I love y’all y’all sound great God bless you all I want to learn so much about quakers and if I’m not mistaking were y’all like one of the people to bring Christianity to America idk but y’all sound so cool
I am from a country which is 99% Muslim. I was born into and raised Muslim, which I rejected as an adult. The test stated I am "Conservative Christian Protestant" which comes as no surprise to me or anyone who knows me. I have Quaker friends whom I hold in high regard. However, I am too activist to join them.
I am now a convinced Quaker and have been for about a year now, but man would my life been so different if I was raised Quaker! I’m so at peace now that I’ve finally found a space I feel comfortable in :)
My ancestors fled England, then Ireland, as Friends to establish a meeting in western Virginia in1734, My father, then, was raised in a Quakerism that fell somewhere between the two: Meetings were silent but I can't say these Friends were liberal at all. The Bible was read often and my father took me to another Meeting often (my father and mother settled on her Methodist upbringing and so he was split in his beliefs). I felt as a child that there was something so special about the quiet though my father said nothing about "centering" or "looking for the light within". He did practice trying to see the good in everyone and encouraged us to do the same. I had, until recently, begun going to a Unitarian Universalist Congregation but didn't like the "political" infighting. I wanted PEACE, so I found a Meeting that brings me peace and I am making connections with people and seeking to be of service to the Meeting in some small way. My terror is that I will be told that I have to "take Jesus for my Lord and Savior" or...well, you know the rest. I feel God's presence and am comforted by it. I believe there was an historic Jesus and a movement grew from his teachings. I believe that the gnostics wrote just as much as the mainstream Jesus Movement and that in translation through many different languages (the Torah and Qu'ran are always copied word-for-word) and that in the 4th century "the Church" decided what THEY wanted the Holy Bible to say, and that it would remain in Latin so that there would be no question of the Church's authority. I want to become a Quaker, but I don't know if I am able to accept that Jesus was the Son of God just because it is written in a book written by people who may have been as flawed as am I. So what am I? Will I simply remain a "visitor" or "seeker"? If someone has an answer, I would greatly appreciate a response.
Hi Valerie, I don't know if I have any answers as I'm in a similar position to you, having only started attending my local meeting a year ago, but I guess I wanted to reach out and connect. I come from a more traditional Christian background - I left the Anglican church because of politics, not theology - and I've found to my amusement that without having changed my theology in any meaningful way I've gone from being one of the most 'liberal' people in my church (yay, environmentalism! Yay, social justice!) to being one of the most 'conservative' people in my meeting (yay, Jesus! Yay, reading the bible!). Most Quakers in New Zealand are probably more Universalist than Christian, and they seem to be quite comfortable with me retaining my beliefs as long as I'm comfortable with respecting their beliefs. Which means a lot of really interesting and enriching dialogue which I hope flows both ways. I have no idea whether things are similar where you are, but perhaps there are people in your meeting you can sound out on the subject. It makes me really sad to think of anyone being terrified of being asked what they believe about Jesus - that's definitely a failing by far too many churches and Christians that so many people feel that way. If you haven't already begun doing so, I'd invite you to engage in a similar process to me in deciding whether to become a member or not: - attend a meeting regularly - visit other meetings as the opportunity arises - read books about Quakerism and its history, by both contemporary and past authors - watch videos like this (Woodbrooke College, in the UK, also has a channel) - attend larger Quaker gatherings and events of you get the chance. - talk to Quakers about what being a Quaker means to them. If you want to reach out via messaging to chat further (I THINK UA-cam lets you do that), I'd be cool with that. We can stumble through this journey together!
At some point you will have to reach out and honestly test out what you believe, otherwise you will simply end up contracted and lose what you have. If it turns out you don't fit in then that's going to have to be accepted. After all, we can't be in a position of false feelings that go against our instincts or self etc. That would be worse in the end. Like it or not this is so common that the only way one can continue is to find mature and stable answers is to continue to trancend you own limits. Your limits can't just sit with you . The whole point is to listen, feel, reflect and grow ...into God realisation... If you don't work on this self then you will more of less be looking to others for acceptance . That's ok as it's part of spiritual and human life, but, you will tend to be negative, and fragmented rather than solid self acceptance which will help frame your feelings and relationships. This is one reason Jesus is an issue for you . You have to feel and think seriously about what you are there for . If it's others they will let you down. If it's silence and feeling safe then stay in that position. If it's to seek that which is greater and have faith then you will need to do some serious private study, reflection and maybe eventually dialogue with someone . Good luck
Hi Valerie; i liked your comment. Can I add something? Like your father I myself have embraced Quakerism having come from a Pentecostal Christian background much like early Methodism. I like you was attracted by the Light in the silence and I have dropped 99% of the external Christian liturgy and similarly like yourself I read some of Gnostic stuff too but am just curious in that area right now. On your fears of following Jesus I would say that any kind of fears are rooted in ego so just don't listen to much to it as it sounds like you enjoy your Quaker journey right now so just continue to enjoy it and the Light will teach you what you need to know, not your ego. I personally believe that the Light is Jesus, both the historical and Spirit from my own spiritual awakenings...it is possible just to ask Him if the Light is actually Him or not and He will answer one way or the other at some point but don't fear it all as the Light loves you just as you are and where you are right now.
