Mennonite Morality (Continued)

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  The Holdemans, Beachy Amish and Conservative Mennonites have a different view of living an upright moral life.
   Certainly they are not holier or more perfect than the KG and Old Order, yet their morality and Biblical virtues are based on their relationship with Jesus Christ. Without being born again it is not possible to live a "good outstanding life" of any worth. Nor can you become good simply by being baptized into their church. According to them, you can only uphold an upright moral lifestyle when you have the Lord in your heart. This means that adultery, drinking alcohol, smoking, constant outbursts of temper, and other "big" or "major" sins are not forbidden because they're bad; rather, they're not tolerated because they are called "death" sins and create instant separation from God. Which means excommunication from the church, not from the group.
   Now and then, when a scandal or other disgraceful and embarassing event happens to a member of one of these 3 groups, many among the Kleine Gemeinde will shake their heads and poke fun at them. You see, like mentioned earlier, the KG seem to take pride in their disciplined upbringing. They don't necessarily see it as a war between Satan and a servant of God; whereas to the Holdeman, Beachy and Conservative, every day is a constant battle between moral and immoral, good and bad, right and wrong. Every day is a choice to listen to Jesus or to the devil.
   Therein lies the difference between these 3 groups and all the other groups of Mennonites as far as moral values are concerned.

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