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About
Friends
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by Ted Hoare, member of Australia Yearly Meeting
Our
Christian Background
George Fox (1624-1691) Founder
of Quakerism
The origins of the Society are found in the seventeenth century in
England, a
time when many were questioning the established beliefs of the age.
George
Fox
(1624-1691) did not find answers to his questions in any of
the churches of
his day. Out of his searching came the spiritual message which swept a
large
part of the country and which resulted in the formation of the
Religious
Society of Friends.
Friends witnessed to an Alternative
Christianity quite distinct from the
churches of the time. As a result they were persecuted both by
Cromwell's
Puritan government and by the restored government of Charles II. Fox
did not
intend to start a new sect. He wanted to persuade the church to return
to what
it had been in the days of the Apostles. He proclaimed the early
preaching of
Peter (Acts, chapter 2 and 3) that Jesus, who had been present in the
flesh,
had risen from the dead and was now come in the Spirit. That Jesus
acted in the
hearts of his followers purifying and empowering them. Pursuing Peter's
teaching, Fox called for a radical, egalitarian, spirit-filled
Christianity
that would not be oppressive of people on account of race, sex, or
class. He
maintained that the message of the early church had been lost when the
church
became institutionalised and believed that he and others with him could
stand
in exactly the same state as Apostles, with the same power to teach, to
heal
and to prophesy that the Apostles had. Back to Top
The
Ministry of All Believers
George Fox challenged the belief of the
Roman Catholic and Episcopal
churches in the necessity for, and authority of, an hierarchical
structure of
Priests and Bishops. He claimed that everyone was able to have a
personal relationship
with the living Jesus without having to depend on the intercessions of
a Priest
or Minister. He taught that there is one Jesus Christ, who can speak to
each
person's condition and the responsibility for ministry therefore rested
upon
all.
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The
Place of the Bible
Friends hold that
the words of
the Bible should not be taken as the final revelation of God.
The Books had
been written by men who were acting under the power of the Holy Spirit
and it
was necessary to read the words in the power of the same spirit and to
listen
to what the Spirit then spoke in your heart. The words were active
agents in
the sense that when read in the Spirit at the appropriate time, they
would
spring to life for the reader and take the reader forward on his or her
spiritual journey.
The
Light Within
George Fox preached the Good News that we
were all children of God and that,
as children of God, we had inherited powers from God. Each of us was
given a
measure of this power or light and in accordance with how we used it,
so more
would be given to us. Jesus had possessed this power or light, without
measure
so that he became the Light and the Light
within is Jesus
Christ.
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The
Inner Voice
Friends believe that if they wait silently
upon God there will be times when
God will speak to them in the heart. The silent Meeting of Friends is
therefore
the sacrament of communion with God during which Friends lay themselves
open to
the leading
of the
Spirit. George Fox often wrote about his 'openings,' meaning
revelations
and it has been the experience of Quakers over the centuries that
'openings'
will occur in the mind or that 'a way will open'.
Openings can come to individuals when they
are alone or may come out of the
silence of a gathered Meeting for Worship. It is a perennial question
as to
whether a leading comes from God, from one's own ego, or from another
power and
it is the practice in the Society of Friends to test a leading or a
concern in
a meeting with others.
When they meet for business Friends strive
to obtain the "sense of the
meeting" from those present before taking action for they recognise the
light as a force which creates unity among all who respond to it or who
"answer it in one another." It does not follow that a majority is
always right; a prophetic role is a lonely one and, if a concern is
deeply felt
and continues to be raised, the Meeting will continue to hear it and
may later
come to recognise its validity.
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Equality
before God
From the beginning Friends gave women and
men equal status for the fact that
we are all children of God bestowed an equality upon all. This concept
led to
the testimony that one person should not set himself above another
through
human honours and distinctions which were meaningless in the sight of
God. From
this came the Quaker practices of simple living, plain dress and plain
speech.