Valerie Smith The vast majority of Quakers are not Christians. They are Universalists who practice concepts from the “New Thought” movement, which has pagan roots. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Thought Even the Quakers who consider themselves Christians are, from what I have seen and heard, not very devout in their devotion to Jesus and the Bible as being the only supreme truth. And I think that last point is also evidence by the fact that they would stay in a religious denomination where Liberal Quakers exist and are openly not Christian and do not believe in the divinity or Jesus Christ. Devout Bible believing Christians would refuse to be yoked under the same title (Quaker) as non-Christians. The Bible is clear about Christians being set apart. So, I think Quakerism might be up your alley if you don’t believe in Jesus as the one and only true Messiah and way to salvation. Most Quakers do not believe that either. But I do caution you not to call yourself a Christian if you aren’t one, which I think is a real failing in honesty from the Quaker religion.
Who are the Quakers who believe that "Jesus" (not his name until 400 years ago) taught and upheld the Torah? (Acts 15:20-21) Most of Christianity believes that he brought a "new" religion. But he was actually more Quaker in an emphasis on a continuing relationship that evolves.
Dang, man. I was having a tough time deciding a denomination. I found Quaker and it fit my beliefs. Then I find out that it's split in half and I like half of one side and half of the other side lol. On one end, I like the accepting of different beliefs and the not having rituals that the liberal quakers have.
As someone who is currently doing a lot of reading on Quaker beginnings and traditional Quaker theology, I would love (LOVE!!!!!!!) a video on the Great Separation, even though I know it's a difficult subject but I feel like it is really meaningful and important for anyone who was not raised Quaker and is trying to find their place within Quaker history.
From doing my genealogy my family came from N.C. and they were all Quakers from the time they came to America. I have been raised Methodist. And recently tried Baptist. But i'm not happy. I haven't found were I belong. Maybe it's Quaker!? Like my family before. I'm trying to learn more about being Quaker.
I discovered the Quakers by taking one of those quizzes. I was too conservative for the FGC Quakers and too liberal for the Evangelical Quakers, so I ended up becoming an affiliate member of a far-away Conservative Quaker meeting, which no quiz addresses, since there are so few Conservative Quakers left. Like the Liberal Quakers, they hold their meetings in silence, but like the Evangelical Quakers, they still hold Christianity at the center of their theology.
@@vincentwilliams8685 I went to a Quaker meeting in my city (UK also), and found it had more to do with political activism and judging 'the opponent' (whoever that is), than practicing one's faith. Eventually, I had to stop going, as it was disheartening.
I was raised in an orthodox evangelical environment which I fled lately at age 21, followed by two decades of tough inner reconstruction. I recently happily discovered your channel of which I love (and maybe selectively only notice ?) its liberal - as it seems ? - spirituality which reminds me of the local Buddhist / Mindfulness group I joined two years ago : Mutual attention and weighed words interspersed with a refreshing silence.
In my case I think I ended up with the Liberal Quaker answer because my own personal opinion is that doing good things matters more than who is or is not going to heaven.
I started attending my local Quaker meeting in New Zealand about a year ago, and I think we must be a bit different here. I know we're a small community - about 500 Members throughout the country, plus Attenders (like me), out of a total New Zealand population of roughly 4 million people. From what I've learned, Quakers in New Zealand: - are more closely aligned to British than American quakerism (goes back to our origins) - meet in unprogrammed worship exclusively or almost exclusively - are socially active and progressive on a range of issues, including peace, biculturalism and reconciliation with indigenous Maori people, and environmentalism - tend to be universalists and would not, in many if not most cases, identify as Christian or would say "yes, but..." So I don't know if I'd be a liberal or a conservative Quaker by any of the standards discussed!
