QuakerQuaker

Primitive Christianity Revived, Again

Why Don't Friends Have Substantive Agreement on Political/Economic/Social Issues?

Sometimes human beings are simply intended to disagree, be divided, see matters differently -- if nothing else, so we won't all be wrong about everything all at once!

And certainly Friends' power as a pressure-group is tiny, if not outright negative -- so that no-one with any sort of secular power needs worry about any position we take, together or separately.

Yet, we are supposed to be able to reconcile differences, even seemingly intractable ones, by being willing to sit with each other even over wide divergences and mutually seek God's discernment on a matter.

Why doesn't this happen more thoroughly among us? -- Why is is so often a hard struggle over matters of wording, leaving the profounder differences in understanding quite untouched?

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Permalink Reply by Adria Gulizia on 8th mo. 3, 2016 at 11:44am

Kirby, taking risk to increase net welfare is not the same as playing slots. It's the latter that I'm referring to as gambling. Friends' historic testimony is largely based on an understanding that it is immoral for you to take the blessings God has given you and hazard them on a chance. Not "invest them in a venture that may or may not work out," but put the blessings at risk in a zero sum context. (Thanks, Forrest, for that image.)

Also, I have to disagree with your characterization of the CRO role. A CRO is not the "gambler"; she's more like the mom who tells you not to drive too fast, or to drink, or to go with your friends to Las Vegas, or ride your bike with headphones on. The CRO's job is to minimize and mitigate risk.

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