Quakers

[Grace2022]

I have often been intrigued by Quakers. Is anyone here one and what are people's thoughts about their way of Christianity?

 

[JackRT]

It seems to work well for them. Aside from that, I have always admired the low key way in which they put their faith into action and in very effective ways.

 

[SkyWriting]

I have often been intrigued by Quakers. Is anyone here one and what are people's thoughts about their way of Christianity?

I am from Church of the Brethren. I think 2 church splits from the original Quakers. They got their name from the intensity of their convictions about God.
Very different from the "Friends" of today.

 

[Albion]

To follow up on what SkyWriting wrote, we may say things about the Quakers, but the fact is that today's Quakers are broken into so many branches--ones that, in addition, are much different from each other than, say, the different Lutheran or Pentecostal churches are of each other--that it is really hard to say WHAT exactly the attributes or beliefs of "Quakers" are anymore.

 

[Cis.jd]

I have often been intrigued by Quakers. Is anyone here one and what are people's thoughts about their way of Christianity?

What do you mean by Quakers? The popular one is probably the churches who dance almost violently (whether standing or lying down), playing with snakes, yelling in gibberish (which they like to call tongues), smacking each other with jackets as a form exorcism.

This type of Quakers are straight up crazy. It's practically a cult. They are one of the last examples I would use to show others about Christianity.

 

[hedrick]

What do you mean by Quakers? The popular one is probably the churches who dance almost violently (whether standing or lying down), playing with snakes, yelling in gibberish (which they like to call tongues), smacking each other with jackets as a form exorcism.

This type of Quakers are straight up crazy. It's practically a cult. They are one of the last examples I would use to show others about Christianity.

That’s not what the OP meant. She is referring to the Friends.

I went to college (like 50 years ago) at a school run by the Friends, and attended a Meeting for a year. I went a couple of times to one near by home, which is in the mid-West. Somewhat different.

As noted, there are varying approaches among the Friends. The Meeting at my college was a traditional silent meeting, where people now and then spoke up as the Spirit moved them. I considered them a very liberal Christian church.

There are, however, some "programmed" Meetings, meaning that at least part of the service is preplanned, and there's a fixed leader. There are also Evangelical Friends.

I also admire much of their work, but I ended up preferring a group with a bit more traditional theology and worship. However I ended up with a good impression of them.

 

[timothyu]

Quaker (Friends) basics

Everything mentioned in this thread is addressed from the horse's mouth on this site

The Quaker Basics: Short Quaker Videos for Newcomers

 

[Cis.jd]

That’s not what the OP meant. She is referring to the Friends.

I went to college (like 50 years ago) at a school run by the Friends, and attended a Meeting for a year.

So no one told you life was gonna be this way?

 

[Daniel9v9]

Quakers are anti-trinitarian and therefore a sect outside of the Church. That is, anyone who denies that Jesus is God in flesh is speaking against God's Word. Now there are many bodies that come out of the Quakers who do believe in the Trinity, but they are marked by inherited anti-trinitarian ideas, confused doctrine and emotionalism. Put simply, any religious body that denies that Jesus is God is not Christian.

 

[bmjackson]

At the beginning, it was a revivalist movement with the emphasis on entire sanctification, as a post conversion deliverance from sin, entered into by faith.

The other beliefs were of less importance, but became the primary ones when further generations did what happens in all such revivals in that they do not carry on with the holiness doctrine as less and less people are available to show evidence of it. More and more folk were attracted to these other beliefs and the could fit in without holding traditional Christian beliefs and so we see folk who claim to be atheist Quakers!

 

[Basil the Great]

I believe that their official title is the Religious Society of Friends. I think it is quite true that today's Quakers are far removed from the Quaker ancestors. However, in all fairness, the same can be said for quite a few other Christian groups. I have always thought highly of the Quakers, though I have never been to one of their services. I believe that they place an emphasis upon silence in some of their services. While they have traditionally been opposed to the taking of oaths and military service and have placed little, if any, emphasis upon Baptism or Holy Communion, it seems that there is a wide variance of belief and practice among today's Quakers.

