Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Theologia: Quaker Youth Ministry And Theopraxis In A Multicultural Context, Joel Mayward, Roger Nam, Leah Payne, Steve Sherwood, Hannah Souter, Trisha Welstad

Quaker Religious Thought

"I am convinced by my own life and by wide observation of children that mystical experience is much more common than is usually supposed. Children are not so absorbed as we are with things and with problems. They are not so completely organized for dealing with the outside world as we older persons are. They do not live by cut-and-dried theories. They have more room for surprise and wonder. They are more sensitive to intimations, flashes, openings. The invisible impinges on their souls and they feel its reality as something quite natural.” —Rufus M. Jones,

“Finding the Trail of Life”1 …

Review Of Dandelion, P. The Cultivation Of Conformity: Towards A General Theory Of Internal Secularisation, (Routledge, 2019)., Jon R. Kershner

Quaker Religious Thought

"Ben" Pink Dandelion's book, The Cultivation of Conformity: Towards a General Theory of Internal Secularisation, is a serious examination of religious expression using British Quakerism as a test case. Even for one like me-who is not trained in the methods of the social–scientific study of religion, which the book employs–The Cultivation of Conformity is immensely useful to understand the changing dynamics of Quakerism, and Quakerism’s relationship to culture. Dandelion is a British Quaker and the foremost sociologist of Quakerism. His book builds on decades of research, presents a clear-eyed analysis of Quakerism and advances the study of religion in …

Frontmatter, Quaker Religious Thought, No. 136, Jon R. Kershner

Quaker Religious Thought

ABOUT THIS ISSUE

In the last issue of Quaker Religious Thought (QRT) I reflected that the type of Quaker theological reflection and praxis explored in QRT was important if Friends are to confront the strife, inequity, and injustice we can witness all around us. Now, six months later, we are experiencing the deadliest days of the pandemic, political tensions have boiled over to the point of an attempted coup by Christian Identity groups and an attempt to thwart such hallmarks of democracy as the peaceful transfer of power. What do Quakers have to offer in a world like this? One …

Caring For Each Other, Ashley M. Wilcox

Quaker Religious Thought

Pastors wear a lot of hats. Pastors’ roles include preacher, worship leader, provider of pastoral care, counselor, teacher, and administrator. And those are just the official expectations. As Barbara Brown Taylor says, a pastor also ends up being a “social worker, chauffeur, cook, financial advisor, community organizer, babysitter, philanthropist, marriage counselor, cheerleader, [and] friend.”1 In a church with a large staff, these roles may be divided among several people, but then the lead pastor also has to manage several employees. In a church with a solo pastor, the pastor either has to do all of these tasks or rely on …

Quaker Pastoral Theology And Its Embodiment In The Community, Oscar Lugusa Malande

Quaker Religious Thought

The reflection brought forth in this writing is part of the Quaker Theological Discussion Group in answering the question, what is Quaker pastoral theology, and how is it embodied in the community? It is majorly divided in two parts. There is exploration of the meaning of Quaker pastoral theology and embodiment of Quaker pastoral ministry.

Revolutionary Faithfulness: Quaker Pastoral Practice And Theology In An Age Of Empire, C. Wess Daniels

Quaker Religious Thought

I am glad there is space for what I expect will be a rigorous and critical examination of Quaker pastoral theology within the pages of Quaker Religious Thought. This is needed as much now as ever. For a practice that goes back to at least the late 1860s (Barbour and Frost, 1994: 211), it is unclear why so little has been written about it in 160 years.1 This is not just a lost opportunity; it is a grave deficit for programmed Friends. It could be argued that many of the challenges Gurneyite Quakerism faces today—in terms of tradition drift, division, …

A Methodological Proposal For Programmed Quaker Practical Theology, Derek Brown

Quaker Religious Thought

I propose that a practical theology research paradigm, utilizing both inductive empirical and deductive theological modalities, can facilitate confessional practical theological and ecclesiological research with the increased partnership and cooperation of congregations in programmed Friends meetings. And there is a need for such efforts. Jen Buck has provided case studies of unbalanced hybridity between Evangelical Friends theology/ ecclesiology and other theo-denominational paradigms.1 Her image of “colonization,” used to describe the subordination of one doctrinal/cultural position by another, accurately describes the outcome of the uneven and contentious dialectic that is observed between the “evangelical” and the “Friends” identities within local and …

What Is A Quaker Pastoral Theology, And How Is It Enfleshed/Embodied In Community?, Phil Baisley

Quaker Religious Thought

By definition, pastoral theology sets theology in context. It’s theology with hands and feet attached. In this article I will first address Friends’ theology and then the hands and feet part.