I'm wondering if there is a place for me in Quakerism. I'm not a modern liberal politically, but I'm into the idea of silent prayer and vocal ministry in a group setting. I would like to feel safe in my vocal admissions of goodness without the prospect of political persecution. Is there a middle-ground somewhere between Liberal and Orthodox Quakerism for someone like myself? Can anyone speak to this? I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. Happy to meet online. At the moment, I'm a newbie still considering the leap of faith. For the past ten years, I have been an agnostic. Peace to you.
From what ive gathered, the words liberal and conservative are not used the same way within quakerism as they are in modern politics. I would be extremely surprised if you were not welcomed at a meeting.
Hi Andrè, I don't actually attend meeting but I grew up semi-quaker in the south bay. There are several meetings in the bay area: Berkeley, San Jose, Palo Alto, I think San Francisco? and strawberry creek(also in Berkeley). I believe that all of these meetings have websites that you can check out for more clarity. All the california meetings I have attended are on the "liberal" end of the spectrum, both religiously and politically. However, I do not believe any quaker will "persecute" you for any beliefs, because that is really un- quakerly :). Hopefully there is no one who proves me wrong! I can tell you how meetings go though, and there is no "cross talk" so no one should be responding to any "vocal ministry" during "worship" time. "Meeting for Worship" usually goes as follows: members sit in silence in some sort of circular formation, usually for an hour. During this time anyone who feels that they would like to share ( i think this is supposed to be a feeling that a higher power has lead you to speak) stands up and speaks and then sits back down and the silence continues. Sometimes no one speaks. Sometimes a lot of people speak. There is usually a certain amount of silent pause between people speaking, not sure if this is quantified somewheren or just sort of courtesy. It is true that people, especially bay area folks, often reference NPR as was mentioned in the video! :D hehe. Although I have attended meetings, I did not have a lot of education in quakerism growing up, so I may be wrong on some of these points. But hopefully this gives you a better idea of what to expect. If your were to stay for business meeting that is when you will hear many opinions! XD so maybe skip that initially! In general there are not very many Quakers out there. So, any meeting you attend will likely greet you with much enthusiasm at having a newcomer.
My father and his maternal family were Quakers for many generations. I also consider myself to be Quaker, though I've no idea what 'flavor.' ~ha I've also never been to a Friend's meeting. There is a meeting here in the local area, but their website is kinda cringeworthy for me. I'm interested in politics, but not the politics they want to push.. It seemed very politically active, so much so that politics seemed to be paramount to every other consideration.. I don't think I'd be comfortable there. 😕
If you go to the "other meeting" just go with an open mind and realize you may have experienced more diversity in Quakerism than many Friends ever will have.
My family was Hicksite. Didn’t know about the other folks until I was in my 20s. I called a meeting close to my new home in Ohio. The minister’s wife answered!!! She said their meeting was a church! Goose Creek Friends Meeting (my home) was great convergence of the two traditions. We included a short weekly bible reading in silent worship and we had first day school. That’s about as close to mainstream Christianity as I can get.
Thank you for this. I have been interested in the version of Quakerism that matches one of the few things I have read by George Fox. All of your videos match his ideas. But when I looked into local Friends Churches they looked nothing like that. Far more traditional orthodox evangelical Christianity. Now I understand why. So what happens if there are no Friends meetings in my area and at the same time there is no evangelicalism?
I'm a lay American Reform Jew, and I took the same Beliefnet quiz, and it said I was a Quaker too. Actually I scored a tie between "Reform Jewish" and "Liberal Quaker" which confirms your assessment of the quiz. Other quizzes have resulted similarly. No surprise that an Israeli Orthodox Rabbi would score as "Quaker" too. Obviously neither of us answered "yes" to most of the "Jesus" questions. Speaking as a programmer that probably means that they don't score very heavily on the quiz algorithm's "Quaker rating" scale. It probably takes all the answers and compares them to "standard" answers from each group to see which ones you most line up with. Probably the various Judaisms and the various Quakerisms look pretty similar to the algorithm. If we put Jesus and NT to one side, and if we put Jewish ritual ways to one side (in Quaker jargon, our "peculiar ways") you'll find enormous overlap - the focus on the here and now, this world behavior and righteous behavior; the certainty that regardless of one's beliefs or affiliation the Creator is open to everybody, even "the Spark of the Divine" corresponds closely (I think?) to your "That of God" in everybody. Attend an Orthodox Jewish service... there is a programmed service led from the front BUT not everybody is following it. There's a guy standing to one side with a prayerbook, doing his own thing and ignoring everybody else entirely. On the other side, two guys are chatting about politics and their grandchildren. Attend a Reform Jewish service.... there is a programmed service led from the front BUT not everybody is following it. There's a guy in a middle row with his jaw set, insisting on NOT saying some of the prayers and there's a woman on the other side inserting phrases that aren't in the book. At some point everybody stands and recites something together... well they start off together, but two sentences later they are reciting different words at the same time. Don't worry, they'll have a snack together afterwards. It may well be that y'all are very close to the religion OF Jesus, as distinct from the religion ABOUT Jesus. Ask me about the joke about standing for Shema....