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The
Inward and Outward Journeys
One of the most important messages that
Quakers have to offer is that
religion, or belief, is experiential. It is not just a matter of
accepting
words or practices but of experiencing God for oneself.
The fact that God is always present means
that the whole of a person's life
is sacramental; Friends affirm the need to practice the presence of God
in all
activity. It follows therefore that Friends emphasise the importance of
combining the inward and outward journeys. To take the inward without
the
outward will lead to selfishness. You go inward to wait upon and
receive the
word and support of God and then take this out to action in the world.
To take
the outward journey without the inward leads to 'burn out' because the
essential support is not there to be called upon. The Inward/Outward
Journey is
the practical application of Jesus' summary of the Law: "Love God and
your
neighbour as yourself."
It is the inward/outward process that has
led Friends into pioneering social
action such as reforms of prisons, schools and mental institutions,
improving
conditions of employment, supporting refugees and others in need,
providing an
ambulance service in wartime and examining the consequences of proposed
legislation.
Back to Top
The Peace
Testimony
As a Peace Church, the Society of Friends
has always played a leading part
in opposing preparations for war. The
Peace Testimony, which is a very important Quaker principle,
arose out of
the belief in the in dwelling Light or "that of God" in people. If
that of God was a reality within oneself it would be denying the inner
Spirit
to take up arms against another.
Quaker practice does not permit the
overcoming of some persons by other
persons but tends toward the integration of various points of view into
a new
and higher level for they recognise the Light as a force which creates
unity
amongst all who respond to it or answer it in one another. In appealing
to the
Light within another we also appeal to the Light within ourselves; as a
result,
we may find that the other is right and we are wrong. The Light is a
source of
unity. Force may create a superficial unity but it cannot provide
organic unity.
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Quaker
Practices
Over
the years
the practice of Quakerism has developed in different ways in different
regions.
Members of the Society have been affected by varying influences such as
the
greater awareness of Eastern religions, the growth of psychology and
the
development of scientific knowledge. Since the Society is non-creedal,
the
spectrum of belief held by Friends has widened and different opinions
may be
held in different places or cultures. When one considers the diversity
in other
denominations, the differences between Friends are less remarkable.
Friends
Meetings may be either unprogrammed or programmed, the later normally
being led
by a pastor.
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Friends
and other Faiths
Quakers have always taught that the Light of
Christ has been given to all
people everywhere. They maintained that many persons who never heard
the
historic Christ have had experiential knowledge of the Christ within
and would
hold, with Paul, that the Eternal Christ was known before the historic
Christ.
However, Friends are prepared to receive insights from whosesoever they
may
come and agree that there are things to be learned from contact with
other
religions. Friends are therefore ready to dialogue with people of other
faiths
and to share with them insights from our respective inheritances.
However,
Quakerism remains rooted in the Christian faith and the centrality of
Jesus is
paramount, although his sovereignty is not unanimously upheld.
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Summary
The Religious Society of Friends is an
Alternative Christianity which emphasises
the personal experience of God in one's life. Quakers understand the
necessity
of first listening to God before working in the world. They affirm the
equality
of all people before God regardless of race, station in life, or sex
and this
belief leads them into a range of social concerns.
Being "Children of Light" they find recourse
to violence
intolerable. Quaker thought is both mystical (waiting upon God) and
prophetic
(speaking truth to power). Friends believe that God's revelation is
still continuing,
that God is not absent or unknowable but that we can find God ourselves
and
establish a living relationship thus being able to live in the world
free from
the burden and guilt of sin. It is the search for a closer relationship
with
God that is the Way.
Religious knowledge, like the appreciation
of beauty, is not attained by a
logical process of thought but by experience and feeling. Quakers
maintain that
the teaching of Jesus is a practical method for the guidance of the
world
today, that religion is concerned with the whole of life, and that,
beyond a
certain point, definition becomes a limitation.
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