Review Of Quakers And Mysticism: Comparative And Syncretic Approaches To Spirituality, Edited By John R. Kershner (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019), Stuart Masters

Quaker Religious Thought

Despite the considerable diversity of belief and practice within global Quakerism, one characteristic that links all these diverse expressions is an emphasis on the experience of a direct inward relationship with God in spirit, albeit interpreted in very different ways. Such an experiential focus on divine intimacy inevitably raises a question about the relationship between Quaker spirituality and mysticism. This has been a controversial issue, in part because, in his influential work undertaken during the early twentieth century, Rufus Jones defined Quaker mysticism in a way that characterized both the Quietist and Evangelical forms of Quakerism as unfortunate deviations from …

Review Of C. Wess Daniels, Resisting Empire: The Book Of Revelation (Barclay Press, 2019), Mark Condo

Quaker Religious Thought

If you’re a student, teacher, or leader in your faith community and take the discipline of biblical studies and hermeneutics seriously, Wess Daniels’ commentary, Resisting Empire: The Book of Revelation, is a must-read. Knowing how to responsibly answer earnest questions about apocalyptic New Testament literature can be a daunting task, particularly when it comes to the Revelation of John of Patmos. Questions such as, “What is the book of Revelation actually about?” or, “What relevance does Revelation have for today?” need to be handled in an informed manner and not merely dismissed. However, knowing where to begin can itself be …

Review Of Derek Brown, On Quakers And Pastors (Barclay Press, 2019), Ruthie Severance

Quaker Religious Thought

On Quakers and Pastors delves into the paradox of being a pastor of a Friends church. Quakers from all backgrounds may be interested, but this book is specifically aimed at Evangelical Friends pastors. Derek Brown highlights the balance needed in combining evangelicalism with Quaker beliefs such as equality, simplicity, and silence. Brown weaves history and theology throughout the book, providing context for the struggles many Friends churches have had in supporting pastors and defining pastoral expectations. He succinctly lays out Friends pastoral theology, making On Quakers and Pastors an easy-to-use resource for pastors and other church leaders, both to understand …

Climate Change And The Personal Presence Of God, Grace Ji-Sun Kim

Quaker Religious Thought

Climate change is one of the most important social justice issues of our time that affects the survival of humanity and planet earth. Climate change alters our planet and creates havoc in many parts of the world as weather patterns change, causing changes in our environment and countless other ripple effects. Storms are getting more devastating, as structures are destroyed and more lives are being lost. The increase in carbon emissions is destroying our atmosphere, and the consequences are enormous for the future of our planet. During this climate crisis, how are we to divert the disruption and stop climate …

Understanding The Holy Spirit As Ruah, God's Breath, Laurel D. Kearns

Quaker Religious Thought

As I begin this response, I want to quickly acknowledge that both Steve Angell and Grace Ji-Sun Kim have more expertise on the issue of pneumatology than I do, as I am primarily trained as a sociologist who focuses on religion and environmentalism. Their stimulating papers lured me to wade into more theological waters than I am used to, so in that spirit, I offer my thoughts on the topic, inspired by their work.

A Filmmaker's Review Of The Light In Their Eyes, Lauren Tanel

Quaker Religious Thought

An old raspy voice fills a quiet, muffled office at Haverford College. It is 1964 and the 80-year-old Professor Clarence Pickett hunches over a vinyl recorder and discusses the events of his lifetime. He discusses one of the most modern and meaningful moments of his life as he recalls his work in responding to the terrors of Nazi Germany.

