History of Christianity Commons^™

Beverly Wilson Palmer's "Selected Letters Of Lucretia Coffin Mott" - Book Review, Rachel West

Quaker Studies

No abstract provided.

Anne Rutherford's "Quaker Women Passing: Deathbed As Pulpit In The Memoirs Of Susanna Lightfoot" And "Martha C. Thomas" - Book Review, Elaine Hobby

Quaker Studies

No abstract provided.

Lindman And Tarter's "A Centre Of Wonders: The Body In Early America" - Book Review, Elaine Hobby

Quaker Studies

No abstract provided.

Robert Barclay's "A Catechism And Confession Of Faith: A New Edition Edited In Modern English" - Book Review, Hugh Pyper

Quaker Studies

No abstract provided.

Schism As Collective Disaffiliation: A Quaker Typology, Pink Dandelion

Quaker Studies

This research note builds on a study of British Quakers who have resigned their Membership in the last five years (Dandelion 2002). Quakers leave either because they are 'de-convinced' or because, in a group which places emphasis on continuing revelation, they are grieving the loss of what has passed before. A third type resigns because they feel the group is too slow to support new revelation. In these latter two cases, the disaffiliated feel left by the group. This typology is placed across the concept of the 'double-culture' to give six types of ex-Quaker. It is suggested that this extended …

Deviating From The Path Of Safety: The Rise And Fall Of A Nineteenth Century Quaker Meeting, Elizabeth O'Donnell

Quaker Studies

This article examines the re-establishment, expansion, and subsequent decline of a Quaker community in Benfieldside, north-west county Durham, between 1839 and 1886. It shows that the presence of a leading family and economic opportunities were both key factors in drawing Friends to the area. The failure of the largest north-east joint stock bank in 1857 was largely caused by its over-lending to the Derwent Ironworks. Prominent members of the Benfieldside Quaker community had interests in both concerns and were thus enmeshed in the financial scandal which ensued. An examination of the Newcastle Monthly Meeting reports, which investigated the affair, reveals …

Light Within Or Beacon Without? An Evaluation Of The Impact Of Evangelicalism On Quakers 1820-1840, Rosemary Mingins

Quaker Studies

This paper examines why the evangelical revival became such an important issue for the Society of Friends in the early nineteenth century. The focus is on the conflict that evangelicalism aroused between 1835 and 1840 with the Beacon controversy and the resultant challenge to the concept of the inward light. The shifting attitudes of Quakers are situated in their contemporary world, in which fundamental changes were occurring in almost every sphere. The position is taken that the wider context of economic growth and political reform provoking social action contributed to evangelicalism making inroads into Quaker belief. The close-up image compares …

'Gaining A Voice': An Interpretation Of Quaker Women's Writing 1740-1850, Sheila Wright

Quaker Studies

The aim of this paper is to suggest way s in which Quaker women Ministers, in a period of considerable doctrinal and secular change, used their journal writings as a tool to maintain their position within the Society of Friends. Expanding on previous work on Quaker women's spiritual autobiography, it suggests that these writings were not only written for spiritual purposes but also had a temporal dimension, providing women with an authorized 'voice' through which to express their concerns. The paper explores how in these writings Quaker women represented themselves, their work and their struggles when confronted with a male …

'Vain Unsettled Fashions': The Early Durham Friends And Popular Culture C. 1660-1725, Erin Bell

Quaker Studies

Participation in popular, or worldly, culture was a moot point for the early Friends. Although they were not encouraged to do so many still took part in aspects of male or female culture, but experienced tension between Quaker and 'carnal' ideals of behaviour. Female Friends were expected to limit their clothing according to the edicts of their Yearly Meeting, although female culture treated clothing as a medium of exchange and' gifting clothing was central to female social life. This proved difficult for women such as Sarah Kirkby (d.1692) of Auckland, a fabric seller, who traded with non-Quakers and could not …

Tradition Versus Innovation: The Hat, Wilkinson-Story And Keithian Controversies, Clare J. L. Martin

Quaker Studies

The post-Restoration period saw the development of the Society of Friends from an ill-defined religious group to a well-ordered denomination. This process of institutionalisation was marked by struggle between Friends' traditional emphasis upon the freedom of the light within to guide the individual and the need to impose some order upon the Society. The process saw perceived innovations develop into accepted traditions and is most clearly demonstrated by the Quaker controversies of this period. The 'Hat Controversy' of the 1660s shows early resistance to the innovation of some Friends exerting their authority over the consciences of others. Although this controversy …

