I am really anxious to get started on this deeper level of understanding about what it means to be a Quaker. In 2010, I did a twelve part series on this topic. That was enough at the time, but now I need a more profound understanding of this version of Christianity. One of the primary reasons for that is I see far too many versions of Christianity that have strayed so far away from the teachings of Jesus, that I believe that they don’t even deserve to claim the Christian mantel any longer. They seem more interested in Christian nationalism, than anything else.

Another core reason for this more in-depth study is that I am at that point in my life where I need to be around like-minded people. I need to find some who seriously take Jesus’ words to heart and actually put them into action. I am a firm believer that faith without action is a very shallow faith, if it is faith at all! Bluntly speaking, I am hoping that this further understanding of Quakerism will give me the resolve to at least attempt to join a Quaker congregation in my area.

To my regular readers, you know that earlier this year I tried to focus on a project called “Ambitions Turned Inward”. It was meant to help me find things that make “me” happy. I tried to focus on things that gave me some level of happiness in earlier years. That four-part series ended abruptly when I realized focusing on me was just not who I am. It seems that I HAVE to focus on others, especially the “underdogs”. Many times I fail in those attempts, but those few times when I help are worth all the times when I didn’t.

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Getting down to the logistics of it, I have decided that this study will start out with questions generated, but not answered, by the first series on this topic. To that end, we will start by parsing through the thoughts in each post in that earlier series to generate a list of the unanswered questions. The second part of this new series will then try to find the answers to each of those questions.

I pray that I am up to this project, and that you will find it valuable. I am also hoping that you, especially those who are more familiar with the topic, will chime in with comments. Your input will be essential to making this project a success.