I have finished reading two Quaker classics. The first, Quaker Strongholds, was written by Caroline Stephen in 1890. She grew up in the Anglican church, but as an adult she could no longer believe its teachings or partake of its liturgy. She despaired of finding a place to worship again until she happened upon a Quaker meeting. There she found a new spiritual home. In clear, beautiful prose, her book introduces readers to the basic principles, or strongholds, that inform Quaker life and thought. She covers its organization into regular meetings, its belief in the inner light of God available to all, its rejection of sacraments, its focus on a free (that is, unpaid) ministry of men and women, and its testimony in favor of peace and simplicity. If you want to learn Quaker beliefs in their classic form, this is the book to read. An online copy is here.
The second is the Journal of John Woolman, an early American Quaker. I read this book 15 years ago but felt a drawing to read again. The novelist Joseph Conrad defined art in this way: art renders the highest kind of justice to the visible universe. The life of John Woolman, recorded in his Journal, was a living work of art; he rendered the highest kind of justice to the life Jesus sketched out in the Sermon On the Mount. Woolman walked with God, attentive to the light within, and he lived in gentle harmony with everyone around him. He offers a clear example of the Quaker principles Caroline Stephen talks about in her book. In addition to his mysticism, Woolman was a social philosopher who analyzed the roots of war and oppression. His testimony against luxuries (superfluities) is especially relevant today. An online copy of the Journal is here. For a vivid picture of a life devoted to Christ, acquaint yourself with John Woolman. His Journal was first published in 1774.
(The picture is a public domain image of a Friends meeting house in Delaware.)
…..perhaps the meeting i attended(for a while) was’nt a ‘good’ one but i was disappointed by the LACK of any attention/reference given to Christ…it seemed that in fact a great deal of effort was exerted NOT to mention His name or even allude to such…as i’ve said before this particular meeting could well have been a buddist or some similar type gathering…im not so sure this was the intended/desired path of the original Quaker….*i would’nt hesitate to go back though*.. but now with the understanding that it was more of a group meditation exercise (with little or no religious overtones) than a gathering of ‘christians’ in any traditional sense……imo
Mike, I think you can find the same dynamic in other branches of Christendom. Read the sermons of John Wesley and the early Methodists and you will find a profoundly Christ centered approach to life. But in some parts of Methodism today, the centrality of Christ is diluted in favor of a more generic spirituality. In a similar way, John Woolman was deeply devoted to Christ, but I am sure there are Quakers today who are far less specifically Christian. For some Quakers today, their meetings probably are a ‘group meditation exercise,’ and for others, represented say by Brent Bill, their silence becomes a sacrament of the presence of Christ in their midst.
…i felt the urge to attend a friends meeting yesterday(sunday) instead of my usual Orthodox church…it was a good meeting ..im glad i went..
I’m glad you went too. Peace to you.