Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Interview With Orville And Marilyn Winters, Cherice Bock, Ralph Beebe

War & Conscientious Objection in Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends, 1940-1975

Orville Winters discusses how he registered for the draft as a noncombatant. His wife Marilyn discusses how her brother Arnold Lee was a conscientious objector.

Frontmatter, Quaker Religious Thought No.131, Jon R. Kershner

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Robert Barclay's Christology, Madeleine Ward

Quaker Religious Thought

Robert Barclay (1648-1690) was arguably the most influential Quaker theologian of the seventeenth century, but his legacy has been controversial. This article will assess this legacy through an examination of his changing Christology over time. This focus on Christology is justified because underlying the earliest Quakers’ belief that Christ was ‘come to teach his people himself’ was the notion that the Light within was Christ—and Barclay has been accused of striking this concern at its heart.

Primitive Christianity Revived—The Original Quaker Vision, Paul N. Anderson

Quaker Religious Thought

Quaker histories over the last century or so have been highly interpretive in their interests and approaches, yielding a number of diverse results as to the character of the early Quaker movement, with varying implications. Obviously, one of the interests in history involves seeking to understand more about the past in order to shed light on the present and the future of the Friends movement itself. What, however, if such an interest is itself misguided? What if the founders of the Friends movement did not seek to start a movement, but rather, were solely invested in something entirely different? In …

Christian And Universalist?: Charting Liberal Quaker Theological Developments Through The Swarthmore Lectures, Danchristy Randazzo

Quaker Religious Thought

In this article, I elucidate two main strands of thought in the Swarthmore Lectures concerning the relationship between Liberal Quakerism, Christianity, and Universalism. Within these two poles are nuanced differences, however, with relation to where Liberal Quakerism falls along a spectrum between explicitly Christian and Universalist.

Response To Anderson, Ward, And Randazzo, Jeffrey Dudiak

Quaker Religious Thought

In this issue we have been gifted with three credible, nay expert, expositors of three interpretations of Quakerism in historical perspective: Penn’s interpretation of Quakerism as “primitive Christianity revived,” Barclay’s evolving interpretation of Quakerism’s “inward Light” as vehiculum dei, and his speculation on a corresponding spiritual sense, and the twentieth century development of Quaker understandings of Christianity and universalism—mutually excluding or complementary?—traced across the prestigious Swarthmore Lectures.

Contributors -- Quaker Religious Thought No. 131

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Review Of T. Vail Palmer, Jr., A Long Road: How Quakers Made Sense Of God And The Bible (Newberg, Or: Barclay Press, 2017), Isaac Barnes May

Quaker Religious Thought

T. Vail Palmer, Jr.’s A Long Road provides a nuanced and comprehensive overview of the thought of two centuries of Quaker Biblical scholars and theologians, focusing on the careers of individual religious leaders to chart the trajectory of a movement. The introduction positions the book as building on classics of Quakerism like Rufus Jones’s Faith and Practices of the Quakers, John Punshon’s Portrait in Grey, Walter Williams’s Rich Heritage of Quakerism and Carole Dale Spencer’s Holiness: The Soul of Quakerism, but the Quaker work that Palmer’s book most closely resembles is Wilmar C. Cooper’s attempt to document a systematic Quaker …

Review Of Paul Buckley, Primitive Christianity Revived: Translated Into Modern English (San Francisco, Inner Light Books, 2018) And Primitive Quakerism Revived: Living As Friends In The Twenty-First Century (San Francisco, Inner Light Books, 2018), Paul N. Anderson

Quaker Religious Thought

In translating William Penn’s analysis of the early Quaker movement into Modern English and in expanding on its meaning for reviving the spirit of early Quakerism for the 21st century, Quaker theologian and historian Paul Buckley has performed a great service. These two books go hand-in-hand, and individuals and reading groups alike would benefit greatly from reading these books and considering their meaning for today. The text is readable, and Buckley’s language is readily accessible. Thus, in rendering William Penn’s Primitive Christianity Revived in a welcoming form, and in expanding upon its meaning as a source of spiritual renewal for …

Wengert's "Dictionary Of Luther And The Lutheran Traditions" (Book Review), Jill Botticelli

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Kreeft's "Between One Faith And Another: Engaging Conversations On The World's Great Religions" (, Elizabeth Pearson

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Robinson's "Introduction To Theology For Ministry" (Book Review), Jeff Gates

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Arcari's " Beyond Conflicts: Cultural And Religious Cohabitations In Alexandria And Egypt Between The 1st And The 6th Century Ce" (Book Review), Grace Andrews

