Re: MD Religion/God ~ MoQ/DQ

[Wim Nusselder]

Dear John,   I promised to tell you more about Quakers. I hope it won't look too much like a commercial. I value Quaker social and intellectual patterns higher than those of other religions I have experienced or read about, mainly because they leave more room for Dynamic Quality, for change for the better. I won't be able to hide that.   The Religious Society of Friends, as Quakers officially call themselves, was founded by George Fox, a lower middle class religious seeker in 17th century England. Having questioned  every brand of clergyman and priest he could find (quite a lot in the political and social turmoil of Cromwell's times) with disappointing results, he heard a voice which said: "There is one, even Christ Jesus, that can speak to thy condition". In his Journal (an autobiography he dictated near the end of his life) he ads: "And this I knew experimentally." That started a life of travelling and preaching "the Truth" (as he called it) of direct availability of divine guidance for everyone. This idea, when carried by tens of thousands of Quakers -as it soon came to be-, is of course potentially a very potent disruptor of all kinds of statical patterns of value. Soon the jails were crowded by Quakers who refused to take oaths in court , who did not take their hats off and did not say "you" instead of "thee" to social superiors, who disrupted church ("steeplehouse") services by "hireling ministers" etc. The organisational effort (started by Margaret Fell, the later Margaret Fox...) needed to support all those prisoners and their families and generally to keep together a persecuted group of people resulted in what is still the backbone of the organisation: autonomous "Monthly Meetings" (local groups meeting monthly to decide  on common business) and a national "Meeting for Sufferings" representing them in London, trying to lobby government for more religious freedom and better prison conditions.   Early Quakers were clearly Christian. George Fox was said to be able to rewrite the Bible from memory had it gone lost. They emphasised not to take it literally however, but to listen to the Spirit that inspired the Bible writers and then to recognise that it is indeed the same Spirit. In the words of George Fox reported by Margaret Fell: "The Scriptures were the prophets' words and Christ's and the apostles' words, and what as they spoke they enjoyed and possessed and had it from the Lord. ... Then what had any to do with the Scriptures, but as they came to the Spirit that gave them forth. You will say, Christ saith this, and the apostles say this; what canst thou say? Art thou a child of the Light and hast walked in the Light, and what thou speakest is it inwardly from God?"   Quakers developed into a kind of extreme puritans rooted in mystical experience with minimal religious forms and a strong social conscience. No ordained clergy (priesthood of all believers), no liturgy in meetings for worship (everyone present feeling inspired to speak can do so), non-observance of holy days (one should remember birth, death and resurrection of Christ and -last but not least- the descent of the Holy Spirit every day of the year), no external sacraments (the whole of life is sacramental), no profession of faith required of members (no dogma's to compose a creed anyway).   So much freedom to follow your own inspiration needs some static latches of course. Some things some Quakers felt called to do, like going naked in public to demonstrate some social injustice or proclaiming oneself to be a reincarnated Christ were not felt to be changes for the better of existing statical patterns of value even by fellow Quakers (apart from threatening gradually gained social respectability). The main static latches as I experience them are 1. committing to paper accumulated religious experience of Quakers by Yearly Meetings (groups of Monthly Meetings in a larger geographical area) and 2. testing of "concerns" (understood as a special inward calling to carry out a particular service) in Monthly Meeting or in a special "meeting for clearness".   1. Dutch Quakers often refer to "Quaker faith & practice, the book of Christian discipline of the Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain" and (being few) only produce a reduced version of such a document ourselves. It contains both quotations from all kinds of Quaker writings (books, minutes of business meetings, journals) and specially (re)written texts giving guidance for the functioning of the organisation. From the introduction: "There is no yardstick by which the experience of one generation can be judged against that of another, but we do know that whatever the circumstances, we are called to rediscover the Quaker way and to find appropriate words to express it. We are not without consolation. Signals come to us from all over the world that there is in the human spirit a prompting towards a better way that is persistent and will not be put down. This enduring hope confirms the truth asserted in John's gospel that light shines in darkness. ... Worship is at the heart of Quaker experience. For God is met in the gathered meeting and through the Spirit leads us into ways of life and understandings of truth which we recognise as Quaker. As we follow these leadings in our community and in the wider world we are enabled to reflect on their meaning, testing our vision within our discipline and tradition. ... We are seekers but we are also the holders of a precious heritage of discoveries. We, like every generation, must find the Light and Life again for ourselves. Only what we have valued and truly made our own, not by assertion but by lives of faithful commitment, can we hand on to the future. Even then, we must humbly acknowledge that our vision of the truth will, again and again, be amended. In the Religious Society of Friends we commit ourselves not to words but to a way." From Chapter 1, "Advices and queries": "As Friends we commit ourselves to a way of worship which allows God to teach and transform us. We have found corporately that the Spirit, if rightly followed, will lead us into truth, unity and love: all our testimonies grow from this leading. ... The deeper realities of our faith are beyond precise verbal formulation and our way of worship based on silent waiting testifies to this. Our diversity invites us both to speak what we know to be true in our lives and to learn from others. Friends are encouraged to listen to each other in humility and understanding, trusting in the Spirit that goes beyond our human effort and comprehension. ... [quoting from an epistle from a meeting of elders to Quakers in the north: ] 'these things we do not lay upon you as a rule or form to walk by, but that all, with the measure of light which is pure and holy, may be guided; and so in the light walking and abiding, these may be fulfilled in the Spirit, not from the letter, for the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life.' [Advice 1:] Take heed, dear Friends, to the promptings of love and truth in your hearts. Trust them as the leadings of God whose Light shows us our darkness and brings us to new life."   2. Apart from common business, "meetings for business" also decide on "concerns" brought before them (whether they really are divine callings). Quakers are not required to "bring concerns before the meeting" however and it happens not very often any more (once in a couple of years among the 100 or so Dutch Quakers). The way of "testing a concern" is essentially the same as reaching any decision: it is understood as the result of "seeking the sense of the meeting", a joint effort to experience divine guidance overriding personal opinions. Thus advice/query 14 "Are your meetings for church affairs held in a spirit of worship and in dependence on the guidance of God? Remember that we do not seek a majority decision nor even consensus. As we wait patiently for divine guidance our experience is that the right way will open and we shall be led into unity." and 15 "... Are you prepared to let your insights and personal wishes take their place alongside those of others or be set aside as the meeting seeks the right way forward?"   I would be very interested to read from other MoQites who have experience with Quakers. I find it very easy to translate Quaker experience and terminology in MoQ terms and think a MoQ and Quakers could mutually enrich each other.   With friendly greetings,   Wim Nusselder