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Amish faith requires them to influence their neighbors primarily by being excellent examples - moral, contented people and good neighbors. They will explain their beliefs if asked, but will not push them on you, and will not condemn you for believing differently. They try to actually live up to biblical teachings of forgiveness, charity, and non-violence.
A consequence of this is that they must be especially careful to be mindful of the biblical instruction to “be in the world, but not of the world.” They are perfectly aware that electricity is not sinful. But they also think it is increasingly difficult to keep their separateness the more tightly integrated they become into worldly society. Consequently, they draw necessarily arbitrary lines and say “Up to here is acceptable, past it is not.”
It seems nonsensical that they will use generators to power electric machinery but will not connect to the grid, until you follow their reasoning. Then you realize it is perfectly logical, even if you don’t agree with them. Amish do not reject electricity; they reject being tied into the power grid. And they reject the grid not for technological reasons but for the implied integration into the rest of society. They are willing to do without the power grid (which they admit would be a convenience) because they see it as one example of a “camels nose under the tent” that will eventually lead to assimilation.
One must admit that their willingness to come to a decision based on moral analysis and then actually follow through is admirable, even if you disagree with the particular line drawn.
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