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Burghardt And Sinns' "Global Perspectives On The Reformation: Interactions Between Theology, Politics And Economics" (Book Review), Craig Rosenbeck

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Levering And Vanhoozers' "Was The Reformation A Mistake?: Why Catholic Doctrine Is Not Unbiblical" (Book Review), Darcy R. Gullacher

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Frontmatter, Quaker Religious Thought No.130, Jon R. Kershner

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Anthony Benezet's (1713-1784) Revolutionary Rhetoric: Slavery And Sentimentalism In Quaker Political Remonstrance, Jon R. Kershner

Quaker Religious Thought

Following the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763), many Britons resented the human and financial cost of the war and looked to the colonies for partial reimbursement. To this end, Britain passed the Stamp Act in 1765, which levied a tax on paper, and beginning in 1767, the Townsend Act, which taxed imported tea, lead, and other products. Colonial printing presses quickly decried these taxes as unfair and rebuked the general economic interference in colonial life by lawmakers in London. The American Patriots employed a rhetoric of virtue, natural rights, and liberty to enflame the popular colonial conscience with the conviction that …

Beyond The Bureaucracy: The True & Proper Purpose Of Quaker Yearly Meetings In The 21st Century, Robin Mohr

Quaker Religious Thought

In short, the true and proper purpose of Quaker yearly meetings, in all times and in all places, is to help Friends to do God’s will.

This paper is based on a comparison between a passage in Brian Drayton’s and Bill Taber’s book, A Language for the Inward Landscape held up against the written statements of purpose in the contemporary books of Faith and Practice from thirty yearly meetings. Do they agree or do they contradict each other? This paper argues that they are in harmony.

Review Of Daniel P. Coleman, Presence And Process: A Path Toward Transformative Faith And Inclusive Community, Jeffrey Dudiak

Quaker Religious Thought

Daniel P. Coleman is an evangelical Friend who in this book pushes hard for an agenda that many liberal Friends will heartily embrace, though I suspect to the discomfort of the bulk of his fellow evangelicals. Based on his own experience at the nexus of Christianity, Quakerism, and Buddhist inspired meditative practices, his thesis, in short, is that the heart of true religion is a mystical, pre-rational (and thus pre-discursive) connection with Reality (perhaps a synonym for “God”), which is the essence of all religions once the superficial, thought-based particularities of doctrine are stripped away. His hope for the revival …

Contributors -- Quaker Religious Thought No. 130

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

After Same-Sex Marriage: Emerging Quaker Perspectives On Further Questions About Sexuality And Gender, Rhiannon Grant

Quaker Religious Thought

This paper was first presented at the American Academy of Religion in Boston in 2017. What follows incorporates some responses to questions which were asked there. In particular, it seems appropriate to preface the main text with a personal comment. The respondent for the session, Sa’ed Atshan, asked about the speakers’ relationships to Quakerism, and I answered that although in this paper I say that I am describing possible arguments rather than real positions taken by Quakers, I am a Quaker and I would—at the time of writing!— make points something like these if asked to describe my personal understanding. …

Review Of David Johnson, Jesus, Christ And Servant Of God: Meditations On The Gospel According To John, Lorraine Watson

Quaker Religious Thought

The Gospel of John is often referred to as the Quaker Gospel. So it is with no surprise that David Johnson, a Quaker from Australia, chose to spend time with this particular book. Prior to writing, or even doing serious study on the Gospel of John, David Johnson meditated on the Gospel over an eight-month period, spending time with the text and allowing it to speak directly to his spirit. He writes about the deeper meaning opened to him, “This experience convinced me that the gospel is not just a record of Jesus’ ministry; it is also a consummate guide …

Interview With Phil Thornburg, Cherice Bock, Ralph Beebe

War & Conscientious Objection in Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends, 1940-1975

Phil Thornburg talks about registering for the draft during the Vietnam War as a conscientious objector and how his decision was influenced by his childhood in Burundi.

The Theological And Geographical Origins Of Protestantism In Albania, David Hosaflook

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The Albanian Protestant Movement has both a theological and a geographical origin. Theologically, the movement could only begin after parts of the Bible were translated into Albanian, because the Protestant doctrine of “Sola Scriptura” demands that believers understand the Holy Scriptures. Therefore, in Protestant missions to the Ottoman Empire, Bible translators usually preceded evangelists and the founding of churches. In 1827, the publication of the first Albanian New Testament was a significant achievement, but it was practically useless to most Albanians, who were illiterate (especially in their mother tongue). Hence, the Protestant missionary endeavor included linguistic and educational efforts to …