Miss Maudie makes a comment to the Mennonites as they ride
through town in a wagon, getting ready to see the trial of Tom
Robinson.
They wore cotton sunbonnets and dresses with
long sleeves. A bearded man in a wool hat drove them. "Yonder's some Mennonites," Jem
said to Dill. "They don't have buttons." They lived deep in the woods, did most of their
trading across the river, and rarely came to Maycomb. Dill was interested. "They've all
got blue eyes," Jem explained, "and the men can't shave after they
marry.”
The Mennonites shake
a Bible at Maudie and quote Scripture:
He that cometh in vanity departeth in
darkness!
Miss Maudie answers
with another verse:
A merry heart maketh a cheerful
countenance.
The point in the
story is intolerance. These people, along with the citizens of Maycomb, are outwardly
claiming to be Christians, and yet they are riding into town to witness the trial of an
innocent black man.
This illustrates three ways that the
Mennonites and Amish interpret the Bible to explain living differently than the rest of
the world. Their clothing is different, their appearance is different, and they shun the
use of modern conveniences.
The Mennonites and the Amish
believe the Bible instructs them to live this way, separate and living out their beliefs
in their daily lives. The Amish are much stricter than the Mennonites, however, so this
instance in the novel is not really true to life. Most Mennonites to not require the
dress restrictions in the same way as the Amish.
For
example, they don’t force their men to have untrimmed beards or insist that they use
hooks and eyes in place of buttons on outer garments. They don’t insist on horse and
buggy transportation; horse-drawn implements for farming; plain and distinctive dress
patterns; no electricity in homes; shunning, etc.
There are
several Bible verses that both groups cite to illustrate this: Peter 2:9: But you are a
chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you
may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light
(most main-stream Christians believe this verse applies to Israel, however). Another
verse is Romans 12:2: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what
God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. There is also James 4:4: You
adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God?
Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of
God.
I don't believe the Amish or the Mennonites would act
in a judgmental way as outlined in this novel, however. Do you remember how the Amish
even forgave the madman who killed their children at West Nickel Mines School in
Pennsylvania in 2006? You can look it up.
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