Friends,



I have watched some folks I have come to appreciate as companions for my journey, leave QuakerQuaker. I have thought myself about whether to continue to be involved. The reasons why some have left have to do with a sense that QQ is unwelcoming to non-Christian Quakers. I feel that they are partly right, however, I intend to stay and to try and remain respectful of the site's intent.



Most of you know that I am an ex-Christian nontheist Quaker. I came to Quakerism… Continue

Recently, some of us have been discussing nontheism and Quakerism in a forum at QuakerQuaker. My latest posting touched something deeply personal for me, and I thought I'd share that as a blog post.



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Daniel wrote: "Where I am confused is when you state you are a non-theist. From this I understand you to mean a non-God person. Why do you seek if you've already decided there is no One, no Light to be… Continue

I want to provide some context that may shed light on what I intended to say, but apparently failed to communicate to some.



In 2007, I became involved with the Christian and Interfaith Relations Committee of FGC. We are the caretakers of FGC's relationships to other religious bodies. One of the key relationships we have is with the World Council of Churches, an association of many of the largest Protestant and Orthodox Christian denominations. During a work meeting on an ecumenical… Continue

Though I am an ex-Christian nontheist Quaker, I am committed to accepting and promoting the Christian norms of liberal Quakerism. Some Quakers see a renewal of the Christian character of Quakerism as a survival necessity. Christians are the majority in our culture and if liberal Quakers are going to grow, they reason, the largest pool of potential new Quakers are Christians.



My own take on this is that in our majority Christian culture, there is an immense need for progressive… Continue

I should give credit to "Quaker Oats Live" blogger Cherice for inspiring me to write on this topic.



For the past two years I have been involved with the Christian and Interfaith Relations Committee (CIRC) of FGC. As I visited various program committees of FGC Central Committee, I found that the sorts of business and discussions being carried out by CIRC excited and nourished me deeply.



(To disclose my personal biases, I will mention that I was born a Pentecostal, converted… Continue

"It has been our cherished purpose to restore the union between religion and life, and to place works of goodness and mercy far above theological speculations and scholastic subtleties of doctrine." Exposition of Sentiments Adopted by the Pennsylvania Yearly Meeting of Progressive Friends, 1853.



In the 1850s, some Quakers began to dramatically shift their religious orientation from a heavenly to an earthly perspective. The Progressive Friends movement was made up of both… Continue