 

[Basil the Great]

Quakers are anti-trinitarian and therefore a sect outside of the Church. That is, anyone who denies that Jesus is God in flesh is speaking against God's Word. Now there are many bodies that come out of the Quakers who do believe in the Trinity, but they are marked by inherited anti-trinitarian ideas, confused doctrine and emotionalism. Put simply, any religious body that denies that Jesus is God is not Christian.

I am not sure that this is true with all Quakers.

 

[Daniel9v9]

I am not sure that this is true with all Quakers.

Quakers historically deny the Ecumenical Creeds and groups that come out of Elias Hicks' thinking, for example, are anti-trinitarian. Point being, with a rejection of orthodox Christian teaching found in the Creeds, which includes elementary articles of faith such as the divinity of Christ, many errors naturally follow. Quakers generally elevate "Inner Light" above Scriptures, and some even regard other religious writings as equally valid to the Bible.

Practically speaking, I think many of the more extreme tendencies and quirks have been watered down in our day, but even so, if we're talking about groups that identify themselves as Quakers or Friends, they've inherited questionable theology and it does show if you dig into what they teach, but perhaps to varying degrees and it may not always be readily apparent. I think some modern Friends can perhaps look somewhat similar to non-denominational churches, but the root of their theology is different and it does have real practical implications.

 

[bmjackson]

I have read that, although at the beginning, they would not speak in the meetings unless inspired by the Spirit, it actually was taking place often, not like the long silences found later.

 

[bmjackson]

They did not enforce the reciting of creeds or hymns in a meeting due to their principle of not encouraging people to say what they did not mean. Authenticity and honesty were everything.

 

[bmjackson]

You cannot understanding their founders at all by looking at later interpretations of them. You have to read at source plus be in the same Spirit.

 

[hedrick]

Evangelical Friends Church International - Wikipedia

If the numbers given are right, Orthodox Friends represent half the total. They seem to go back fairly far in Quaker history.

 

[Archivist]

What do you mean by Quakers? The popular one is probably the churches who dance almost violently (whether standing or lying down), playing with snakes, yelling in gibberish (which they like to call tongues), smacking each other with jackets as a form exorcism.

This type of Quakers are straight up crazy. It's practically a cult. They are one of the last examples I would use to show others about Christianity.

You are not talking about the Quakers. Shakers were the ones who danced, not Quakers. Snake handling is practiced in a small number of Holiness movement churches, mostly in Appalachia. I have never heard anyone speaking in tongues or hitting others with jackets in any of the Quaker meetinghouses I have visited.

I attended a Quaker wedding a number of years ago. We all sat in silence in the meetinghouse for about 45 minutes when the bride and groom finally stood and professed their love and devotion to each other. All of us present then signed the church wedding certificate as ministers, although only one person could sign the state license in that capacity. There was no formal ceremony.

When they left England for America Quakers originally settled in Pennsylvania. The Puritans in New England hated the Quakers and treated Quaker missionaries to New England horribly.

 

[Albion]

What do you mean by Quakers? The popular one is probably the churches who dance almost violently (whether standing or lying down), playing with snakes, yelling in gibberish (which they like to call tongues), smacking each other with jackets as a form exorcism.

This type of Quakers are straight up crazy. It's practically a cult. They are one of the last examples I would use to show others about Christianity.

I feel that you're thinking of some other group.

Quakers, the Society of Friends, is traditionally associated with quiet worship, simple living, absence of clergy and sacraments, and being guided by the "inner light.' Most of that is quite the opposite of what you've described.

 

[JackRT]

When they left England for America Quakers originally settled in Pennsylvania. The Puritans in New England hated the Quakers and treated Quaker missionaries to New England horribly.

If I remember correctly the first woman to be executed in the New England was a Quaker and that was her crime.