Quakers

[Adammi]

This may be the wrong place to put this but:
I was taught (in a public high school) that Quakers do not believe that the Bible reveals truth, and that they did not believe in meeting together. Are these things true?

 

[Word of Peace]

Quakers have widely differing opinions on the authority of the Bible. Most evangelical quakers have the same beliefs concerning the Bible's authority that most mainstream Christians do. I, for one, believe that the Bible is an authority to an extent that has caused some people to call me a literalist.

As far as meeting together, again, Quakers have widely differing views. The majority of Quakers have an informal meeting style where everyone meets together and stays silent unless someone feels moved by the Spirit to say something, to pray, or whatever. But many evangelical Quakers (the fellowship I belong to not being one of them) have adopted the formal service style seen in most other denominations.

 

[ZiSunka]

This may be the wrong place to put this but:
I was taught (in a public high school) that Quakers do not believe that the Bible reveals truth, and that they did not believe in meeting together. Are these things true?

I went to a Quaker meeting regularly for about a year several years ago, and it is true that Quakers are not obligated to believe that the Bible is true, they are encouraged to believe that anything the "spirit" reveals to them is true. The president of the meeting I attended told me that he didn't believe anything the Bible had to say because it permitted slavery and slavery is evil, therefore the God of the Bible is evil. I tried to explain the difference between Biblical slavery and predatious slavery, but he covered his ears and said that I was speaking out of my prejudices and not from the "spirit." That's when I decided to leave.

I had also been to a meeting in Cleveland, and found that the Bible had no part in their congregation. In fact, during the meeting, one man stood up and said that it would be neat if Christ came back as a little girl next time, because that would help elevate the position of women in society. Then he said that the time after that, Christ should come back as a black man. They seemed to have no knowledge that Christ is returning only once more, as a king, and not as a little girl. They also had a communal meal afterward at which they celebrated the 10 anniversary of the wedding of two lesbian women who were long-time members of the meeting. The women had been "married" at the meeting house by the president of the meeting, with the blessings of the congregation.

But they do believe in meeting together, weekly or more often.

 

[Crazy Liz]

The women had been "married" at the meeting house by the president of the meeting, with the blessings of the congregation.

Actually, that's unlikely among Quakers of the "silent meeting" varieties. Not that they would allow 2 lesbians to be married in their meeting, but that the president would marry them. No one presides at a wedding if it is a "marriage after the manner of Friends." Here's a description of this type of ceremony.

My church is also an Evangelical Friends church, and is much like jdunlap described. My church would never allow a same-sex wedding to happen there. Our sanctuary is large, with a vaulted ceiling and center aisle, so it is much in demand for "traditional" weddings. I have been to several weddings there, and none have been "after the manner of Friends," although one or two of the older couples at our church say they were married this way. I would like to see us return to some of these old Quaker practices because they involve the community more in caring for the couple and their marriage, rather than just having a big "wedding show."

Here's a more complete description of quaker wedding procedures, including the clearness committee, from the rules of one Yearly Meeting (denominational association).

 

[seebs]

I go to a more liberal Quaker church. As Liz observes, it would be unusual to have anyone preside over a marriage; I also don't think we have a "president", or anything of the sort. There's a "ministry and counsel committee", which is about as close as we get to having a pastor.

Quaker attitudes about the Bible vary greatly. But, I will point out, when the Quakers and the Southern Baptists faced off over slavery, both sides cited to the Bible, just with very, very, different approaches to understanding it.

We do definitely meet together (although there's no requirement on how often you attend; it's not a "sin" to miss a meeting, for instance).