Review Article - Recent Publications In Quaker Studies, Farah Mendlesohn

Quaker Studies

Quaker studies is a disparate and varied field. Like many a new area of research it suffers from a lack of contact between researchers and the inability of all but a select few to make a career in the field. As a consequence, excellent work may go unnoticed and unreported because the individual author is not part of any national association or academic network or because the absence of scholarly interest in the field means that many texts are published by small presses and come to light only in the rarefied atmosphere of Friends House book shop. The mission of …

Voltaire's Convincement, Raymond Ayoub

Quaker Studies

The aim of this essay is to trace the evolution of Voltaire's perspective toward Quakers and Quakerism during the course of his life. The record begins when in 1726 he was forced into exile and chose to go to England. In the course of his three-year stay there, he wrote letters to his friend-letters which were published in 1733 in English under the title 'Letters Concerning the English Nation' and in French with the title 'Lettres Philosophiques'. Four of the 25 letters are devoted to Quakerism. We endeavour to depict, through his writing, Voltaire's changing attitude toward Quakerism from one …

Bayard Rustin: An Annotated Bibliography Of Materials Relating To Rustin As A Quaker And Peace Activist, Buzz Haughton

Quaker Studies

Although Bayard Rustin was one of the most important leaders of the American civil rights movement from the advent of its modern period in the 1950s until well into the 1980s, his name was seldom mentioned; he received comparatively little press or media attention, and others' names were usually much more readily associated with the movement than his was. His was a behind-the-scenes role that, for all its importance, never garnered Rustin the public acclaim he deserved. Rustin's homosexuality and early communist affiliation probably meant that the importance of his contribution to the civil rights and peace movements would never …

Aesthetics In Science, As Practised By Quakers In The Eighteenth And Nineteenth Centuries, Geoffrey Cantor

Quaker Studies

Drawing on examples from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it will be argued that the sciences - but particularly observational sciences such as astronomy, botany and meteorology - were highly acceptable to Quakers. Moreover, the study of nature was vested with an aesthetic that emphasised God as the Creator of nature and of order and beauty in the natural world. While many wealthy Quakers participated in these sciences, botany also provided employment for Quakers from less affiuent backgrounds. Hence a number Quakers made careers as botanical lecturers, writers, publishers and illustrators. The role of the botanical illustrator is explored to …

Maximus The Confessor And A Deeper Actualization Of The Apostolic Dimensions Of Pentecostal Movements, Steve Overman

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

Excerpt: "...I propose to explore one expression of this more ancient and eastern tradition, as found in the cosmic vision of Maximus the Confessor. After a brief sketch of his life and times and his relationship to the larger orthodox tradition I will attempt to lay out some of the chief features of both his theological and cosmological framework and his ascetic way of practice in community. I will conclude by suggesting that both this framework and way of practice can indeed help resource healing of humankind’s relationship with one another and the other realms of the creation and that …

Christian, Providential, And Ecclesiastical: Graphing Christian Perspectives On History, Paul Otto

Faculty Publications - Department of History and Politics

No abstract provided.

“Go Sell Your Oil And Pay Your Debt!” Economic Life In Ancient Israel, Roger S. Nam

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

Ancient Israel did not know the economic concepts of banks, insurance, tuition, profit and retirement. Other economic terms such as taxes, labor, debt and even prices were all fundamentally different in meaning. When interpreting biblical texts, we must carefully consider the different settings of modern capitalism and ancient Israel’s economy.

The Edict Of Milan Through The Prism Of Students At The Faculty Of Orthodox Theology In Macedonia, Ruzhica Cacanoska, Maja Angelovska

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This paper is an integral whole of three, seemingly different parts, each of which has the Edict of Milan as its main topic. The first part presents the historical data and key elements of the Edict of Milan which serves as an introduction into the research, which also serve as a part of the basic information that are pointed out to students. The second part of this paper points out how the anniversary of issuing the Edict of Milan--a date of utmost importance for Christianity--is being celebrated in the region. The third part contains an account of the sociological research …

