[This is a talk that I gave at Manhattan Beach Community Church this Sunday, July 29.]
Thanks for inviting me to speak to you about
Quakerism, a religion I love and have tried to practice for 35 years. I feel
honored to be here and glad to be addressing members of the United Church of
Christ. My best friend, Jeff Utter, is a retired UCC pastor whom I met through
the Parliament of the World’s Religion fifteen or so years ago. We share many
interests in common often and often go for walks together talking politics and
religion. I have come to appreciate the Church of Christ through this very
special friendship and Jeff’s endearingly quirky sense of humor. With deference
to Jeff, Dr. Rueben and Woody Allen, I’ve titled my talk ‘Everything you wanted
to know about Quakerism and aren’t afraid to ask.” So please don’t be afraid to
ask questions. Asking questions is what Quakerism is about!
I’d like to start as Quakers often do with a couple
of minutes of silent worship or reflection. Then I’ll talk about the origins and theology of Quakerism and leave time for some
questions.
In the second part I’ll talk about Quakers and the
anti-slavery and women’s rights movement in the 19th century. I’ll
also discuss the splits that took place among American Quakers in the 19th
century that have persisted till today. These divisions led to the formation to
the Friends World Committee for Consultation, a world-wide Quaker umbrella
organization in which I play an active role.
In the final part of my talk, I will discuss the
reinvention of liberal Quakerism in the 20th century and where
Quakers are today. I will speak about Howard and Anna Brinton, Quaker
theologians who had a huge influence on me and many other liberal Quakers.
Let me begin by sharing a little about my spiritual
journey to Quakerism. I have been a Quaker since 1984 when I joined the Quaker Meeting
in Princeton, where I was born and raised. I was 35 years old when I became a
Quaker and had never heard much about them, even though Quakers in Princeton
went back to the early 18th century, when our Quaker meetinghouse
was built. Prior to attending the Quaker meeting, I had been attending the
Presbyterian Church during my grad school days at Rutgers University, where I
earned a doctorate in British literature. I’ve also explored many other
religious paths, including Hinduism, Zen Buddhism and most recently Islam and
Sufism. I consider myself an interfaith Quaker—that my email monicker—and a
Universalist Christian.
What drew me to Quakerism was its unique mode of
worship which is the epitome of simplicity. Without any prearranged program, we
gather together in silence and “wait upon the Lord.” During this time of expectant,
open worship any one is free to share vocal ministry as Spirit moves him or her.
I felt very at home in this form of contemplative worship which is utterly
egalitarian and guided by the Spirit. I also appreciated the Quaker commitment
to hands-on peace and a justice work.
Over the years, I have been active in many Quaker
projects. In the 1980s I was involved in
the Sanctuary Movement and a Soviet-American book project that was part of the
Citizen Diplomacy movement that helped to end the Cold War. In the 90s I helped
start a youth service program with the American Friends Service Committee and brought
teen groups to Mexico. Starting around the turn of this century, I edited a
Quaker magazine for eleven years. I’ve also published many articles and books,
some of which I’ve brought here for ‘show and tell.” And I’ve served on many
Quaker committees, most recently Friends Committee on National Legislation.
Now that I am retired, I consider myself a full-time
volunteer Quaker peace activist. I should also mention that I was married to a
Methodist pastor named Kathleen Ross whom
met her at Quaker center for study and contemplation called Pendle Hill
where we were both students. Kathleen and I had a wonderful marriage until she passed
away of cancer in 2009. Two years later, I remarried to an Evangelical social
justice activist named Jill Shook. Jill attends Quaker meeting and has taken
part in many Quaker gatherings from Washington, DC to Mexico City and Peru. She
has helped me to reach out Evangelical Quakers. I owe a great deal to Kathleen
and Jill, two amazing women who took part in my Quaker world.
