Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy (38 page)

1. What is the purpose of Members Meetings in the life of the Amish church? Are you aware of other religious communities that pursue the same purpose in a different way?

2. What rationale, biblical or otherwise, do the Amish have for disciplining wayward church members? Do you find their rationale convincing?

3. Although the Amish do not equate the
Ordnung
with divine law, they nonetheless discipline church members who do not abide by it. What is their rationale for enforcing rules that are not, even in their view, divinely given? Is that a justifiable rationale?

4. What, according to the Amish, is the goal of shunning?

5. Some Amish people use the analogy of disciplining (or spanking) children to explain shunning, arguing that is possible to both discipline and love someone. Is this a good analogy?

6. The authors contend that there is no inherent contradiction between Amish forgiveness and their practice of shunning, as long as forgiveness is correctly understood. Do you agree?

7. Should religious communities discipline members who don’t abide by their rules? If so, how can this be done in a way that is both loving and effective?

8. Do you agree with the Amish that pardoning someone of wrongdoing is not always in that person’s best interest?

9. This chapter outlines the process of excommunication and the practice of shunning. How does this description square with popular perceptions of Amish shunning?

10. “Some people think that shunning is barbaric,” said one Amish person who was interviewed for this book. Would you call shunning barbaric? If not, what adjectives would you use to describe it?

1. Did anything in the descriptions of Amish grief surprise you?

2. All communities practice particular grieving rituals. What is unique about the grieving rituals practiced by the Amish? How do their rituals compare with what you’ve witnessed in your own community?

3. Was there anything about the memorial poem quoted in this chapter that caught your attention?

4. This chapter provides a definition and description of “God’s providence.” Have you ever thought about God’s providence? If so, how would you describe it?

5. The authors identify three general answers posed by Christians to the problem of evil. Which of these three answers, if any, do you find most attractive? Why?

6. One Amish person asserted that the school shooting was a part of “God’s plan” but also said that God didn’t “will it” to happen? Are those two assertions contradictory?

7. What evidence did Amish people offer to claim that “good” had come from the school shooting? Is it appropriate for people to look for good in something so horrific?

8. “We should not put a question mark where God puts a period.” What do Amish ministers mean by that? Do you agree with them?

9. What do you think about the Amish reluctance to speculate on their eternal destiny (and on that of Charles Roberts)?

10. What do the authors mean by the Amish “two-kingdom ethic”? Do you think it’s appropriate for people to accept the state’s authority to use force (as when restraining criminals) yet refuse to participate in those coercive practices themselves?

1. What do you think of the book’s title? Did forgiveness transcend tragedy in this instance? Did forgiveness redeem tragedy?

2. The authors write that for the Amish, the willingness to forgive others “is absolutely essential to the Christian faith.” Would that be true for most North American Christians?

3. Chapter Six characterized forgiveness as a “habit.” Is it possible to imitate a habit?

4. The authors contend that many commentators writing in the aftermath of the shooting “missed the countercultural dimension of Amish forgiveness.” What do the authors mean by that?

5. Why would an Amish community forbid one of its members to give public lectures on Amish forgiveness?

6. What do you think about the tendency of op-ed writers to apply the lesson of Amish forgiveness to contemporary world problems? Do you agree with the authors’ reservations about doing that?

7. The authors write that forgiveness is a “divine act that is broadly available to the human community.” Is it?

8. The authors suggest that vengeance is often glamorized in American society. They also suggest that Americans are obsessed with “getting their due.” Do you agree with their assessment? Or are you more inclined to say that Americans have a healthy and realistic sense of justice?

9. Have you had experiences of forgiveness in your life—either extending it to someone or receiving it from someone? Was there anything in this book that deepened your understanding of that experience?

10. What are some ways that religious communities can help their participants become more forgiving people? Do the Amish provide any clues in this regard?