Jakob Ammann was a tailor. Most of us likely imagine he was a farmer, and perhaps he did farm, but the fact that he was a tailor may have played a role in the way his views developed.
A little background: The roots of the Anabaptists, or “rebaptizers,” go back to the early 1500s. Huldrych Zwingli preached that the true church was made up of people who chose baptism for themselves, not those who were born into the church. Culturally, this was problematic, because since the time of Emperor Constantine in the fourth century most people believed God meant for church and government to be linked.
Even in an era when the church was undergoing reform (think John Calvin and Martin Luther), this idea persisted. So the Anabaptists, who dared to say this was not true, were not popular. Decades of persecution ensued—burning, drowning, torture. We can see why they became a quiet people who simply wanted to mind their own business. Menno Simons, a priest, joined the Anabaptists in 1535 and gave them more well defined leadership—and a name, Mennonites. In 1670, the city of Bern, Switzerland, demanded that Anabaptists join the Reformed church or be expelled. Some Mennonites worshiped occasionally in Reformed churches and even let their children be baptized so they could legally inherit land.
Now back to Jakob Ammann. Even though he did not live in Bern, his opinion about appeasing the authorities was clear and strict. Don’t do it. What happened to humility and simplicity and being willing to stand up for what you believe even if it means persecution?
Perhaps being a tailor had something to do with this. Imagine the kinds of clothing Ammann may have been asked to create or alter. Imagine seeing that the garb of his own congregation was just as vain as anyone else’s. Imagine the hours spent with a needle in his hand, stitching fabric and wondering where this trend of fitting in with the larger culture would lead.
Ammann believed the Mennonites in Bern who appeased the government for their own benefit, or to fit in with society, were turning their backs on Anabaptist values. He did not want to see this happen in his own congregation, so he insisted that men wear untrimmed beards and that clothing should not be haughty or prideful. Ammann is long-remembered for his unbending views on shunning that led to the Amish splitting from the Mennonites, but perhaps he had in mind what the early Anabaptists had endured and sacrificed when he argued for taking seriously the practicing of shunning unrepentant members so that the church would remain pure.
Whether we agree with Ammann’s thinking or not, the context in which it evolved teaches us something. Do we examine our values and motives for fitting in with others around us? Do we remember the people who have come before us? Do we take our faith seriously enough to know what beliefs undergird our actions?
If you ask me, these are worthwhile questions.
Olivia Newport is the author of the Valley of Choice series of Amish stories and the ongoing collection of Amish Turns of Time, which includes Wonderful Lonesome, Meek and Mild, and Brightest and Best. Hope in the Land releases April 2016.