That’s my Quaker life in a nutshell. Here is my take on Quaker history and theology:
Summary of a talk at Manhattan Beach Community Church
Quakerism started in the
17th century, a time of bloody religious wars. From the time of
Martin Luther till the English Civil War, a period of just over 100 years, over
a million Christians killed each other because of doctrinal disputes.
George Fox, the founder
of Quakerism, was born in the English midlands in 1624 and was 18 years old
when the English Civil War began. During this period, King Charles was executed
by the Puritans who took over England and started a Commonwealth led by their
General and “Lord Protector” Oliver Cromwell.
George Fox was a working
class seeker who became the charismatic leader of Spirit-led movement that has
left a significant mark on history. One of the distinctive features of
Quakerism was its rejection of war as contrary to the teachings of Christ.
"We utterly deny all outward wars and strife
and fightings with outward weapons, for any end, or under any pretence
whatsoever; and this is our testimony to the whole world. The spirit of Christ,
by which we are guided, is not changeable, so as once to command us from a
thing as evil and again to move unto it; and we do certainly know, and so
testify to the world, that the spirit of Christ, which leads us into all Truth,
will never move us to fight and war against any man with outward weapons,
neither for the kingdom of Christ, nor for the kingdoms of this world."
Declaration of Friends to Charles II,
1660
Although individual Quakers have taken part in war,
the Religious Society of Friends has remained faithful to this peace testimony
for over 350 years. In 1947, Quakers received the Nobel Prize for Peace.
The Quaker movement that Fox started arose from
Puritans and other dissenting
Protestant groups,
breaking away from the established Church of England. The Quakers, especially the ones known as the Valiant Sixty, attempted to convert others to their
understanding of Christianity, travelling both throughout Great Britain and
overseas, preaching the gospel of Jesus
Christ. Some of these early Quaker
ministers were women. They based their message on the religious belief that
"Christ has come to teach his people himself", stressing the
importance of a direct relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and a direct
religious belief in the universal priesthood of all believers. They emphasized
a personal and direct religious experience of Christ, acquired through both direct
religious experience and the reading and studying of the Bible. Quakers
focused their private life on developing behavior and speech reflecting
emotional purity and the light of God.
Inward Light: the Most Important Quaker Teaching
The Quaker belief that the Inward Light shines on each person is based
in part on a passage from the New Testament, namely John 1:9, which says, "That was the
true light, which enlightens every one that comes into the world." Early
Friends took this verse as one of their mottos and often referred to themselves
as "Children of the Light".
Moreover, Friends emphasize the part of the verse that indicates that
the Light "is extended to all people everywhere", even "people
who have never heard of Christianity n a meaningful way or at all can share in the Light, if they sincerely
respond to God's grace.
For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law
requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.
They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their
conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or excuse
them on the day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by
Christ Jesus (Romans 2:14–16)."
The principal founder of what became the Religious Society of
Friends, George Fox, claimed that he had a direct experience of God.
Having explored various sects and listened to an assortment of preachers, he
finally concluded that none of them were adequate to be his ultimate guide. At
that point he reported hearing a voice that told him, "There is one, even Christ Jesus, that can speak to thy
condition." He felt that God wanted him to teach others that they need
not depend on human teachers or guides either, because each one of them could
experience God directly and hear his voice within. He wrote in his journal,
"I was glad that I was
commanded to turn people to that inward light, spirit, and grace,
by which all might know their salvation, and their way to God; even that divine
Spirit which would lead them into all Truth, and which I infallibly knew would
never deceive any."[14]
Fox taught: that Christ, the Light, had come to teach his people
himself; that "people had no need of any teacher but the Light that was in
all men and women"
Later, Robert Barclay, an apologist for the Society of Friends, wrote: "This most certain
doctrine being then received, that there is an evangelical and saving Light
and grace in all, the universality of the love and mercy of God towards
mankind, both in the death of his beloved Son the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the
manifestation of the Light in the heart, is established and
confirmed, against all the objections of such as deny it.
