I thought the last post was going to be the end of this round on Quakers but thanks to eriu49’s comments on my previous post I came across the following at  http://firstfriendswhittier.org I think I can say I agree with every item on this list. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> You Might Be a Quaker if: You think listening is at least as important as talking. You think justice means more than just locking up criminals. You are more interested in being like Christ than in being like Christians. You want to read the Bible but you don’t want to be beaten with it. You think … Continue reading You Might Be a Quaker…

The following is actually a comment attached to my April 5 concluding post on Quakerism.  I think it is important enough to pull it out and include it as a separate post.  Thanks eriu49 for sending it. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I am very interested in your thoughts about Quakerism. I have been attending Meeting since 1995 and find it meets my needs very well. I found a piece that spoke to your question about why Quakers do not perform Baptism, and it makes a lot of sense to me, so I hope you will find something in it. It is from whittierfirstfriend.org: Meaning … Continue reading Quakers and the Sacraments…

Before I close out this series with some personal thoughts I wanted to do a quick post here to give you the list of books I have read in order to do these posts. There were also literally hundreds of websites/blogs I visited; too many to mention or name here.   Here is the list of books and their authors and some websites. This is by no means a complete list but I believe it is a good sampling of the topic. Title Author An Introduction to Quakerism Pink Dandelion A Living Faith Wilmer A. Cooper A Quaker Book of Wisdom … Continue reading Study of Quakers – (Part 10) Some Source Books and other Miscellaneous things

Quakerism has generally had no creed. George Fox dismissed theologians as “notionists”, and modern Quakers are generally less concerned with theology, and more concerned with acting in accord with the leading of the Spirit than are many other faiths. Quakers have historically expressed a preference for understanding coming from God’s Spirit over the knowledge derived from objective logic or systematic theology. This lack of a single set of authoritative doctrines has resulted in the development of a broad range of doctrines and beliefs among Friends, ranging from fundamentalist Christian to universalist. This in my mind is one of the few … Continue reading Study of Quakers – (Part 9) The Richmond Conference of 1887

Quakers place a great premium on practicing what they believe. That puts service to others as front and center in their lives. A favorite saying of mine is to “show the Lord’s love in your life”. Quakers definitely live by that motto. Jesus made it abundantly clear that he came to serve and not to be served. He expects each of us to follow his example and Quakers, for the most part, certainly do that. Many Christian denominations, including the one I currently belong, seems to minimize works and living in the world. They seem to prefer concentrating instead on … Continue reading Study of Quakers – (Part 7) Service

Integrity is another quality that Quakers are universally known for; in particular their refusal to swear to an oath. Of course this is rooted in their total respect for truthfulness. Truth, always spelled with a capital T is a very special word in their vocabulary. The essence of Quakerism is in the demand for complete integrity of the individual in relation to God, and other people, and to one’s self.  Early Friends realized that an important part of the message of Jesus was how we treat our fellow human beings. They felt that honest dealing with others meant more than … Continue reading Study of Quakers – (Part 5) Integrity

Let’s start out this post with a document released by Quakers in 1611:   We do testify to the world that the Spirit of Christ which leads us into all truth, will never allow us to fight a war against any man with outward weapons, neither for the Kingdom of Christ nor for the kingdoms of this world.  Because Friends, and particularly George Fox their founder, place such emphasis on the dignity, the peace testimony became a cornerstone for their beliefs. When you read the words of scripture you will find the above testimony deeply rooted there. Thus, Quakers believe that … Continue reading Study of Quakers – (Part 4) Peace