Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Arts and Humanities Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

History of Christianity

Quaker Studies

Mysticism

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

'Upon The Quakers And The Quietists': Quietism, Power And Authority In Late Seventeenth-Century France, And Its Relation To Quaker History And Theology, Elaine Pryce Feb 2015

'Upon The Quakers And The Quietists': Quietism, Power And Authority In Late Seventeenth-Century France, And Its Relation To Quaker History And Theology, Elaine Pryce

Quaker Studies

This article poses a number of questions around its subject matter, from which I develop some explanatory frameworks and further conceptualizations of Quietism. It addresses, primarily, the questions: What is Quietism? What were the issues of power and authority leading to the infamous Quietist Controversy in late seventeenth-century France? And subsequently, what is the nature of Quietism's connection to the Quaker theological tradition?


Universalising And Spiritualising Christ's Gospel: How Early Quakers Interpreted The Epistle To The Colossians, Stephen W. Angell Jan 2015

Universalising And Spiritualising Christ's Gospel: How Early Quakers Interpreted The Epistle To The Colossians, Stephen W. Angell

Quaker Studies

This article examines seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Quaker methods of biblical interpretation, comparing them to Puritan and Spiritualist methods. The focus is on verses from the Pauline epistle to the Colossians frequently cited by early Quakers. In contrast to John Calvin and four seventeenth-century Puritan Biblical commentators, but similar to seventeenth-century Spiritualists such as William Erbery, Quakers argued strongly for a form of mystical universalism closely akin to Arminianism in their interpretation of this epistle. Quakers (especially John Woolman) resembled medieval Catholics in their willingness to interpret Col. 1.24 to assert that Christ's 'mystical' body, which could include contempora1y Christians, was …


The Universal Dimension: William Loftus Hare's Pivotal Contribution To London Yearly Meeting, Tony Adams Nov 2014

The Universal Dimension: William Loftus Hare's Pivotal Contribution To London Yearly Meeting, Tony Adams

Quaker Studies

The origins of Christian universalism in the Religious Society of Friends during the seventeenth century are reviewed. A Hicksite shift among some Friends in the nineteenth century is seen as paving the way for a radical extension oflnner Lightist philosophies of universalism. A doctrine of Inner Light mysticism, as presented by Rufus Jones, is considered in the context of an extension of universalism among Quakers. As editor of the Socialist Quaker Society journal The Ploughshare, and in later published studies, William Loftus Hare (1863-1943) forwarded a form of theological universalism at some considerable variance with its previous meanings throughout Quaker …