This was, of course, a tragic experience for the Jew, but on the whole, I think, any of us that participated in that felt that it was a privilege to lay oneself alongside the Jew who suffered, recognizing that suffering, in …

Review Of Brian Drayton's Messages To Meetings (San Francisco: Inner Light Books, 2021), Howard R. Macy

Quaker Religious Thought

Messages to Meetings is a collection of letters written to various groups, mostly in the context of New England Yearly Meeting, where Brian Drayton is an active recorded minister. Some of the letters follow visits he has made as a traveling minister. Others are to groups he wishes he could gather with but can only “pay a visit by letter.” Still others are instructional pieces to assist groups he actively participates in, most notably New England Yearly Meeting.

Contributors - Quaker Religious Thought, No. 138, Jon R. Kershner

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Frontmatter, Quaker Religious Thought, No. 139, Jon R. Kershner

Quaker Religious Thought

ABOUT THIS ISSUE

Welcome to the fall issue of Quaker Religious Thought! The papers from this issue were presented at the January 2022 Quaker Theological Discussion Group sessions. The theme of the sessions was, “Decolonizing the Quaker Peace Testimony.” The articles printed here challenge all Friends to reflect on the use of the Quaker peace testimony, and especially the ways it has been used to enable oppression. This is a difficult and important conversation to have, because for many Friends the Quaker peace testimony has only ever been conceived of as an act of obedience to God and an unqualified …

Contributors - Quaker Religious Thought, No. 139, Jon R. Kershner

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Sentience And The Science-Policy Interface, Jonathan Birch

Animal Sentience

I contrast my picture of the relationship between the science and policy of animal sentience with that of Marian Stamp Dawkins, who thinks “the science of animal sentience and the politics of animal welfare should be kept separate” because they involve irreconcilably different standards of evidence. On my alternative picture, (i) the science of animal sentience, like any other empirical science, delivers evidence but not certainty; (ii) this evidence allows us to make better practical decisions, both within and outside science and (iii) the quality standards we apply to the evidence should be high in all contexts, including the formulation …

Amplifying Agency And Presence Of Native American Women In 21st Century Literature, Rachel Mitchell

Dissertations and Theses

This project analyzes Native American women's voices and agency through their presence in a variety of 21st-century literary genres. The texts illuminate a clear presence of Native American authors who actively write Native American female characters that are powerful and take agency over their bodies and stories. The examples of Native American female characters allow readers to see more realistic and relatable figures within literature. Chapter one focuses on the empowering Native American female protagonists in Larissa FastHorse’s What Would Crazy Horse Do? (2019) and Mary Kathryn Nagle’s Sovereignty (2020). The playwrights offer crucial insight into more empowering and complex …

The Incoherence Of An Evil God, Carlo Alvaro

Publications and Research

The evil god challenge is for theists to explain why a good god’s existence should be considerably more reasonable than an evil god’s existence. Challengers note that there is a symmetry between a good god and an evil god. Moreover, the classical arguments for a good god can prove the existence of an evil god just as well. Furthermore, theodicies can be mirrored by reverse theodicies. Consequently, the evil god challenge leads to two implications. One, if an evil god is deemed absurd, by logical symmetry, a good god must also be absurd. Two, if an evil god is not …

Alexey Starostin (Ed.) Muslims In Russia’S Far East: History And Contemporary Situation. (Book Review), Elena Glavatskaya

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

A review of Alexey Starostin (ed.) Мусульмане на Дальнем Востоке России: история и современность (Muslims in Russia’s Far East: History and Contemporary Situation). Kazan’ : Typografia “Algoritm+”, 2020, 656 pp, hardback. ISBN: 978-5-6042963-5-6.

Russia’S War In Ukraine And The Limits Of Religious Diplomacy, Ina Merdjanova

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

"The ongoing international efforts to put an end to the bloodshed in Ukraine have exposed the limits of faith-based diplomacy. This is particularly true when church and state embrace each other in a symbiotic alliance, in order to pursue their respective hegemonic ambitions."

