Christian Denominations and Sects Commons^™

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.

Friends And Watershed Discipleship: Reconciling With People And The Land In Light Of The Doctrine Of Discovery, Cherice Bock

Quaker Religious Thought

Members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) express frequent adulation for the denomination’s heritage of standing up for social justice. As a member of the denomination, I share this pride in our heritage, and yet, I feel increasingly convicted in relation to Quaker scholarship and praxis that we need to reevaluate our history and current practices with recognition of the “wicked” web of interconnected social, economic, and environmental injustices we currently face as a global community. This necessitates awareness of our part in creating the current situation, and a willingness to actively work to change the problematic areas of …

Inspiring Readings Of The Inspired Text-- Taking The Bible Personally, After The Manner Of Friends, Paul Anderson

Quaker Religious Thought

In the experience and conviction of Friends, the sway and power of Scripture lies not in an appeal to top-down authority, but in its transformative character, attested by its inspiring thrust. This view is also biblical, as the Apostle Paul exhorts Timothy to resist false teachers by clinging to what he has been taught since childhood. Indeed, the sacred writings are able to instruct one unto “salvation through faith in Jesus Christ” because of their God-breathed origin and character (2 Timothy 3:15-17). Early Friends also asserted the biblically-correct claim that the Word of God is centrally Jesus Christ, the Word …

Review Of Cherice Bock & Stephen Potthoff (Editors), Quakers, Creation Care, And Sustainability (Longmeadow, Ma: Friends Association For Higher Education, 2019), Kevin J. O'Brien

Quaker Religious Thought

On the day I finished reading Quakers, Creation Care, and Sustainability, Steve Mnuchin, the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, publicly dismissed the authority of climate activist Greta Thunberg. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Thunberg made a speech calling for global disinvestment from fossil fuels. In response, Mnuchin joked, “Is she the chief economist? Who is she? I’m confused.” He went on, “After she goes to college and studies economics in college, she can come back and explain that to us.

Contributors-Quaker Religious Thought, No. 134, Jon R. Kershner

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Review Of Margery Post Abbott, Walk Humbly, Serve Boldly: Modern Quakers As Everyday Prophets. San Francisco, Ca: Inner Light Books, 2018., Howard Macy

Quaker Religious Thought

Margery Post Abbott’s book Walk Humbly, Serve Boldly is a substantial book, in both size and content, that explores the experience of prophetic witness, particularly among Friends. Key to understanding this exploration is Abbott’s use of the term “everyday prophets.” She uses the term “to describe all those individuals (and this goes well beyond the Quaker community) who listen for the Holy Spirit to shape them and guide them on a daily basis. … [They are] people who are faithful to the path of truth and love and whose lives project hope and a passion for justice. This path is …

Frontmatter, Quaker Religious Thought, No. 134, Jon R. Kershner

Quaker Religious Thought

Welcome to the Spring issue of Quaker Religious Thought! In November, the Quaker Theological Discussion Group (QTDG) convened in San Diego, CA, along with the American Academy of Religion. Papers from one of the two QTDG sessions, “Quakers Reading Scripture,” are printed in this issue. As the name suggests, the panel reflected on the ways Quakers have read the Bible. Michael Birkel’s article on Margaret Fell shows how early Friends practiced an associative form of reading the Bible that informed the symbols and images so important to their spiritual experiences. Paul Anderson continued the investigation of early Quaker practices by …

"Hearing To Speech": A Participatory Theology Of World-Dwelling As Congregational Formation In God's Mission, David Hahn

Quaker Religious Thought

Allow me initial place to recognize my own social location as a the US, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.1 From a personal and professional perspective, my thoughts below have in mind the continuing impact of whiteness as a pervasive preoccupation with mastery over others that subsumes both difference and distinctions.2 As a leader of congregations, I have witnessed this implicit bias present among them, and I see how it continues to inform both the theory and practice of much of our faith communities. Congregational reticence to engage spiritual practices of listening may, in fact, be tied into these larger …

Margaret Fell, Reading In The Heart, Michael Birkel

Quaker Religious Thought

In 1677 Margaret Fell composed a tract of nineteen pages, The Daughter of Sion Awakened, and Putting on Strength: She Is Arising, and Shaking Herself Out of the Dust, and Putting on Her Beautiful Garments. An attentive reading of the text shows her associative way of reading scripture, one that focuses on the imagery of the Bible as a guide to interior experience and a vocabulary for the life of the soul

Contributors -- Quaker Religious Thought No. 133

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Affirmation Mysticism: The Activist Theology Of Rufus Jones, Christy Randazzo

Quaker Religious Thought

In 1917, the American Friends Service Committee was formed as a unified effort across the Anglo-American Friends world to respond to the ravages of the First World War. Rufus Jones was only one, amongst many, who devoted significant time and attention to that effort. Jones was the person selected as the Committee’s first Chairman, however, and remained its Honorary Chairman until his death in 1948.1 Jones’s prominent status amongst Friends internationally both as a writer and a weighty Friend influenced this choice. While his academic work likely played a role in building his “weight” amongst Friends, much of it was …

Henry Cadbury, The Peace Testimony, And The First World War, James Krippner, David Harrington Watt

Quaker Religious Thought

How did twentieth-century Friends understand the nature of the so-called Peace Testimony? That is, of course, a very large question. In this brief essay we hope to shed what is admittedly a very thin sliver of light on it by exploring the life and thought of Henry Cadbury (1884-1973). The essay is divided into four sections. The first presents a brief overview of Cadbury’s life. The second looks at Cadbury’s general approach to peace. The third explores how it was that Cadbury’s strenuous opposition to the First World War led to his being forced to resign from the faculty of …

