere:

Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy is available from ChristianBook.com and other retailers.

News from Nickel Mines about the community a year after the shootings includes:

Exclusive: interview with slain Amish girls' families | In the year since the Amish school shootings, the girls' families have struggled with grief, anger and fear to reach 'a new normal.' Here, they describe that challenging journey. (Lancaster New Era)

Amish share massacre survivors' stories | One shooting survivor depends entirely on her family for care and is fed through a tube. Another just endured surgery to repair a damaged shoulder and arm. A third suffers lasting vision problems. (Associated Press)

Amish stoically endure scars of massacre| No events will mark the anniversary. "Each day," said a report, "brings … pain, grief and questions." (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

Philip Yancey and Stan Guthrie wrote about the tragedy.

Other articles about the Amish are available in our special section.

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September (Web-only) 2007, Vol. 51

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Graham UK

Posted: September 19, 2007 5:30 AM

I have come to know that forgiveness is not an act but an attitude and a way of life. For a Christian forgiveness is not an option but mandatory neccessitating profound exploration of personal prejudice and walking with Jesus through the dark places in the soul. You may know the Corrie Ten Boom story and the wonderful grace of forgiveness that blessed her when she was confronted by the Nazi Guard from Ravensbruk concentration camp who tortured and killed her sister Betsy. If not the memorable part for me was when she felt initial rage, hatred, etc... and simply prayed to Jesus saying: 'Lord I can hold out my hand but you provide the feeling'. As she stretched out her hand to the killer of her sister a feeling so wonderful washed over her enabling her to grab the man's hand saying with joy 'I forgive you my brother from the bottom of my heart I forgive you'. Jesus said to gain life we must first lose our life and the Amish way and my belief is the more we lose tempting worldy things ...

Anna	Posted: September 18, 2007 5:18 PM

The reason the Amish can "forgive" the killer so easily is not with their religion. The killer was a pervert. He liked little girls and its obvious he got to the point where he was going to have little girls and thats it. He was planning on having sex with them when the police decided to move in and that's when he killed them so they couldn't talk. The boys should be told the reason why they survived had only to do with the fact that the pervert was not after them, he was after the girls. It's a lot easier to forgive a killer pervert "because they can't help it" than it is to forgive someone within the community who can help it and still doesn't follow the rules of the community. Witness the technique of not talking to their own when their own breaks a rule. The rule breaker is in reality agreeing to the not being talked to and thus still in effect follows the rules. The pervert killer had nothing to do with community rules, he was outside the "realm", so thus the easy forgiving

John	Posted: September 18, 2007 12:47 PM


Excellent article up until the point where you seemed to imply the foreign policy of President Bush is sanctioned by God. In our personal lives we are supposed to be loving and forgiving, but we are to accept the premise that God ordains a a holy war against Muslims? Sorry, don't buy into that.