Category Archives: Quaker Theology

“Some Quaker FAQs” #3: Jesus/Salvation, Cont.

Gallery February 22, 2016 Chuck Fager 5 Comments

“Some Quaker FAQs” #3: Jesus/Salvation, Cont.
For New & Curious Friends

(Part 2 of this series is here. Part 1 is here.)

Q. What Does “Died For Our Sins” Mean?

At New Covenant Temple, a church we use as a reference point,** here’s what it says on their website:
** For more about New Covenant Temple, and why we use them as a reference point, click here.

Jesus Christ: We believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God who gave his life on a cross as the perfect sacrifice for all of our sins. He arose from the grave to show his power over sin and death. He ascended into heaven and will return to earth again to rule as King of all kings.

Continue reading “Some Quaker FAQs” #3: Jesus/Salvation, Cont. →

“Some Quaker FAQs” Part #2–What About Jesus?

There are plenty of churches out there which will lay out all the answers (their answers) for you, and then all you have to do is to agree and follow along.

Among Progressive Quakers, it works differently. You can learn a lot from seeking and study, for instance by reading the Bible, and the books of Faith & Practice that the Yearly Meetings issue. But the bottom line answers come from you and the Inner Light.

So, what about Jesus? Let’s see if we can take this one piece at a time.

Quaker FAQs #1-Why Don’t I Know Much About Quakerism?

From “Some Quaker FAQs” — So talking with people from such churches, we’ll likely be getting a lot of questions that include the phrase, “But the Bible says . . . .”

But wait: if something is “written in the Bible,” does that automatically make it true, or right?

It will be better if you can answer such questions based on your own study of the Bible. But it’s also a fair answer for a Progressive Quaker to say, “Suppose the Bible does say such and such. So what? For our kind of Quakers, we learn from the Bible, but the Bible is not the whole ‘TRUTH’ without any errors. It’s not the ‘complete source’ for our religion. It is not a substitute for God or the Inner Light or the Spirit for us.”

(Be advised, such an answer might shock some people. You might get a reply like, “But if you don’t believe in the Bible as all true, you’re going to burn in hell.” We’ll talk a little further on about this “burning in hell” idea. But don’t let it scare you.)

Why Is North Carolina Yearly Meeting Like The Flint River?

So this proposal might be an interesting opener for broader discussion, but just a beginning. If the YM wants to set concrete standards of conduct (e.g., don’t steal YM money; don’t sexually abuse or harass others, especially children; respect your fiduciary duties), there are likely numerous specific infractions that could be agreed on.

But those who think they could now achieve a purge of meetings which have non-fundamentalist views about the Bible, social issues and other matters by tacking on these preliminary steps, will likely run into some stiff opposition, as they have before, pushing the purge idea from the YM floor.

My Recurring Quaker Nightmare — Every January 27th

Yes, January 27 is Mozart’s birthday. He would have been (and IS, in a real way) 250-plus years old today, give or take.

And the nightmare scenario just recounted haunts me because it brings home how drastically poorer my own life would be, had the musician by some miscarriage undergone the kind of conversion it imagines.

How much difference has it made? There was an underground comic strip back in the Sixties about several disreputable characters called the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers. These fellows had a saying, that “Dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope.”

For me, tho I enjoyed the Brothers in their time, a truer motto would be, MOZART will get you through times of no money better than MONEY will get you through times of no Mozart!”

And let the church say, “AMEN!”