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Gelassenheit carries many meanings-self-surrender, submission, yielding to the will of God and to others, contentment, and a calm spirit. Most importantly, gelassenheit is the opposite of bold individualism that may promote self-interest. This is where the Amish society diverges most significantly from contemporary culture, and teaches the importance of humility and obedience.
Humility and obedience are twin virtues in Amish culture. A spirit of humility signals respect for others. Members are taught to obey those with authority over them: children/parents, students/teachers, wives/husbands, community members/leaders, and younger ministers/their bishop. Most importantly, everyone is expected to obey the will of God as taught by the community. Despite the strong emphasis on humility and obedience, the Amish express great respect for the dignity of each person.
Living by a Different Set of Rules
When it comes to crime and punishment, the Amish live by a different set of rules: God's rules. Abiding strictly by a moral code that values religion over all else and stresses forgiveness over anger, the Amish concept of justice looks very different from what most Americans encounter. In a community that is largely left to police itself, there are no courts and no set of punishments attached to a given transgression. No matter what the crime, when the perpetrator professes repentance before the church community, they are often forgiven.
After the Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, schoolhouse shooting in 2006, it was an act of forgiveness-not of anger-that was the response of the Amish community. Sympathy, a chance to repent, and to seek salvation are reasons behind such a response. God is everywhere in the Amish follower's daily life, dictating what's right and wrong. If there is a dispute within the community, it is resolved by the bishop, the highestranking member of the Amish clergy. This type of philosophy remains even if there's a problem too big to resolve. The community's solution is to call other bishops from other communities in other States to help resolve it.
The Amish lifestyle is driven by the concept of gelassenheit, which (as mentioned previously) is a German word that suggests serenity, quietness of character, and submissiveness to God, church, and family. The closest thing to punishment for a repeat offender is to be "shunned" by the community, either...