To me as a Quaker in Europe it is so strange in a way to know that there are super conservative quakers out there. I just can’t imagine going to a meeting where I meet people who are anti gay or anti woman, or anti abortion and so on. Or having a person leading the meeting. I could personally never feel at home in a place like that. When that is said, I’m happy that there are room for all sorts of views and interpretation of what Quakerism is for the individual. I just know that I want my mind and spirit to be free.....and in the light....in freedom.
I am a member and theologian of the russian-orthodox church and this quizz declared me to be an orthodox quaker. I read about them and I find them very, VERY sympathetic, actually, so the quiz seems not to be entirely wrong.
This is great. I'm glad that Max states that 1) these two variations are imperfect (I don't even know many Friends who are "orthodox" who even use the term) and 2) it's important to do research. It's especially important that Friends meetings state explicitly that they are welcoming congregations. There are evangelical Friends Churches who are (and most aren't) and unprogrammed meetings who aren't (but most are).
This one has my vote for least-clear Quakerspeak video. The way he went through the group descriptions honestly just made me more confused. I don't know, based on his descriptions, what category my own meeting is, and I have been attending since 2005!
I’ve been trying to figure out what the term Fighting Quaker is about, since violence is abhorrent to Friends and forbidden. This video popped up and gave me little to go on.
@@psychshell4644 I Have done some research recently and I found a distant cousin by the name of Smedley Darlington Butler. Look up the guy. There's no pillows involved.
It came from the late 18th century; some members of Friends meetings took up arms in the revolutionary war. For the most part, they were 'disowned' by their meetings.
Necessário é nascermos de novo em CRISTO JESUS O SENHOR para termos vida eterna. Devemos nos arrependermos de nossos pecados e nos apegarmos ás Sagradas Escrituras. Um abraço a todos! Pr. Cássio Roberto.
The Gospel of salvation of our souls: 💜💕💜💖💕For what I received I passed on to you as of [first importance]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time,
Why do so many of you wear long beards? There is no historical precedent except in Victorian times when it became the worldly fashion everywhere anyway. Before then it was almost unknown and the odd bearded Friend treated as an eccentric (James Naylor, Benjamin Lay, Joshua Evans). Is it to copy Amish, Tolstoy or Doukhobors?
Maybe from the bible ? Leviticus 19:27 “you shall not cut the hair off your head or cut your beard” or Leviticus 21:15 which is pretty much the same paraphrase some other passages are-proverbs 20:19-judges 16:17-numbers 6:5 hope this helps (not sure if this is actually the reason why they do this just some scriptural evidence) 💕🕯
Dear God🙏💕♥️ in heaven, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I acknowledge to You that I am a sinner, and I am sorry for my sins and the life that I have lived; I need your forgiveness. I believe that your only begotten Son Jesus Christ shed His precious blood on the cross at Calvary and died for my sins, and I am now willing to turn from my sin. You said in the bible that if we confess the Lord our God and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we shall be saved. Right now I confess Jesus as my Lord. With my heart, I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. This very moment I accept Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior and according to His Word, right now I am saved. Amen.
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I love y’all y’all sound great God bless you all I want to learn so much about quakers and if I’m not mistaking were y’all like one of the people to bring Christianity to America idk but y’all sound so cool
I am one of those people who found "Liberal Quakerism" through the beliefnet denomination quiz :) And it turns out that it was extremely accurate.
Haha same!
Cool
Same!
I got 100% Mahayana Buddhism, 99% Liberal Quakerism, 89% new thought.
I am from a country which is 99% Muslim. I was born into and raised Muslim, which I rejected as an adult. The test stated I am "Conservative Christian Protestant" which comes as no surprise to me or anyone who knows me. I have Quaker friends whom I hold in high regard. However, I am too activist to join them.
