Several years ago, I was talking with an Indiana Quaker discussing the importance of the New Covenant in Quaker thought when his glance and comments revealed his suspicion that I was introducing something new even opposed to his church's teachings.  "Where does this idea of a new covenant come from?" he asked accusingly.  I remained speechless for several seconds, amazed he didn't know the answer and wondering how I could answer without revealing my dismay that he would ask such a…

Thank you Rene, Forest and James and Jim for contributing to this line of thought. It made me think about the importance of the mindset when looking at the Bible. Rene, I reread your chapter on Quakers and Scripture in your book. What a witness of the power of the allegorical or metaphoric way Quakers taught the truth of Scripture.

Your chapter set off a distant bell in my mind about Scripture being taught by allegory so I looked at the history of the church mostly using internet…

Biblical basis of Quaker belief. 

It is obvious from early Quaker writings that they based their beliefs on the Bible.  Because anyone who has read Quaker writings would come to this conclusion, I would like to move beyond this question and address the issue of teaching Scripture to those who wish to understand and possess the power and energy that existed among early Quaker men and women.  



Since there is no doubt but that all the early Quakers including  Fox, Barclay, Penn,…