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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 (1625-1691) 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, chapters 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 institutionalized, and
he 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.
George Fox challenged the belief of the Roman Catholic and Anglican
churches in the necessity for, and the authority of, a 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 rests upon all.
Friends hold that the words of the Bible should not be taken as the final
revelation of God. The Books of the Bible were written by men who were
acting under the power of the Holy Spirit, and it is necessary to read the
words in the power of the same Spirit and to listen to what the Spirit
then speaks in your heart. The words are active agents in the sense that,
when read in the Spirit at the appropriate time, they spring to life for
the reader and take the reader forward on his or her spiritual journey.
George Fox preached the Good News that we are all children of God and
that, as children of God, we have inherited powers from God. Each of us
is given a measure of this power or light and in accordance with how we
use it more will 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.
Friends believe that if they wait silently upon God there will be times
when God will speak to us 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 they 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 recognize 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 recognize its validity.
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
others through human honors and distinctions, which are meaningless in the
sight of God. From this came the Quaker practices of simple living, plain
dress and plain speech.
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 activities. It follows, therefore, that Friends emphasize 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 neighbor 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.
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 is 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 Friends recognize the Light as a power 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.
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 latter normally being led by a
pastor.
Quakers have always taught that the Light of Christ has been given to all
people everywhere. They have 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
wheresoever 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.
The Religious Society of Friends is an Alternative Christianity which
emphasizes 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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