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Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy
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Item description for Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy by Donald Kraybill, Steven Nolt & David Weaver-Zecher...
On Monday morning, October 2, 2006, a gunman entered a one-room Amish school in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. In front of twenty-five horrified pupils, thirty-two-year-old Charles Roberts ordered the boys and the teacher to leave. After tying the legs of the ten remaining girls, Roberts prepared to shoot them execution style with an automatic rifle and four hundred rounds of ammunition that he brought for the task. The oldest hostage, a thirteen-year-old, begged Roberts to "shoot me first and let the little ones go." Refusing her offer, he opened fire on all of them, killing five and leaving the others critically wounded. He then shot himself as police stormed the building. His motivation? "I'm angry at God for taking my little daughter," he told the children before the massacre.
The story captured the attention of broadcast and print media in the United States and around the world. By Tuesday morning some fifty television crews had clogged the small village of Nickel Mines, staying for five days until the killer and the killed were buried. The blood was barely dry on the schoolhouse floor when Amish parents brought words of forgiveness to the family of the one who had slain their children.
The outside world was incredulous that such forgiveness could be offered so quickly for such a heinous crime. Of the hundreds of media queries that the authors received about the shooting, questions about forgiveness rose to the top. Forgiveness, in fact, eclipsed the tragic story, trumping the violence and arresting the world's attention.
Within a week of the murders, Amish forgiveness was a central theme in more than 2,400 news stories around the world. The Washington Post, The NewYork Times, USA Today, Newsweek, NBC Nightly News, CBS Morning News, Larry King Live, Fox News, Oprah, and dozens of other media outlets heralded the forgiving Amish. From the Khaleej Times (United Arab Emirates) to Australian television, international media were opining on Amish forgiveness. Three weeks after the shooting, "Amish forgiveness" had appeared in 2,900 news stories worldwide and on 534,000 web sites.
Fresh from the funerals where they had buried their own children, grieving Amish families accounted for half of the seventy-five people who attended the killer's burial. Roberts' widow was deeply moved by their presence as Amish families greeted her and her three children. The forgiveness went beyond talk and graveside presence: the Amish also supported a fund for the shooter's family.
AMISH GRACE explores the many questions this story raises about the religious beliefs and habits that led the Amish to forgive so quickly. It looks at the ties between forgiveness and membership in a cloistered communal society and ask if Amish practices parallel or diverge from other religious and secular notions of forgiveness. It will also address the matter of why forgiveness became news. "All the religions teach it," mused an observer, "but no one does it like the Amish." Regardless of the cultural seedbed that nourished this story, the surprising act of Amish forgiveness begs for a deeper exploration. How could the Amish do this? What did this act mean to them? And how might their witness prove useful to the rest of us?
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Item Specifications...
Studio: Jossey-Bass
Pages 288
Dimensions: Length: 9" Width: 6.04" Height: 0.8"
Weight: 0.75 lbs.
Binding Softcover
Release Date Mar 1, 2010
Publisher Jossey-Bass
ISBN 0470344040
ISBN13 9780470344040
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Availability 0 units.
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More About Donald Kraybill, Steven Nolt & David Weaver-Zecher
Product Categories
Christian Product Categories
Books > General Interest > General Topic > History
Books > Inspiration > Motivation > Biography & Autobiography
Reviews - What do customers think about Amish Grace?
 | Excellent Read Apr 1, 2010 |
| I purchased this book, after watching the Lifetime Movie Network movie that recently aired. Rarely ever am I left speechless, but this is one of those times. Although I enjoyed the movie, the book is much better. I think society in general could learn a lot from the Amish. | | | | Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy Mar 6, 2010 |
| The book arrived on time and in excellent condition. i'm looking forward to reading it! | | |  | Thought Provoking Feb 8, 2010 |
| A very thought provoking look at extraordinary faith, forgiveness and grace in the aftermath of a community tragedy. Worth reading. | | | | Grace and Will? Dec 6, 2009 |
Amish Grace is a through documentation of the 2006 Nickel Mines Amish school shooting that shocked the world as well as an overview of the Amish sect, what they believe, how they live, and how their 400 year history has influenced their beliefs. The authors are three academics from small colleges in the Amish country of PA and Indiana.
I grew up in Lancaster County also, so these places, events, and people are familiar to me. While we are Lutherans, my family has lived near the Amish since the 18th century. While my home town was in the northern part of Lancaster County, and the greatest concentration of the Amish is in the eastern part of the county, they were a common sight riding in their buggies and playing softball in their black garb.
The tragedy is dealt with first here. Mr. Roberts was deeply disturbed about the death of his infant daughter 9 years earlier and took revenge on an unrelated party. The Amish dealt with the incident with their trademark grace and forgiveness, even helping the assassin's widow financially and attending his funeral. Outsiders can not understand this, in fact, some criticized the Amish, saying society would break down if all was forgiven and no one was punished or found responsible.
Next the the authors dig into the Amish lifestyle and teachings. The Amish are best known for shunning modern conveniences and devices, but this is done to maintain their community, not a judgement on the invention itself. The Amish will ride in cars -- I once gave a farmer a lift to capture a run-away horse along the highway -- but they wont own one, since that would enable them to leave the community. An Amishman with a car would be tempted to spend an evening in town, instead of being at home or church.
The authors then tie this out nicely, showing how the Amish martyrs of 16th century Europe influence their descendants today. These martyrs forgave their enemies as Our Lord forgave His, and that is the way of the Amish in today's world also. We read of many other incidents in PA, Ohio, Indiana, and Wisconsin where the Amish showed grace and forgiveness in reaction to terrible crime or tragedy. In most of these cases the person they forgave was incredibly touched and effected and able to change his life for the better. | | | | Amish Grace Nov 30, 2009 |
| The book, Amish Grace, is aptly subtitled, "How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy". The subject of this book is the shooting of Amish schoolgirls in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania and the response of the Amish community to this tragedy. It explores the meaning of forgiveness, and how the Amish concept of forgiveness may differ from the mainstream culture's understanding. It is well written and well researched. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the topic of forgiveness, and also to those who have suffered a tragedy and are questioning. | | | Write your own review about Amish Grace
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