I am now a convinced Quaker and have been for about a year now, but man would my life been so different if I was raised Quaker! I’m so at peace now that I’ve finally found a space I feel comfortable in :)
I'm so happy for you I have always felt safe around quakers
My ancestors fled England, then Ireland, as Friends to establish a meeting in western Virginia in1734, My father, then, was raised in a Quakerism that fell somewhere between the two: Meetings were silent but I can't say these Friends were liberal at all. The Bible was read often and my father took me to another Meeting often (my father and mother settled on her Methodist upbringing and so he was split in his beliefs). I felt as a child that there was something so special about the quiet though my father said nothing about "centering" or "looking for the light within". He did practice trying to see the good in everyone and encouraged us to do the same. I had, until recently, begun going to a Unitarian Universalist Congregation but didn't like the "political" infighting. I wanted PEACE, so I found a Meeting that brings me peace and I am making connections with people and seeking to be of service to the Meeting in some small way. My terror is that I will be told that I have to "take Jesus for my Lord and Savior" or...well, you know the rest. I feel God's presence and am comforted by it. I believe there was an historic Jesus and a movement grew from his teachings. I believe that the gnostics wrote just as much as the mainstream Jesus Movement and that in translation through many different languages (the Torah and Qu'ran are always copied word-for-word) and that in the 4th century "the Church" decided what THEY wanted the Holy Bible to say, and that it would remain in Latin so that there would be no question of the Church's authority. I want to become a Quaker, but I don't know if I am able to accept that Jesus was the Son of God just because it is written in a book written by people who may have been as flawed as am I. So what am I? Will I simply remain a "visitor" or "seeker"? If someone has an answer, I would greatly appreciate a response.
Hi Valerie, I don't know if I have any answers as I'm in a similar position to you, having only started attending my local meeting a year ago, but I guess I wanted to reach out and connect.
I come from a more traditional Christian background - I left the Anglican church because of politics, not theology - and I've found to my amusement that without having changed my theology in any meaningful way I've gone from being one of the most 'liberal' people in my church (yay, environmentalism! Yay, social justice!) to being one of the most 'conservative' people in my meeting (yay, Jesus! Yay, reading the bible!).
Most Quakers in New Zealand are probably more Universalist than Christian, and they seem to be quite comfortable with me retaining my beliefs as long as I'm comfortable with respecting their beliefs. Which means a lot of really interesting and enriching dialogue which I hope flows both ways.
I have no idea whether things are similar where you are, but perhaps there are people in your meeting you can sound out on the subject. It makes me really sad to think of anyone being terrified of being asked what they believe about Jesus - that's definitely a failing by far too many churches and Christians that so many people feel that way.
If you haven't already begun doing so, I'd invite you to engage in a similar process to me in deciding whether to become a member or not:
- attend a meeting regularly
- visit other meetings as the opportunity arises
- read books about Quakerism and its history, by both contemporary and past authors
- watch videos like this (Woodbrooke College, in the UK, also has a channel)
- attend larger Quaker gatherings and events of you get the chance.
- talk to Quakers about what being a Quaker means to them.
If you want to reach out via messaging to chat further (I THINK UA-cam lets you do that), I'd be cool with that. We can stumble through this journey together!
At some point you will have to reach out and honestly test out what you believe, otherwise you will simply end up contracted and lose what you have. If it turns out you don't fit in then that's going to have to be accepted. After all, we can't be in a position of false feelings that go against our instincts or self etc. That would be worse in the end. Like it or not this is so common that the only way one can continue is to find mature and stable answers is to continue to trancend you own limits. Your limits can't just sit with you . The whole point is to listen, feel, reflect and grow ...into God realisation...
If you don't work on this self then you will more of less be looking to others for acceptance . That's ok as it's part of spiritual and human life, but, you will tend to be negative, and fragmented rather than solid self acceptance which will help frame your feelings and relationships.
This is one reason Jesus is an issue for you . You have to feel and think seriously about what you are there for . If it's others they will let you down. If it's silence and feeling safe then stay in that position. If it's to seek that which is greater and have faith then you will need to do some serious private study, reflection and maybe eventually dialogue with someone .
Good luck
Hi Valerie; i liked your comment. Can I add something? Like your father I myself have embraced Quakerism having come from a Pentecostal Christian background much like early Methodism. I like you was attracted by the Light in the silence and I have dropped 99% of the external Christian liturgy and similarly like yourself I read some of Gnostic stuff too but am just curious in that area right now. On your fears of following Jesus I would say that any kind of fears are rooted in ego so just don't listen to much to it as it sounds like you enjoy your Quaker journey right now so just continue to enjoy it and the Light will teach you what you need to know, not your ego. I personally believe that the Light is Jesus, both the historical and Spirit from my own spiritual awakenings...it is possible just to ask Him if the Light is actually Him or not and He will answer one way or the other at some point but don't fear it all as the Light loves you just as you are and where you are right now.
