One issue to which I am particularly sensitive is how our obsession with the past comes across to newcomers. Some people (especially those with Quaker ancestors) are excited by our history, while other people are turned off or simply puzzled by Quaker jargon and Quaker genealogies, which they experience as a serious barrier to being included.
Quaker Ranter
A Weekly Newsletter and Blog from Martin Kelley
Yearly Archives ⇒ 2018
Make Quakerism Militant Again
June 7, 2018
Make Quakerism Militant Again
Quakerism is designed for disruption. Actively stirring up trouble, causing a scene, shedding Light on oppression. Following Christ calls us to be outlaws, to defy the powers of this world. To simultaneously break into and out of the state and extend the Kingdom. We are called to create and live into a new society.
Imagining Quakerism Beyond Belief
June 4, 2018
Introduction to “The Christian Universalism of George Fox”
June 2, 2018
Introduction to “The Christian Universalism of George Fox”
Since Benson’s time, denominational-mindedness has gained ground among Quakers, and a diversity of philosophies is now seen as valid not only for those outside of the Society but for those within. A tightening conformity to the doctrine of individualism has accelerated the proliferation of ideologies within the Society. Resisted by most is the observation that human nature is intrinsic and universal, the same in every time and place, and that Jesus Christ speaks to this universal condition.
https://patradallmann.wordpress.com/2018/06/02/introduction-to-the-christian-universalism-of-george-fox/
The Rise of Liberal Quakerism, Part 7
June 1, 2018
The Rise of Liberal Quakerism, Part 7
This was the first direct Quaker confrontation with the state in more than 200 years. The absolutists went to jail. For a while, Wormwood Scrubbs prison was the largest Friends meeting in London. The experience also turned Friends against solitary confinement, which they had originally pioneered.
Spirit-Led Evangelism
June 1, 2018
Adria Gulizia guest posting on Johan Maurer’s blog: It is hard to talk about God, Jesus and the spiritual life in this moment in American history. Many of our non-Christian neighbors find the little they know about Jesus to be attractive or intriguing, but they know enough about the failings of the church to have very negative opinions about actual Christians. If we do have non-Christian friends, it may be despite our Christian faith rather than because of it — we may be seen as the exception that proves the rule.
https://blog.canyoubelieve.me/2018/05/adria-gulizia-spirit-led-evangelism.html
Spirit-Led Evangelism
June 1, 2018
Adria Gulizia guest posting on Johan Maurer’s blog: It is hard to talk about God, Jesus and the spiritual life in this moment in American history. Many of our non-Christian neighbors find the little they know about Jesus to be attractive or intriguing, but they know enough about the failings of the church to have very negative opinions about actual Christians. If we do have non-Christian friends, it may be despite our Christian faith rather than because of it — we may be seen as the exception that proves the rule.
https://blog.canyoubelieve.me/2018/05/adria-gulizia-spirit-led-evangelism.html
Spirit-Led Evangelism
June 1, 2018
Adria Gulizia guest posting on Johan Maurer’s blog: It is hard to talk about God, Jesus and the spiritual life in this moment in American history. Many of our non-Christian neighbors find the little they know about Jesus to be attractive or intriguing, but they know enough about the failings of the church to have very negative opinions about actual Christians. If we do have non-Christian friends, it may be despite our Christian faith rather than because of it — we may be seen as the exception that proves the rule.
https://blog.canyoubelieve.me/2018/05/adria-gulizia-spirit-led-evangelism.html