Repressive Psychiatry As A Means Of Combating Religious Dissidents In The Soviet Union, Oksana Vysoven, Nina Brehunets, Tetyana Lohvynyuk

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article highlights the impossibility of the coexistence of modern civilization in conditions of impunity for crimes against humanity, which have no statute of limitations, but due to the lack of punishment and concealment of information it creates even greater crimes. Many of the unjustly convicted political prisoners have been rehabilitated since the condemnation of Stalin's cult of personality and his crimes in Soviet Ukraine since 1956. As a result of the mass rehabilitation of political prisoners, the regime gained serious opposition, some of whom сonsisted of evangelical Baptist communities who advocated genuine freedom of conscience. The Soviet regime used …

Appeal Of The Representatives Of Ukrainian Evangelical Theological Educational Institutions Regarding The War Of The Russian Federation Against Ukraine, Oleksandr Geychenko, Roman Soloviy, Taras Dyatlik, Olga Dyatlik, Ivan Rusyn, Valentyn Siniy, Kseniia Trofymchuk

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Statement of the “Evangelische Bildungseinrichtungen der Ukraine“ 20 April 2022.

"As the next phase of Russia-Ukraine war began with the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, we, the representatives of Ukrainian evangelical theological educational institutions, have witnessed massive war crimes, including numerous acts of violence, irrational cruelty, and inhuman treatment of civilians, destruction of cities, executions of peaceful civilians, rapes, pillaging, and plundering."

Frontmatter (Volume 42, Issue 6), Paul B. Mojzes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

"Rerum Vel Dictu Obscenarum" De Subventione Pauperum And The Ambivalence Of The Humanitarian Narratives Of Early Modernity, Luis Fernando Restrepo

World Languages, Literatures and Cultures Faculty Publications and Presentations

This essay examines the De Subventione Pauperum treatise (On Assistance to the Poor, 1526) by the humanist Juan Luis Vives as a humanitarian narrative of early modernity. Contradictorily, the plan to help the indigent population presents a derogatory view of poverty that reflects the inconsistencies of the civilizing project of Renaissance Christian humanism and reveals the biopolitics of the nascent modern state and humanitarian imperial reasoning. The first section analyzes the treatise as a humanitarian narrative, with special focus on the role of emotions in the interpellation of the reader, especially the ambivalent presence of the discourse on disgust …

Story Boat (2020) By Kyo Maclear, Samantha Piede

Picture Books

When the protagonist in Kyo Maclear’s Story Boat (2020) opens the book with “Here we are,” it is unclear to readers where exactly “here” might be. When safety must take precedence over familiarity, one develops a fleeting relationship with place. It is tempting, in stories like these, to emphasize the pain of the refugee experience: the uncertainty, the loss of one’s ‘heres’. But Maclear takes a different tack, giving readers the tools to focus on hope and wonder. Teachers may prompt students, in light of the book, to reflect on what they think a ‘home’ or a ‘here’ feels like …

Silan’S Box [Το Κουτί Του Σιλάν] (2017) By Άλκηστη Χαλικιά [Alkistis Chalikia], Maria Papathanasiou

Picture Books

Silan is an eight-year-old boy who was forced to leave his country and live in a new homeland, in Greece. He lives in a refugee center where he goes to a new school but does not speak the same language as the other children. He carries a little box with him—so precious that he keeps it with him constantly and does not share its contents with anyone. The children ask him every day about the contents of the box and try to guess what his hidden treasure might be. They think of what they would shield in their own box …

V.1 Winter 2022, Center For Arts & Language, Students Of Risd, Risd Archives

All Student Newspapers

v.1 is a publishing platform for the ongoing work, ideas, discussions, debates, and aspirations of students at the Rhode Island School of Design. The Winter 2022 issue is a special edition "art writing capsule," with three zines that each feature a student writing about a work of art, and a fourth zine with an editor's note and postscript. Writing 1 is Angelina Rogers on Salman Toor's "Two Boys with a Dog," Writing 2 is Maxwell Fertik on Shahzia Sikander's "Epistrophe," and Writing 3 is Sabo Kpade on Lynette Yiadom-Boakye's "Any Number of Preoccupations."