Valerie Smith The vast majority of Quakers are not Christians. They are Universalists who practice concepts from the “New Thought” movement, which has pagan roots.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Thought
Even the Quakers who consider themselves Christians are, from what I have seen and heard, not very devout in their devotion to Jesus and the Bible as being the only supreme truth. And I think that last point is also evidence by the fact that they would stay in a religious denomination where Liberal Quakers exist and are openly not Christian and do not believe in the divinity or Jesus Christ. Devout Bible believing Christians would refuse to be yoked under the same title (Quaker) as non-Christians. The Bible is clear about Christians being set apart. So, I think Quakerism might be up your alley if you don’t believe in Jesus as the one and only true Messiah and way to salvation. Most Quakers do not believe that either. But I do caution you not to call yourself a Christian if you aren’t one, which I think is a real failing in honesty from the Quaker religion.
@@sublimesamoyed Most Friends are indeed Christians and Bible believers. Where are you getting your information???
Who are the Quakers who believe that "Jesus" (not his name until 400 years ago) taught and upheld the Torah? (Acts 15:20-21) Most of Christianity believes that he brought a "new" religion. But he was actually more Quaker in an emphasis on a continuing relationship that evolves.
Dang, man. I was having a tough time deciding a denomination. I found Quaker and it fit my beliefs. Then I find out that it's split in half and I like half of one side and half of the other side lol.
On one end, I like the accepting of different beliefs and the not having rituals that the liberal quakers have.
I am finding these sessions easy to understand and enjoyable to follow. Thank-you from London!
As someone who is currently doing a lot of reading on Quaker beginnings and traditional Quaker theology, I would love (LOVE!!!!!!!) a video on the Great Separation, even though I know it's a difficult subject but I feel like it is really meaningful and important for anyone who was not raised Quaker and is trying to find their place within Quaker history.
It's a good idea! Thanks
From doing my genealogy my family came from N.C. and they were all Quakers from the time they came to America. I have been raised Methodist. And recently tried Baptist. But i'm not happy. I haven't found were I belong. Maybe it's Quaker!? Like my family before. I'm trying to learn more about being Quaker.
Max is such a skilled communicator, this ended up being a pleasure to watch in addition to informative!
I discovered the Quakers by taking one of those quizzes. I was too conservative for the FGC Quakers and too liberal for the Evangelical Quakers, so I ended up becoming an affiliate member of a far-away Conservative Quaker meeting, which no quiz addresses, since there are so few Conservative Quakers left. Like the Liberal Quakers, they hold their meetings in silence, but like the Evangelical Quakers, they still hold Christianity at the center of their theology.
I'm right there with thee Brother. Just threw the thee in for fun !
Same here Friend..from the UK but I'm Wilburite.
I find truths in all religion
Same here.
@@vincentwilliams8685 I went to a Quaker meeting in my city (UK also), and found it had more to do with political activism and judging 'the opponent' (whoever that is), than practicing one's faith. Eventually, I had to stop going, as it was disheartening.
I was raised in an orthodox evangelical environment which I fled lately at age 21, followed by two decades of tough inner reconstruction.
I recently happily discovered your channel of which I love (and maybe selectively only notice ?) its liberal - as it seems ? - spirituality which reminds me of the local Buddhist / Mindfulness group I joined two years ago : Mutual attention and weighed words interspersed with a refreshing silence.
In my case I think I ended up with the Liberal Quaker answer because my own personal opinion is that doing good things matters more than who is or is not going to heaven.
"The Valhalla of Quakerism." Picturing this made me chuckle! X-D
I can neither affirm or deny the visceral emotions that came to me as he said "Valhalla of Quakerism." It was mostly confusion.
I think that, from that phrase of him, we can say he's a (nowadays called) liberal quaker
I started attending my local Quaker meeting in New Zealand about a year ago, and I think we must be a bit different here.
I know we're a small community - about 500 Members throughout the country, plus Attenders (like me), out of a total New Zealand population of roughly 4 million people. From what I've learned, Quakers in New Zealand:
- are more closely aligned to British than American quakerism (goes back to our origins)
- meet in unprogrammed worship exclusively or almost exclusively
- are socially active and progressive on a range of issues, including peace, biculturalism and reconciliation with indigenous Maori people, and environmentalism
- tend to be universalists and would not, in many if not most cases, identify as Christian or would say "yes, but..."
So I don't know if I'd be a liberal or a conservative Quaker by any of the standards discussed!
