The Amish response of forgiveness following the schoolhouse shootings at Nickel Mines stunned the world.

The authors of a new book about Amish forgiveness were stunned themselves to learn that, though they had anticipated the response, they did not fully understand its roots.

The Amish immediately forgave a man who shot 10 of their children in the head, killing five, before he killed himself nearly a year ago.

A more typical response would have been rage, then a thirst for revenge.

But that did not happen.

"The biggest surprise at Nickel Mines was not the intrusion of evil, but the Amish response," note the authors of "Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy." "The biggest surprise was Amish grace."

The book's three writers started out assuming they understood why the Amish forgave the killer. They were surprised to learn they did not.

"I'm a sociologist, but I hadn't done careful research on Amish spirituality, particularly as it relates to forgiveness," explains Donald Kraybill, senior fellow at the Young Center of Elizabethtown College. "So I learned a lot I didn't know before."

So will the reader of this 211-page book published just before the first anniversary of the school murders.

The three authors, including historians Steven Nolt and David Weaver-Zercher, found that the Amish concept of forgiveness flows largely from the teachings of Jesus as revealed in the Gospels, particularly the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew.

"If the Gospel of Matthew serves as the root system for Amish forgiveness," the authors further note, "the Lord's Prayer is the taproot."

The Lord's Prayer tells the Amish, as one member of the church told the authors, "if we can't forgive, then we won't be forgiven."

The authors say they had to reflect for a moment before they connected with the relevant section of the prayer: "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors."

But an Amish woman didn't have to think about it. "It's pretty plain, don't you think?" she told them.

The Amish pray the Lord's Prayer at every communal service — Sunday church meetings, weddings, funerals, ordinations. Morning and evening family prayers also include it.

But other Christians also regularly recite the prayer. What's different about the Amish?

The primary difference, the authors say, is in the communal and self-surrendering nature of Amish society. From an early age, children learn to obey the society's rules and one of the first rules is to forgive those who trespass against them.

Therefore, adults forgive automatically, although it is never an easy process to follow through.

The authors cite other sources for Amish forgiveness, in the Bible and elsewhere, and develop several related themes.

Along the way, the reader learns as much about the Amish culture as its religion.

The text is divided into three parts.

The first tells the story of the school shooting and its immediate aftermath. (The authors say they relied heavily on the Lancaster New Era's "Lost Angels" series from last November for much of the material about the shooting.)

The second explores the Amish practice of forgiveness.

The third reflects on the meaning of forgiveness for the Amish and the rest of the world.

The authors conclude that the concept of forgiveness is more difficult to practice in a "hyper-consumerist" world that emphasizes individuality over community.

"In a culture that places such a premium on buying and selling, as opposed to giving and receiving," the book suggests, "forgiveness runs against the grain."

In a telephone interview, Kraybill explained that he began working with Nolt, a history professor at Goshen College, and they hooked up with Weaver-Zercher, a professor of American religious history at Messiah College.

But the book does not read like the production of three distinct writers.

"We worked really hard to have a single voice," says Kraybill.

Jossey-Bass, a San Francisco-based publisher, is selling the book for $24.95. The authors will contribute all royalties to the Mennonite Central Committee to benefit ministries serving children around the world.

CONTACT US: jbrubaker@LNPnews.com or 291-8781