Book Review: R. Scot Miller. Gospel Of The Absurd: Assemblies Of Interpretation, Embodiment, And Faithfulness (Wipf & Stock, 2017), Cherice Bock

Quaker Religious Thought

Although Quakers have long been known as a peculiar people, would we go as far as to call ourselves absurd? R. Scot Miller in his Gospel of the Absurd: Assemblies of Interpretation, Embodiment, and Faithfulness invites Christians to try on this identity, arguing imperial Christendom coupled with modernist rationalism has often tamed the radical gospel message of Jesus. Miller does not write to a specifically Quaker audience, but he self-identifies as a Quaker and studied at Earlham School of Religion. Through this text, he presents a Christian ethic based in the Bible and that belies his Friends perspective: made up …

Frontmatter, Quaker Religious Thought No.133, Jon R. Kershner

Quaker Religious Thought

In this issue we are fortunate to have another delightful lineup of authors. The papers authored by James Krippner and David H. Watt, Christy Randazzo, and Cherice Bock were presented at the November 2018 Quaker Theological Discussion Group session on the theme of “Early 20th Century Quaker Theologies of Service.”

Oregon Yearly Meeting And The Peace Testimony, Part I: Navigating Evangelicalism And Quakerism, 1938-1954, Cherice Bock

Quaker Religious Thought

After forming in 1893 and joining Five-Years Meeting at its inception in 1902, Oregon Yearly Meeting of Friends Church (OYM) left Five-Years Meeting in 1926 then joined with others to form the Association of Evangelical Friends in 1947. In the same decades, the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) formed in 1917 with the intention of helping those displaced, hungry, and injured in Europe during World War I. OYM partnered with the AFSC for a while, though the relationship was often strained. In 1938 it left the AFSC, continuing to partner with AFSC projects during World War II. In 1954, OYM …

The Concept Of Hierarchy And Doing Ministry In The Church: Evaluating The Roles Of Leaders And The Use Of Authority In Quakerism, Oscar Lugusa Malande

Quaker Religious Thought

The authority existing within the hierarchy of leadership in the church, if not well exercised, can create deficiency and imbalances in the running of church affairs. In Quakerism, the expectation is that everyone equally participates in doing ministry. As people gather in the presence of God for service in worship, all barriers of inequality have to be brought down. Conflicts and disagreements of who is supposed to be in authority among church leaders should be discouraged. Therefore, there is need to share about definitions of hierarchy, ministry, and authority, the historical background of church leadership, role of church leaders, evaluations …

Book Review: Andrew R. Murphy, William Penn, A Life (New York: Oxford Universit Press, 2019), Jon R. Kershner

Quaker Religious Thought

William Penn (1644-1718) needs little introduction among Quakers. After his convincement in the mid-1660s Penn quickly rose through the Quaker ranks as a prolific author, capable debater, and a staunch advocate for religious freedom. Beginning in 1681, he became a colonizer and traveled widely to recruit emigrants to his colony. While Penn is often touted among Friends, and sometimes reviled for his slave-owning and colonialism, Andrew R. Murphy does a great service in producing a comprehensive biography of Penn that is free from both the ahistorical anxieties and accolades Quakers sometimes resort to when considering this controversial figure. Indeed, Murphy’s …

Book Review: Ben Pink Dandelion, Douglas Gwyn, Timothy Peat. Heaven On Earth: Quakers And The Second Coming. Twentieth Anniversary Edition. Philadelphia: Plain Press, 2018., Jay Miller

Quaker Religious Thought

The provocative arguments in this unique book about the centrality of the second coming to Quakerism are challenging to summarize but easy to recommend: this is a work that many Friends could benefit from reading. That it has not been widely read is, I suspect, one of the reasons for its reprinting, two decades after its initial publication. While the insights offered by Ben Pink Dandelion, Douglas Gwyn, and Timothy Peat in Heaven on Earth have appeared elsewhere in separate and better known studies by the same authors, here they come together with a particular force and urgency. The book …

Review Of The Cambridge Companion To Quakerism, Ed. By Stephen Angell And Pink Dandelion (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2018), Julie Peyton

Quaker Religious Thought

This is a fine book, and while it should be of interest to anyone with an interest in world religions, I particularly recommend it to those of you who identify as Quaker, no matter what branch (or twig) of the Quaker family tree you occupy. The book is well-written (for the most part, but more on that in a minute), and is nicely divided into manageable chunks, and filled with variety – history, literature, social justice, women’s issues, cultural diversity, conflicts, stories of faithful people, and more. I emphasize another aspect of that variety: this book has two editors and …

Frontmatter, Quaker Religious Thought No.132, Jon R. Kershner

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Friends And Global Feminist Theology: Jennifer M. Buck Offers A Vision For Reframing Evangelicalism - And Quakerism - For The Twenty-First Century, Cherice Bock

Quaker Religious Thought

In Reframing the House: Constructive Feminist Global Ecclesiology for the Western Evangelical Church, Jennifer M. Buck places Friends theology in conversation with twentieth century theologians, Karl Barth and John Howard Yoder, and encourages twenty-first century evangelicals to learn from feminists in the two-thirds world. She offers Friends theology from Christ-centered traditions as a bridge between mid-century evangelicalism and current global feminism. For Quaker readers, her book shows a path toward creative and Spirit-filled engagement with majority world Friends.