This what he described as liberal
I love the group you describe! Blessings and Peace!
I'm wondering if there is a place for me in Quakerism. I'm not a modern liberal politically, but I'm into the idea of silent prayer and vocal ministry in a group setting. I would like to feel safe in my vocal admissions of goodness without the prospect of political persecution. Is there a middle-ground somewhere between Liberal and Orthodox Quakerism for someone like myself? Can anyone speak to this? I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. Happy to meet online. At the moment, I'm a newbie still considering the leap of faith. For the past ten years, I have been an agnostic. Peace to you.
From what ive gathered, the words liberal and conservative are not used the same way within quakerism as they are in modern politics. I would be extremely surprised if you were not welcomed at a meeting.
Hi Andrè,
I don't actually attend meeting but I grew up semi-quaker in the south bay. There are several meetings in the bay area: Berkeley, San Jose, Palo Alto, I think San Francisco? and strawberry creek(also in Berkeley). I believe that all of these meetings have websites that you can check out for more clarity. All the california meetings I have attended are on the "liberal" end of the spectrum, both religiously and politically. However, I do not believe any quaker will "persecute" you for any beliefs, because that is really un- quakerly :). Hopefully there is no one who proves me wrong! I can tell you how meetings go though, and there is no "cross talk" so no one should be responding to any "vocal ministry" during "worship" time.
"Meeting for Worship" usually goes as follows:
members sit in silence in some sort of circular formation, usually for an hour. During this time anyone who feels that they would like to share ( i think this is supposed to be a feeling that a higher power has lead you to speak) stands up and speaks and then sits back down and the silence continues. Sometimes no one speaks. Sometimes a lot of people speak. There is usually a certain amount of silent pause between people speaking, not sure if this is quantified somewheren or just sort of courtesy. It is true that people, especially bay area folks, often reference NPR as was mentioned in the video! :D hehe.
Although I have attended meetings, I did not have a lot of education in quakerism growing up, so I may be wrong on some of these points. But hopefully this gives you a better idea of what to expect.
If your were to stay for business meeting that is when you will hear many opinions! XD so maybe skip that initially!
In general there are not very many Quakers out there. So, any meeting you attend will likely greet you with much enthusiasm at having a newcomer.
This was very helpful. Thank you
Ha. I took the same quiz and also came out Quaker. Funny thing, I was just introduced to the Friends and do like them.
Very interesting and helpful.
thank you😀
Valhalla of quakerism ...oh what an image. I love it.
Thanks for the explication
My father and his maternal family were Quakers for many generations. I also consider myself to be Quaker, though I've no idea what 'flavor.' ~ha
I've also never been to a Friend's meeting. There is a meeting here in the local area, but their website is kinda cringeworthy for me. I'm interested in politics, but not the politics they want to push.. It seemed very politically active, so much so that politics seemed to be paramount to every other consideration.. I don't think I'd be comfortable there. 😕
I encourage you to visit other meetings.
If you go to the "other meeting" just go with an open mind and realize you may have experienced more diversity in Quakerism than many Friends ever will have.
My family was Hicksite. Didn’t know about the other folks until I was in my 20s. I called a meeting close to my new home in Ohio. The minister’s wife answered!!! She said their meeting was a church! Goose Creek Friends Meeting (my home) was great convergence of the two traditions. We included a short weekly bible reading in silent worship and we had first day school. That’s about as close to mainstream Christianity as I can get.
I like Quakers and I lean more to the orthodox style because I still believe in structure in the church.
Is there anything in between?
Yes. Jesus.
Thank you for this. I have been interested in the version of Quakerism that matches one of the few things I have read by George Fox. All of your videos match his ideas. But when I looked into local Friends Churches they looked nothing like that. Far more traditional orthodox evangelical Christianity.
Now I understand why.
So what happens if there are no Friends meetings in my area and at the same time there is no evangelicalism?
I'm a lay American Reform Jew, and I took the same Beliefnet quiz, and it said I was a Quaker too. Actually I scored a tie between "Reform Jewish" and "Liberal Quaker" which confirms your assessment of the quiz. Other quizzes have resulted similarly. No surprise that an Israeli Orthodox Rabbi would score as "Quaker" too.
Obviously neither of us answered "yes" to most of the "Jesus" questions. Speaking as a programmer that probably means that they don't score very heavily on the quiz algorithm's "Quaker rating" scale. It probably takes all the answers and compares them to "standard" answers from each group to see which ones you most line up with. Probably the various Judaisms and the various Quakerisms look pretty similar to the algorithm.
