CHRISTENDOM Series: Quaker

QUAKER

(Others)

 ..and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5

CHRISTENDOM Series Outline Link:
http://master1844-dc.blogspot.com/2015/06/christendom-series-outline.html


Quakers (Society of Friends is official name) began in the 1600's in England when George Fox claimed to have had a vision from God. He taught to wait for a "quake" in your heart to be from God.

This "quaking" revelation one could have led to them being ridiculed as Quakers-hence the name.
The early period of Quakerism was loud & rowdy-like a charismatic meeting. but around 1700 they took a turn toward quietism.- "Louis de Jaucourt, in Diderot's Encyclopedie attributed Quietism to Eastern influence stating, "The Brahmins push apathy or indifference to an extreme, to which they tie all holiness; saying that it was necessary to become a stone or statue in order to acquire perfection. It is, they say, the deepest sleep of the spirit, letting all energy rest, this continual suspension of the senses,

which leads to man’s happiness and makes him alike unto the god Fo." Wikipedia
Early Quakerism also believed in living a life of piety, a strong work ethic and strict dress. Early Quakerism focused on the Holy Spirit leading the heart. Because of this receiving personal revelations by everyone, they were considered by many not to be Christians in the traditional sense. In some church services, people sit quietly waiting for the Spirit to move them then they speak up with what the Spirit impressed upon them. As a result, they don't believe in physical baptism.
In 1806 the first splits began to really emerge, with the more orthodox Quakers defending the authenticity of the Scriptures & the Hickites pursing revelation over Scripture.

Quakerism spent the next century fracturing into 3 trains of thought:

1. Deism, the "doctrine that God is quite other than the cosmos and entirely transcends it.  Having created it as a closed system, he remains aloof from its operations and lets it go its own way".  This is God the creator, the "father."  People who adhere to this theology tend to stress
   
   rational thought and science as a way of discovering truth, they tend to also place great emphasis on classic religious texts.  Orthodox Quakerism is more sympathetic to Deism.  For deists "the light was the inherent rational capacity of the mind."
2. Evangelical, the focus on Christ as the unique Son of God, the Redeemer who died for our sins.  People are sinners who can be saved only by accepting Jesus as their Savior. At certain points, this has been strong in Quakerism, and it is stronger among Friends with Pastoral form of worship.
3. Pantheist, the "the view that God and the universe are one entity, and that the divine is wholly immanent in the creation".  This is God as Spirit, as Holy Ghost, as Sanctifier.  Silent and unprogrammed worship is most compatible with this theology, since it facilitates
   
   awareness of the spiritual dimensions of reality.  It also leads to Universalism (as we define it, the belief that all religions are means to approach a the same spiritual reality) since many other faiths also practice this form of spiritual worship, e.g., Buddhism, Hinduism.  Gandhi's book "All Religions Are True" is consistent with this philosophy.  Pantheist Quakers view the "light [as] the direct operation of God upon the soul, something which the deist cosmology in principle refused to admit." Rutgers.edu

QUAKER Denominations:
Conservative Friends - consider themselves to be a middle ground between the liberal (pantheistic) faction & the more theologically conservative (evangelical) faction. Some maintained

their traditional dress styles into the 1900's. Prefer old fashioned quietism, and although they believe in the Biblical Scriptures, they don't believe they are in inerrant. Over 1,000 members.
Evangelical Friends Church International - Quakers that hold to the Bible as primary over inner light and have more programmed Church services. Also the only Quaker group today that holds to Biblical Creationism. About 28,000 members.
Friends United Meeting - the more pantheistic, liberal Quakers, some of whom admit they are not even Christians. They reject the Richmond Declaration of 1887 (signed by Quakers in Richmond, Indiana that upheld the authority of the Bible). These Quakers use other writings from non-Christian sources for spiritual guidance. Over 27,000 members.

Central Yearly Meeting of Friends - small group of Conservative Quakers who are part of the Holiness movement of churches. They hold a yearly camp meeting near Muncie, Indiana each year.
Friends General Conference - Quakers who believe the Word of God is written on herts & not on paper. An emphasis on personal experience. These are theologically liberal,

but not as hostile towards Scripture or as pluralistic as Friends United Meeting. This is also the largest Quaker group today in America. About 30,000 members.
Beanite - (Western Quakerism) started as a revival of the older ways but with a spirit of the Hickites & universalism.