When I was growing up it was common to hear people exhorted to become productive members of society. I was thinking of that today as I waited for my Grandson to be dropped off so I could take him to the house where he is presently living. He is 21 and has Aspergers. He is very bright but obsessive about some things of no productive value to Society and very naive or clueless about social standards. Now not caring about social standards is one thing, not being aware is another. He is not now a…
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Added by James C Schultz on 10th mo. 31, 2010 at 10:09pm —
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(Mat 23:15) Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
How is it possible to convert another human from their pagan religion . . . to…
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Added by Rickey D. Whetstone on 10th mo. 30, 2010 at 3:20am —
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(Luke 17:20) And being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered and said, The kingdom of God does not come with observation.
(Luke 17:21) Nor shall they say, Lo here! or, behold, there! For behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
The Pharisees of the time of Jesus . . . were using their physical eyes instead of their spiritual eyes to obtain knowledge from God. Jesus's…
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Added by Rickey D. Whetstone on 10th mo. 28, 2010 at 8:03pm —
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Dumping my old culture five years ago was an important spiritual step. I saw myself clothed in chains of my old culture. As each cultural chain broke off my body I felt a new freedom and sadness at the same time. I thought the sadness . . . that I experienced was me . . . It was not me . . It was a spirit trying to bring me back to my old culture. The instant I saw the spirit it became powerless over me.
I've saw a different spirit this week, and it stood with power . . .…
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Added by Rickey D. Whetstone on 10th mo. 26, 2010 at 10:43pm —
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At meeting this past Sunday a Friend's message asked for help. Specifically she described a particular situation that was troubling her, namely the latest development of our militaristic society, the way that technology-based warfare can create atrocities just as easily as human hands. In so doing, she asked for specific prayers from those gathered for worship. I believe she was lamenting, in part, how human achievement can be so useful and so destructive at the same time. Many Friends rose to…
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Added by Kevin Camp on 10th mo. 26, 2010 at 8:00am —
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Before continuing reading this article, go to this youtube video. I've been a fan of The Onion News Network for a while now, they really do provide some good social and political satire. I do really love satire, because it is a superficial untruth that speaks to a deeper truth. Okay, so now that you've had a good laugh, go to the last few seconds of the video, and watch…
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Added by Brian Martin on 10th mo. 23, 2010 at 5:30pm —
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Our Friday Wrap-up, Week Ending 10/22/10
God Talk:
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 10th mo. 22, 2010 at 8:00pm —
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Ashley W shares the (sometimes messy) style of Freedom Friends. As a member of Freedom Friends, I feel honored when it is mentioned by someone from outside the church, but I know that the reality is a lot messier than our image sometimes is. When I have led worship at Freedom Friends, it has usually been a last-minute thing. Someone else was not available, and I am there and able to lead, so I…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 10th mo. 19, 2010 at 11:30am —
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Danny Coleman: Hearing God. But what I find is that if my mind is filled with "stuff" -- TV, music, etc., then there is too much noise to hear the still small voice of God. It is when I get still and small myself that I'm apt to hear God speak. One of the reasons I became a Quaker was because they seem to have realized this and made it a central part of their worship.…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 10th mo. 19, 2010 at 11:16am —
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Timothy Travis: Being Free Here and Now. My states of mind create my behavior. Sinful states of mind cause evil behavior that causes problems for me and for those around me. Fear pushes me around as though I am a grocery cart. The work of Christ is to bring sin and evil down to earth, down to size, down home, down to me. Sin and its resulting evil are not huge and not far away. Both are small, quiet and…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 10th mo. 19, 2010 at 11:11am —
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Susanne K: Liberal White Guilt and the Quaker Peace Testimony. 'The original [peace testimony] texts actually don’t address the impact of physical violence on its victims. Instead, the writers say they are willing to accept physical suffering if that is the consequence of refusing to engage in violent actions that would make them morally guilty.'…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 10th mo. 19, 2010 at 9:40am —
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Cherice: Preparation and Forms of Worship. I think if programmed worship is done well, it is planned in the presence of God. This means we listen to God as we're planning and preparing various elements. It also means we hold everything loosely during the worship time: if something doesn't feel right at the time, we're open and responsive to letting God change the plans…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 10th mo. 18, 2010 at 8:05pm —
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Right-brained people like me, by turn, have often experienced that which cannot be explained by human thought alone. Few of us find the mystical to be an abstraction. The world is full of experiences that words and concepts cannot accurately reproduce or reflect. We often see the analytical concepts so useful to others as mere constructs of the human imagination. Absolutes are few and a variety of interpretations can answer the same query.…
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Added by Kevin Camp on 10th mo. 18, 2010 at 9:30am —
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Aj Schwanz: Wanting to commit to being with God. I have a piece of paper next to my bed with a quote from the previous week’s homework: 'God, I want to commit to starting every day by asking for you to remind me of your presence with me.'
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 10th mo. 15, 2010 at 7:31pm —
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Cherice: Living Out Calling in Radical Ways? And if we listen to Christ, are we willing to break away from mainstream Christianity in the United States and live out that calling in more radical ways? Are we willing to be different, to not just be another Protestant denomination with a few quirks, like not taking communion? We definitely need to make space to listen to prophets rising…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 10th mo. 15, 2010 at 7:00pm —
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Max Carter: Scripture written before homosexuality understood. In terms of homosexuality, I suspect that most scripture was written way before we had an understanding of the term - and the nature of human sexuality. Most clergy are products of their own culture and boxed sets of perceptions. Our personal experiences are limited. Our logic is often faulty and our reason…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 10th mo. 14, 2010 at 5:37pm —
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LizOpp considers privilege and prophetic ministry. What happens when we "persist in deciding things in this way" to the detriment of the bringing about the kin(g)dom of God? What if we give so much weight to the role of the community and to testing the sense of the meeting that we fail to recognize prophetic ministry that has risen from among us?…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 10th mo. 12, 2010 at 5:38pm —
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Kevin Camp: Shall We Resemble Our Founder Or Our Creator? I am reminded of this when I contemplate just how many schisms and divisions Quakerism has undergone over the years. Being that we carry within us the memory of George Fox, we often believe that our unique branch, yearly meeting, organization, tradition, or manner of worship is the correct one, and that someone else’s is in vain. One…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 10th mo. 12, 2010 at 3:00pm —
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"I was to bring people off from all the world's religions, which are in vain."
A bold pronouncement for any age, this is George Fox in his own words. My respect for Fox is immense, but I must admit I simply can’t agree with it. Put this way, Fox comes across as something of an agent of intolerance, not an inspirational leader.
Last week, I spoke at some length to a friend who has expressed…
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Added by Kevin Camp on 10th mo. 11, 2010 at 3:59pm —
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David Johns: When Do We Lay it Down? Occasionally we expect the committees (and let’s add here, organizations, meetings, churches, programs, etc.) we form to last, if not forever, for a very long time. How do we know when something has served its purpose? How do we know when it is time to move on? How do we know when it is time, as Quakers like to say, to “lay it down.”…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 10th mo. 11, 2010 at 2:50pm —
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