Part II: Quaker Activism and Schisms
Early
Quaker belief in the universality of the Inward Light led to some radically
egalitarian practices, such as allowing women to preach.
Margaret
Fell, the wife of George Fox and co-founder of the Quaker movement, not only
spoke during worship and spent years in prison for her outspoken religious
beliefs, she wrote “Women Preaching Justified,” one of the first feminist
tracts defending the right of women to be ministers of the Gospel. Notable
Quaker women religious leaders include Mary Dyer and Margaret Fisher. Mary Dyer
was executed by the Puritans in Boston for expressing her Quaker beliefs and
Mary Fisher went to Turkey to preach to the Sultan even though she was a
serving woman!
Quakers
were among the first Christians to oppose slavery. Quaker anti-slavery began in
the 18th century in the United States with Benjamin Lay and John
Woolman.
The
women’s rights movement started among Quaker women in the early 19th
Century : Grimke sisters, Lucretia Mott, Susan B. Anthony
Quakers
have been far from perfect. In the 18th and 19th century
they adopted the stupid practice of “disowning” (excommunicating) any Quaker
who married a non-Quaker. This led to the loss of many members. Membership was
also affected by theological splits that occurred among American Quakers in the
19th century, starting in the 1820s. Elias Hicks, a charismatic Long
Island Quaker, was “disowned” for his beliefs and this led to a split between
Quakers who considered themselves Hicksites and those who considered themslves
Orthodox. During this period the
Evangelical and Holiness Revivals led to further splits. An influential Quaker
named Joel Bean was “disowned” by Iowa Yearly Meeting when it became part of
the Holiness movement in the last 19th century. He and his wife
moved to San Jose, CA, and started Western Independent Quaker movement, of
which I am a part.
Part III: The Reinvention of Liberal Quakerism in
the 20th century and Current Activities
One of the major Quaker theological figures of the
20th century was Rufus Jones, a professor of theology at Haverford
College who hoped to heal this split among Quakers. One of Jones’ important
contributions was to see Quakerism as a creedless, experiential mystical
religion at a time when interest in mysticism was on the rise. The other
important figure was Howard Brinton and his wife Anna, who helped to “reinvent”
liberal Quakerism in the 20th century.
Howard Brinton provided a framework for modern
liberal Quakerism by describing our “testimonies” Simplicity, Peace, Integrity,
Community and Equality, and Sustainability (sometimes called SPICES). Not a
creed or set of principles, but ways in which we live out our faith and experience
of the Inward Light.
Today the various branches of Quakerism have
learned to coexist and cooperate through an organization called the Friends
World Committee for Consultation, which was started by Rufus Jones in 1937.
There are evangelical, holiness, liberal, and traditional
Quaker understandings of Quakerism
and Christianity. There are also Non-theist Quakers whose spiritual practice is not reliant on the
existence of a Christian God. To differing extents, the different movements
that make up the Religious Society of Friends/Friends Church avoid creeds and hierarchical structures.
In 2007, there were about 359,000 adult Quakers worldwide. In 2012, there were
377,055 adult Quakers, with 52% in Africa.
Around 89% of Quakers
worldwide belong to the "evangelical" and "programmed"
branches of Quakerism[—these Quakers worship in services with singing and a
prepared message from the Bible, coordinated by a pastor. Around 11% of Friends practice
waiting worship, or unprogrammed worship (more commonly known
today as Meeting for Worship), where the order of service is not planned
in advance, is predominantly silent, and may include unprepared vocal ministry
from those present. Some meetings of both types have Recorded
Ministers in their meetings—Friends
recognized for their gift of vocal ministry.
Liberal Quakers are best known
for our activist work through organizations such as the American Friends
Service Committee (AFSC) and the Friends Committee on National Legislation
(FCNL).
Conclusion:
Quakers are relatively few in numbers, but our influence is far greater than
our size would warrant. We attract very committed people our society and we are
often on the front lines of movements for social change.