Platonic And Stoic Passions In Philo Of Alexandria, Loren Kerns

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

Philo of Alexandria forged his theory of the soul and its passions while expositing the meaning of Torah. Though writing as a Jewish teacher and disciple of Moses, his biblical reflections display a strong orientation toward Middle-Platonic philosophy. On the topic of the soul and its passions, however, Philo also exhibits significant Stoic influence. The introduction notes Philo’s apparent incompatible use of both the complex Platonic and the monistic Stoic psychological models. After assessing the degree to which Philo understood 'passion' to be a type of Stoic impulse or opinion (chapter one), chapter two demonstrates that Philo consistently drew upon …

The Community That Raymond Brown Left Behind: Reflections On The Johannine Dialectical Situation, Paul N. Anderson

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

Among the paradigm-making contributions in Johannine studies over the last half century, one of the most significant is the sketching of “the community of the Beloved Disciple” by Raymond E. Brown (Brown 1979). Extending beyond Johannine studies, Brown’s work on the history of early Christianity and “the churches the apostles left behind” (Brown 1984) is also among the most practical and interesting of his 47 books.1 Here, Brown’s analyses of the unity and diversity of early Christians’ approaches to leadership and community organization2 have extensive implications, not only to historical and sociological understandings of the first-century Christian movement, but also …

Charles Cullis, Gaetano Conte, And The Reconfiguration Of The Evangelical Holiness Movement In Boston, 1860-1905, Benjamin Hartley

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

Excerpt: "In contrast to the presenters before and after me, my presentation focuses on the lives of two individuals rather than one. Charles Cullis (1833-1892) and Gaetano Conte (1859-1917) both represent a kind of “new beginning” for some sectors of Protestant religion in Boston and thus fit particularly well into our panel’s attempt to explore the somewhat paradoxical theme of “strangers in a strange land” of New England. I’ve chosen these two figures because of their influence in re-shaping the evangelical movement in Boston and their relative obscurity in spite of the fame they both shared during their own day. …

Evangelical Christianity In America, Charles J. Conniry

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

No abstract provided.

John And Qumran: Discovery And Interpretation Over Sixty Years, Paul N. Anderson

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

No abstract provided.

Early Friends' View Of The Sacraments, Stephen W. Angell

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Cadbury, Henry J(Oel) (1883-1974), Paul N. Anderson

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

Henry Joel Cadbury was one of the most significant and influential New Testament scholars the United States has ever produced. In addition to publishing more than 160 essays and books on New Testament subjects, he reviewed more than 250 books on biblical topics and published nearly as many works on Quaker themes.

Why This Study Is Needed, And Why It Is Needed Now (From John, Jesus, And History, Vol. 1), Paul N. Anderson

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

Few scholarly developments have been an interesting as the modernistic dehistoricization of John and the de-Johannification of Jesus. To a certain degree, each of these trends has bolstered the other, and the assertion of many a scholar claiming the authoritative weight of critical and scientific study is that the one thing we know for sure is actually two: the Fourth Gospel is of no historical value, and historical Jesus research must be performed untainted by any Johannine influence. The question is the degree to which either of these assertions is true, a solid platform upon which to base the frameworks …

Book Review Of At Peace And Unafraid: Public Order, Security, And The Wisdom Of The Cross, Ron Mock

Faculty Publications - Department of History and Politics

No abstract provided.

John Wesley And Slavery: Myth And Reality, Irv Brendlinger

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

1. Was Wesley opposed to the institution of slavery? Or is that merely myth, because he only opposed the horrors of the slave trade? The reason for this question is that many eighteenth-century persons were greatly opposed to the slave trade, but had no moral difficulty with the institution of slavery.

2. If he opposed slavery, was it the abuses that troubled him, or did he reject the philosophical underpinnings of the institution itself?

3. What is truth and what is myth about Wesley's contemporaries, such as his friend John Newton, author of Amazing Grace, and known as the "converted …

John Wesley In Context: His Century, Relationships And Spiritual Journey, Irv A. Brendlinger

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

"...For the purpose of this study, we shall briefly view [John Wesley] in the context of his age, and note some relationships and revisit several formative experiences of his life which bear directly on his eventual interest in the problem of human bondage"

Aspects Of Historicity In The Gospel Of John: Implications For Investigations Of Jesus And Archaeology, Paul N. Anderson

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

Of the many tensions characterizing the Gospel of John, one of its perplexities most needing to be addressed critically is the set of issues related to aspects of historicity.1 On one hand, John is the most spiritual, theological, and symbolic of the canonical Gospels, leading scholars in recent decades to take seriously the literary features of the work. On the other hand, there is more archaeological, topographical, and apparently historical material in John than in any other Gospel, or even in all three combined.