[Posted at http://simplicityprocess.com/2015/02/25/simplicity-aint-as-easy-as-it-looks/]

The alternate title considered for this post was, “What Was I Thinking?”

I was sort of on a roll for awhile, posting here several times a week, engaging with comments on the …

Witnessing to Presence as air.

Generally speaking, we don't argue over breathing air. I mean, there are no groups advocating for a particular way of breathing air. There are no air intake traditions. There are no groups running around advocating for a particular philosophy or theology of breathing. Furthermore, there are no political groups or politicians advocating against people who do not breath the correct way or groups who would persecute others who do not breath the way they…

Today, after centuries of Christendom’s affirmations that “Jesus is the answer,” he is free at last to be the question again. After centuries in which Christian adherence served as a conformist cloak of social respectability for many, whatever their misgivings, confusions, and hypocrisies, the unabashed Christian is now rather suspect in growing sectors of western society. Now it is getting interesting! After centuries in the gilded cage of officially sanctioned…

Earlier last week I wrote about a Quaker resource center in DC, William Penn House, under threat of closure. Since then, it has been established that the…

About a decade ago, I was curious about the reasons for the peace testimony and whether they had changed over time, and so I read a number of statements from different yearly meetings and other corporate bodies of Friends that had been written over the centuries. The list of excerpted reasons follows below.

 This exercise came to mind when I read Jim Wilson's blog post "Why I am not a Progressive Quaker." I share Jim's dislike of the "hyper-individualism which has led to the…

When thinking about the process of grief, depression is probably what comes to most people’s minds. Whether someone you care about has died, you’ve lost a job, or a relationship has ended, it’s natural to be sad. But depression is more than just being sad. It can also be feeling irritable and restless. Or it could be feeling “empty” inside, and not enjoying the things you used to do. Sometimes it shows up as feeling guilty about being happy at all after a loss, because you feel as though you…

The William Penn House has been a crucial hub of Quaker activity in Washington, DC, since 1966. It is a combination of watering hole and resource center where many of our local activities are scheduled. William Penn House, named after one of the most influential Friends ever, has been a Friendly presence only blocks from the Capitol.



The House, as…

The US President and officials in his administration believe in outward remedies to the ills of this world based upon their adherence to particular political, secular, and religious philosophies. The basic idea that, if you acknowledge and address the grievances of people (like use government to give them jobs) they will stop terrorising and killing is political agenda based on the false assumption that outward lack is the cause of killing and terrorism. The cause of terrorism is a conscious…

Read an interesting article on the religious aspects of ISIS.  Reading the article reminded me of many of my own experiences as I started on my spiritual journey.  The article points out that the people of ISIS believe they are on a spiritual mission  It's my experience that you don't get this kind of fervor and the results they have achieved without some spiritual support.  In the old Testament there are several instances where nations rose up and seized power and even took the Isrealites…

Pianist Byron Janis recently shared his thoughts on what makes "Chopin Chopin" in a column for the Wall Street Journal. As he explains:

No word is more important in describing the…

New Blog Post: "North American Liberation Theology II: Doing Liberation Theology in North America"

at https://lettersfromthestreet.wordpress.com/

Why I’m Not a Progressive Quaker

In 2014 Chuck Fager, a dedicated activist, peaceworker, and Quaker historian, as well as the publisher of the thoughtful journal ‘Quaker Theology’, published two books on the history of Progressive Friends.  One is called Angels of Progress; it is a documentary history of Progressive Friends.  In Angels Fager recovers many significant episodes in the history of the Progressives and the writings wherein they defined themselves and…

All throughout the whole of various religious contexts there is a sentiment that acting and contemplation are different; that you have to come off the mountain to act.

This sentiment is misplaced. It may be that Moses had to come off the mountain to share God's words, however, it is not the case in the immediacy of Presence. Under the new covenant, inward Christ is the mountain and we are now blessed with mountaintop rest while acting at the same time.

New Foundation Fellowship announces the arrival of our new literature website at Foundationpublicationsnffusa.org. At the site are approximately two dozen items available for purchase: books and pamphlets written and/or edited by NFF workers from Britain, Europe, and the United States. One may also subscribe for one or two years to Foundation Papers, a quarterly periodical. The site is…

In my gathering of acceptable terms and conditions that came together in my family of over three generations, the thought that stayed alive with me is if I have a Quaker education or not, and who will be there to plant the seeds of truth, wisdom and social justice in my kinships to family and friends. The Bible says that the will of Jesus  for us as his disciples is basically to congregate, and to come together as a world that belongs to him, to seek his good intention, and discuss amongst…