Christian Denominations and Sects Commons^™

A Review Of Jennifer Buck's Reframing The House: Constructive Feminist Global Ecclesiology For The Western Evangelical Church (Pickwick Publications), Grace Ji-Sun Kim

Quaker Religious Thought

I want to thank the Quaker Theological Discussion Group and especially Carole Spencer for putting this session together and for inviting me to be part of this book review of Jennifer Buck’s book Reframing the House. Though I am not a Quaker, I do teach at a Quaker institution, Earlham School of Religion, so it is an honor to be part of this session and to review this fine book.

Reframing the House is an interesting read on the global church and ecumenical theology which is a pertinent topic of our time. Our world is getting smaller and smaller and …

Author's Response To Cherice Bock's And Grace Ji-Sun Kim's Reviews Of Reframing The House, Jennifer Buck

Quaker Religious Thought

Thank you for these robust and thoughtful reviews. I am grateful to both Cherice Bock and Grace Ji-Sun Kim for being here and giving time and care towards my work.

Woolman And Apocalypse: A Review Of John Woolman And The Government Of Christ, Stephen W. Angell

Quaker Religious Thought

We are in the midst of a renaissance of Woolman scholarship, and now comes this wonderful book by Jon R. Kershner, devoted to examining Woolman’s “comprehensive theological vision for colonial American society,” performing a deep dive into the framework of “Woolman’s alternative vision for the British Atlantic world.” Kershner’s work builds upon and augments a host of other fresh theological work that will provide a solid foundation for the next generation of scholars. Full disclosure: I blurbed the book, and was a reviewer for the press.

Not Your Grandmother's Apocalypse: The De-Liberalization Of John Woolman, Michael Birkel

Quaker Religious Thought

It is, first of all, a pleasure to engage the work of Jon Kershner, who has rapidly established himself as an important scholar. In this same year that saw the appearance of his book on John Woolman, Jon Kershner also published “To Renew the Covenant”: Religious Themes in Eighteenth-Century Quaker Abolitionism (Brill, 2018) and coauthored the volume Quaker Studies: An Overview, The Current State of the Field (Brill, 2018). As we speak, a book that he has edited, Quakers and Mysticism: Comparative and Syncretic Approaches to Spirituality (Palgrave, 2019), is on its way to the press. Additionally, Jon Kershner has …

An Apocalypse By Any Other Name: John Woolman In Apocalyptic Context, A Response To Angell And Birkel, Jon R. Kershner

Quaker Religious Thought

I want to start by thanking Carole Spencer and Christy Randazzo for organizing this session and for including my book in this discussion. And I want to thank Steve Angell and Michael Birkel for their care, humor, and insight, and the great questions they raise and comments they make. It is a humbling thing to have my work reviewed by two preeminent scholars of Quakerism, who are also mentors and friends.

Review Of New Critical Studies On Early Quaker Women, 1650-1800, Edited By Michele Lise Tarter And Catie Gill (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018), Jay Miller

Quaker Religious Thought

Scholarly interest in early Quaker women is not particularly recent, but the research gathered in the edited volume New Critical Studies on Early Quaker Women, 1650-1800 shows that this area of inquiry remains vital and continues to be reassessed. While the editors gesture to Mabel Richmond Brailsford’s Quaker Women, 1650-1690 (1915) as a “pioneering work” (1), the scholarship on early Quaker women began in earnest during the 1990s as a part of the broader growth in the field of women’s studies—although this was preceded by the books of Margaret Hope Bacon, especially Mothers of Feminism (1986). Studies such as Phyllis …

Review Of Gary Nash's Warner Mifflin: Unflinching Quaker Abolitionist (Philadelphia University Of Pennsylvania Press, 2017), Mike Heller

Quaker Religious Thought

Gary Nash’s biography of Warner Mifflin is an important contribution to Quaker history. It’s exceptionally well written and researched. Mifflin is largely a forgotten figure who needs to be recognized along with John Woolman and Anthony Benezet. Mifflin was possibly the most important American antislavery activist of the late-eighteenth century.

Contributors -- Quaker Religious Thought No. 132

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

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 …

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.

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 …

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

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

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.

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.

Contributors -- Quaker Religious Thought No. 131

Quaker Religious Thought

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

Contributors -- Quaker Religious Thought No. 130

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Front Matter, Quaker Religious Thought No.129, Howard R. Macy

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Front Matter, Quaker Religious Thoughts #128, Howard R. Macy

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Multi-Denominational Belonging And Quakers In Evangelical Friends Church Southwest, Jennifer M. Buck

Quaker Religious Thought

Quakerism is a tradition rich for the intersection of conservative tradition and emergent positioning to the culture. Some understand this term as ‘convergent Friends,’ and in this context today, the convergent nature of some strands of Quakerism opens it up for hybridity and multi-belonging. Rather than assess Quakerism in regards to other faith traditions or religious communities, this paper seeks to look at a recent movement in Evangelical Friends in the Southwest region, that of multi-denominational belonging.

A Tribute: Remembering John Punshon (1935-2017), Paul N. Anderson

Quaker Religious Thought

Excerpt: "John Punshon has been one of the premier Quaker historians and spokespersons over the last four decades. With a quick wit and a twinkle in his eye, John inspired thousands with his teaching and ministries in Britain, America, and worldwide. John passed away on March 10th after a second battle with myeloma. He is survived by his wife Veronica, their children—Tom Punshon and Sophie Miller—and their grandchildren, Victoria and James Punshon and Tabitha and Esther Miller."

Review Of Early Quakers And Their Theological Thought, Leah Payne

Quaker Religious Thought

First-generation Quakers were a radical and persecuted sect of early modern British Christianity. Early Quakers and Their Theological Thought: 1647-1723 shows why the Quakers have survived when so many other 17th century radicals—including Diggers, Ranters, Levellers or Muggletonians—did not. Along the way readers also discover why the Friends, though initially derided, are so loved in the twenty-first century. Quaker theology, rejected by the powers that be in its own era, resonates with many 21st century readers.

Review Of Our Life Is Love: The Quaker Spiritual Journey By Marcelle Martin (San Francisco, California: Inner Light Books, 2016), Carole Spencer

Quaker Religious Thought

I feel somewhat reluctant to write a review of this book. Not because I fear being too critical of it, but because I fear being too complimentary. Full disclosure: Not only did I have the privilege of writing the preface to Our Life is Love, but I read drafts of some of the chapters as they were being written when Marcelle Martin was the Mullen Writing Fellow at Earlham School of Religion. I also know Martin personally, and her life authentically accords with what she has written, indeed, her life is love. So naturally I feel a deep investment in …

Value Of Quaker Religious Thought To Me And To Friends, T. Vail Palmer Jr.

Quaker Religious Thought

Excerpt: "Quantitatively speaking, if it were not for Quaker Religious Thought, my credentials as a published scholar would be slim indeed. By the time I reached the age of 65, they would have consisted of one published lecture (the 1968 Shrewsbury Lecture) and one book review (in the Anglican Theological Review. Everything else — articles, comments, book reviews, editorials — had been published in QRT."