Beginning of Essay
The Amish belief system is based on a very literal interpretation of the Bible, which has frequently brought them into conflict with mainstream society. This is especially true in the case of the principle of non-resistance to violence, based on the verse "whoeve ....

Middle of Essay
.... their authority (Lantz). According to Amish belief, one had to accept evil and violence without fighting back. They were willing to defend neither country nor property, nor even life with physical resistance. Death was no real threat for them. They think this life is just preparation for the afterlife (Hostetler 189), and so their only response to persecution is and always has been avoidance. They moved away, and tried to escape the authorities by all possible non-violent means. If they were caught, however, they accepted their "God-given" destiny with passivity. But instead of destroying the Amish, these persecutions shaped the Amish culture and gav ....