A status-defiant hero of mine, M.L. Mencken, went from "Happy Days, 1880-1892" to "Heathen Days, 1890-1936" with a two-year overlap of uncertain transition. In imitation, I would say that Quakers have gone from Helping Days to Hurting Days with the only uncertainty being the mode of expression.

For some of us, the hurt of disillusionment has been turned inward in depression or neurosis. Others of us have developed outward signs of affliction on the body or, more likely, in the body's…

The mother of a friend of mine is a recovered Catholic. Actually, that's not true. One couldn't even honestly call her a recovering Catholic. Both terms would imply that some form of greater healing and reconciliation had taken place. Instead, the wound remains, on plain display in person or posted on a religiously updated Facebook page. She keeps…

The mother of a friend of mine is a recovered Catholic. Actually, that's not true. One couldn't even honestly call her a recovering Catholic. Both terms would imply that some form of greater healing and reconciliation had taken place. Instead, the wound remains, on plain display in person or posted on a religiously updated Facebook page. She keeps…

1 Samuel 10 – Samuel anoints Saul, and then tells him that as a sign to him that he has been anointed, he will meet two men by Rachel’s tomb and they will tell his that the donkeys he was looking for have been found by his father—that his father is now more worried about him than about them.  And then he will meet three men going to Bethel with sacrifices (3 kids, 3 loaves and a skin of wine).  They will give two of the loaves; and after that he will meet a band of prophets in a…

Quakers are charming and lovable. They are hardy and thrive even in the coldest climates. In personality, they are generally intelligent, comical and engaging.

 They are also fearless.

 Most are very vocal, a few even can be said to be noisy. 

 All this I learned at the Quaker Information Center, “a MUST place for Quaker information."

 But why are they called Quakers? This I could not learn. …

1 Samuel 9 – We are introduced to Saul’s family, a wealthy Benjaminite family from Gibeah (just north of Jerusalem), and to Saul, “the most handsome man in Israel” (9:2) and tall—“head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the land” (9:2).

Kish, Saul’s father, sends Saul after some stray donkeys, and Saul searches everywhere for them.  Just when he is getting ready to give up, the boy who is with him suggests they consult Samuel, a man reputed to be a…

1 Samuel 7 – The people take the ark to Kiriath-jearim [thought by many to be today’s Abu Ghosh, 10 miles west of Jerusalem], to the house of Abinadab on the hill. His son Eleazar was given charge of it.  It remains there for 20 years. 

There is a period of revival during this time.  “Israel put away the Baals and the Astartes, and they served the Lord only” (7:4). Samuel called the people together at Mizpah to do penance and fast.  When the Philistines hear of…

August 1, 2013

Quick, name a happily married couple in the New Testament. Let’s make it easier: how about just naming any married couple in the New Testament?

While you are compiling your list, let me say a few words about why this question matters. 

In these weeks after the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was declared unconstitutional (or at least the major parts of it), we are hearing frequent appeals to uphold ‘Biblical marriage’ from those who believe that marriage is…

Ineffable: If it please the Court of Quaker opinion, as with the scriptural people of Ja(h)we(h), we find the experience, if not the Name, of God beyond human expression.

Mot Juste: If time would tell, dear Friends, as with the equally-scriptural children of God, we relate to an immanent parent as our Father/Mother in heaven.

Ineffable: There is no way that the individual person can hold, let alone express, the immensity of religious experience. That is why we worship in…

So, I will resume where I took off last June, with 1 Samuel and Augustine. I will also be adding in another Old Testament reading, so that I am keeping up with the annual schedule. We'll be caught up in a month and then I'll go back to just one OT reading each day.

1 Samuel 5 – The ark is brought to Ashdod (south of Aphek, near the coast) and placed in a shrine to the god Dagon. The presence of the ark causes problems for the idol…