tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33598850.post4699381291676641817..comments2023-04-24T02:57:34.415-07:00Comments on A Friend in Need: Do You Call This a Religion?Heather Madronehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14822864657970530172noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33598850.post-9416329833477623512007-05-27T12:13:00.000-07:002007-05-27T12:13:00.000-07:00I just skimmed a book called "The Religious Philos...I just skimmed a book called "The Religious Philosophy of Quakerism," so perhaps there could be the argument that it is a philosophy rather than-- or as well as-- a religion? Maybe the per son who asked this was coming to the question from a simillar standpoint?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33598850.post-5169978713015751572007-05-25T18:31:00.000-07:002007-05-25T18:31:00.000-07:00Ah, Friends, it's good to hear from you all. I lik...Ah, Friends, it's good to hear from you all. <BR/><BR/>I like the question, and I like the fact that it keeps emerging. Questions can be more important than answers, and the thing that remains unlabeled, undefined, and unlimited can be more powerful than the thing that can be pigeonholed.<BR/><BR/>Quakerism grew out of Christianity, and the vast majority of Quaker thought is still Christian in nature. We've picked up a few things from other religions and philosophical systems, but our apple has not fallen far from the Christian tree.<BR/><BR/>I don't really like the term "post-Christian." I see what we're doing more as an expansion of Christian thought than a replacement for it. We're trying to take Christian thought deeper, to get beyond the tribal and parochial view of Christianity to a more universal kind of Christianity.<BR/><BR/>Any person who starts attending our Meeting, though, has to come to grips with the fact that there's a Christian core to Quakerism. Folks from non-Christian backgrounds have to learn to accept that core; there's really no way around it.<BR/><BR/>At our best, I don't think we or our Meetings are unsure of ourselves. Many of us are comfortable with a more open-ended identity. We're willing to ride this strange wave (call it God) wherever it wants to take us.Heather Madronehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14822864657970530172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33598850.post-62273722601154714542007-05-25T08:07:00.000-07:002007-05-25T08:07:00.000-07:00Heather and Cat,Perhaps someday I will find myself...Heather and Cat,<BR/><BR/>Perhaps someday I will find myself seated within your monthly meeting and yearn to be like some of the older Friends there... <BR/><BR/>As Zach referred to, I am uncertain that there would be unity in my monthly meeting around identifying Liberal Quakerism as a religion or as a spiritual path. <BR/><BR/>For now, I think I'll place the question, "Do you call this a religion?" up there with questions related to <A HREF="http://del.icio.us/lizopp/identity" REL="nofollow">identity</A> and <A HREF="http://del.icio.us/lizopp/membership" REL="nofollow">membership</A>!<BR/><BR/>Blessings,<BR/>Liz Opp, <A HREF="http://thegoodraisedup.blogspot.com" REL="nofollow">The Good Raised Up</A>Liz Opphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09802348848085930901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33598850.post-26373470018109107562007-05-23T20:34:00.000-07:002007-05-23T20:34:00.000-07:00San Francisco Meeting is a combo meeting, in the m...San Francisco Meeting is a combo meeting, in the matter of chairs as in the matter of so many things about us! We have hard folding chairs, with cushions that two Friends stitched together for us when we renovated our present location about a decade ago. They are getting a bit the worse for wear, but they have held up remarkably well considering. And they pile up wonderfully well, a service that the meeting's children joyfully participate in. Sometimes they don't even knock the piles down!<BR/><BR/>Lovely post, Heather. Thank you for "not worrying too much." That just sounds Right, in this context.<BR/><BR/>And may God bless you and your loved ones, too.<BR/><BR/>-- Chris M.Chris M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05125825966802002625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33598850.post-11197366141125462642007-05-23T11:34:00.000-07:002007-05-23T11:34:00.000-07:00I always feel liked I'm beating a dead horse at th...I always feel liked I'm beating a dead horse at this point; but since<BR/>Quakerism is a branch of Christianity and Christianity is a religion, I<BR/>think the answer would be "yes" we are a religion.<BR/>We worship God, we have a theology, we have scripture, and outward signs<BR/>(although not as many as most religions), we are therefore a religion. I<BR/>find this question extremely disturbing though. Where have we wondered to,<BR/>that we are no longer recognizable as a faith group of any sort?<BR/><BR/>Peace and Joy,<BR/>Anna.Annahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14437405043536660851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33598850.post-86373349916744067272007-05-23T05:24:00.000-07:002007-05-23T05:24:00.000-07:00This Friend speaks my mind... *warm smile*You writ...This Friend speaks my mind... *warm smile*<BR/><BR/>You write, "The other thing that makes me think that our Meeting is a religion, and a worthy one at that, is the example set by the older people in the Meeting. They are an extraordinary group of human beings, deep in love and compassion and wisdom," and I feel my eyes misting as I think of the older Friends at my meeting. Not all, perhaps, but some have an amazing inner Light that spills out all around them.<BR/><BR/>I was musing, in worship the other day that, though I can't explain what I mean by "God," I have come to believe that there is something in the universe that fills up every crack and cranny. And I realized that, whatever it is, it is something that is at <I>least</I> as warm, at <I>least</I> as compassionate, and at <I>least</I> as loving as J.P. (one of our older members).<BR/><BR/>That's good enough for me.Cat C-B (and/or Peter B)https://www.blogger.com/profile/10002916434676859262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33598850.post-66227301614931930392007-05-23T00:31:00.000-07:002007-05-23T00:31:00.000-07:00Hi Heather,That is a good question. I think it's c...Hi Heather,<BR/>That is a good question. I think it's clear we're a religious community but what past there? Historically most Friends have considered themselves a branch of Christianity and would answer "Christian" if asked their religion. Early Friends would go further by saying that Quakerism is THE path of Christianity, the true primitive Christianity revived. Most of our language and forms, even our name, comes from the Gospels. We have a host of thorny questions pop up when we go post-Christian, including whether we're a religion. <BR/><BR/>I've heard some prominent Philadelphia Friends refer to "the Quaker religion" but I don't think this is a satisfying answer. It's certainly not historically accurate and I don't think it reflects the reality of our fellowship. Right now most liberal Friends meetings are religious societies and unsure of themselves past that.Martin Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06999620933648327663noreply@blogger.com