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What are "Quakers"?
From Midlothian
Friends Website
Quakers also
known as Friends belong to a society known as Religious Society of
Friends. The faith emerged in the 1600’s
when George Fox became disillusioned with the Anglican church. Early Quakers practiced a radical form of
Christianity that sought to revive primitive Christianity and the initial
teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.
Quakers have
beliefs, but not creeds or dogma. To Quakers (or Friends) the primary
source of spiritual inspiration, and the central belief, is that each
individual is endowed with a measure of the divine, called the 'Inner
Light', or 'that of God'. Quakers hold that each person can experience the
Inner Light in their daily lives without the need for formal creeds,
theologies, or doctrines. Seeking this measure of the divine is at the
heart of Quaker worship and life.
The concept
of the Inner Light, or 'that of God', is central to Quaker beliefs. This
measure of the divine is part of an individual's soul or inner being, and
was inspired in part by the Biblical passage (John 1:9) referring to the
"true Light, which lighteth every man that
cometh into the world". What individuals do with this Inner Light is
in large part left to their free will and choice. Quakers recognize that
there is the potential for good and evil in all of us, but believe that we
can turn to this light, choosing to become 'children of God' or 'children
of the Light'.
Believing in
the possibility of a direct experience with the divine is not unique to
Quakers, but Quakers are unique among Christian religions in the importance
they place on the importance and availability of this experience. Quakers
hold this direct experience as the primary source of religion,
de-emphasizing other sources such as books, set prayers, and rituals, which
are considered 'empty forms' of religion. Although Friends believe in the
value of the Christian bible as a source of inspiration and a guide, they
do not believe it should have the final say, or that it is infallible.
YOU MIGHT BE A QUAKER IF…
Adapted from Friends
General Conference Website
You are looking for an understanding of God that is
viable in today's world.
We invite you to join with us in our continuing search
for Divine leadership in our lives. We believe that God is very much
present and eager to be alive to everyone, anywhere, any time and in any
way. All that is needed is for us to be open to listening and talking with
the Divine.
You are looking for others who believe that we need
not limit ourselves through secularism and materialism.
We encourage you to identify with us in our belief that
purposeful living is fundamentally spiritual, permeating every aspect of
our lives.
You desire support in seeking out the precious nature
of every individual.
We welcome you as a fellow seeker in a religious society
which believes that something of the Divine is implanted within each of us
at birth. While we treasure individuality, we find it best tempered through
the wisdom of the group, which seeks Divine Guidance.
You are seeking a haven in a world which may not be
in pace with your needs.
We invite you to our fellowship as we strive to simplify
our lives and gain a sense of inner peace for living in times like these.
You wish to join with us to help in finding ways to
implement the historic peace testimony of Friends "to oppose all wars
and preparation for wars.”
We would welcome your active support as we counter the
military might of our own and other nations.
You wish to discover how you, as an individual, can
help to create a better world.
We would like to point to the many projects in which
Quakers are involved - locally, nationally and internationally -in our
aspirations to bring freedom, justice and more creative living to people in
many places. We encourage you to work with us in some of these important
undertakings.
You seek a religious home, without creeds or required
statements of belief.
Then join with us. Friends offer you a creedless place
of worship and religious community. While there is much that binds us
together, Quakers stress the primacy of the individual’s genuine experience
of the Divine and recognize that this experience can be described in many
ways. (Perhaps our unique insight is to trust one another to find our own
relationship rather than establishing an absolute.)
You desire to wait upon God in an expectant silence
without the presence of intermediaries.
We invite you to join with us in meeting for worship
where we do not have the complications and diversions of ritual and
programs. We believe that in such periods of quiet waiting we can be open
to spiritual resources which will enable us to live more calmly, more
compassionately and more creatively in this chaotic age.
You wish to reclaim the best in the Judeo-Christian
tradition.
Help us rediscover Jesus of Nazareth as the great
revealer of the grandeur of God and to explore the truths in other
religions.
You are looking for meaningful spiritual community.
We invite you to join with us. Friends point out that
our meetings are intended as homes away from home - caring communities,
spiritual fellowships, societies of friends.
As you come to know us better, you will realize that
this is an idealistic statement of Friends. It is what we aim to
accomplish, not what we are always able to achieve. You will discover
our shortcomings, our faults and our failures. We are not saints. Becoming
a Quaker brings with it no halo, no plaque for perfection, no passport for
heaven. It is more like a learner's permit for the lifelong journey toward
truth and fulfillment -a journey made more meaningful and easier by the
companionship of other seekers.
Find a Quaker
Meeting Near You.
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