If we put Jesus and NT to one side, and if we put Jewish ritual ways to one side (in Quaker jargon, our "peculiar ways") you'll find enormous overlap - the focus on the here and now, this world behavior and righteous behavior; the certainty that regardless of one's beliefs or affiliation the Creator is open to everybody, even "the Spark of the Divine" corresponds closely (I think?) to your "That of God" in everybody.
Attend an Orthodox Jewish service... there is a programmed service led from the front BUT not everybody is following it. There's a guy standing to one side with a prayerbook, doing his own thing and ignoring everybody else entirely. On the other side, two guys are chatting about politics and their grandchildren.
Attend a Reform Jewish service.... there is a programmed service led from the front BUT not everybody is following it. There's a guy in a middle row with his jaw set, insisting on NOT saying some of the prayers and there's a woman on the other side inserting phrases that aren't in the book. At some point everybody stands and recites something together... well they start off together, but two sentences later they are reciting different words at the same time.
Don't worry, they'll have a snack together afterwards.
It may well be that y'all are very close to the religion OF Jesus, as distinct from the religion ABOUT Jesus.
Ask me about the joke about standing for Shema....
To me as a Quaker in Europe it is so strange in a way to know that there are super conservative quakers out there. I just can’t imagine going to a meeting where I meet people who are anti gay or anti woman, or anti abortion and so on. Or having a person leading the meeting. I could personally never feel at home in a place like that. When that is said, I’m happy that there are room for all sorts of views and interpretation of what Quakerism is for the individual. I just know that I want my mind and spirit to be free.....and in the light....in freedom.
Normal people find baby murder disgusting
O SENHOR JESUS CRISTO em breve voltará para julgar vivos e mortos! Nos preparemos para esse dia. Pr. Cássio Roberto- Brasil.
I am a member and theologian of the russian-orthodox church and this quizz declared me to be an orthodox quaker. I read about them and I find them very, VERY sympathetic, actually, so the quiz seems not to be entirely wrong.
This is great. I'm glad that Max states that 1) these two variations are imperfect (I don't even know many Friends who are "orthodox" who even use the term) and 2) it's important to do research. It's especially important that Friends meetings state explicitly that they are welcoming congregations. There are evangelical Friends Churches who are (and most aren't) and unprogrammed meetings who aren't (but most are).
Completely glossed over Wilberite (Conservative) Quakers.
@Oskar Johansson ignored. Conservative Quakers maintained the theology and the form.
This one has my vote for least-clear Quakerspeak video. The way he went through the group descriptions honestly just made me more confused. I don't know, based on his descriptions, what category my own meeting is, and I have been attending since 2005!
I’ve been trying to figure out what the term Fighting Quaker is about, since violence is abhorrent to Friends and forbidden. This video popped up and gave me little to go on.
Cue pillow or marshmallows fight
@@psychshell4644 I Have done some research recently and I found a distant cousin by the name of Smedley Darlington Butler. Look up the guy. There's no pillows involved.
It came from the late 18th century; some members of Friends meetings took up arms in the revolutionary war. For the most part, they were 'disowned' by their meetings.
I think he had the descriptions of so called Orthoxox & Hicksite backwards. THe term Orthodox is perjoritive.
Necessário é nascermos de novo em CRISTO JESUS O SENHOR para termos vida eterna. Devemos nos arrependermos de nossos pecados e nos apegarmos ás Sagradas Escrituras. Um abraço a todos! Pr. Cássio Roberto.
The words "liberal" and "conservative" are becoming more and more vague.
I think that within each Quaker is both a Hicksite and an Evangelical. It's a theory I practice.
So, like different percentages within different people?
@@salyluz6535 I don't remember what I meant 3 years ago when I wrote that.
Does it matter?
The Gospel of salvation of our souls: 💜💕💜💖💕For what I received I passed on to you as of [first importance]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time,
This is all very confusing though not any less interesting!
Why do so many of you wear long beards? There is no historical precedent except in Victorian times when it became the worldly fashion everywhere anyway. Before then it was almost unknown and the odd bearded Friend treated as an eccentric (James Naylor, Benjamin Lay, Joshua Evans). Is it to copy Amish, Tolstoy or Doukhobors?
Anabaptist influence??
Maybe from the bible ? Leviticus 19:27 “you shall not cut the hair off your head or cut your beard” or Leviticus 21:15 which is pretty much the same paraphrase some other passages are-proverbs 20:19-judges 16:17-numbers 6:5 hope this helps (not sure if this is actually the reason why they do this just some scriptural evidence) 💕🕯
Personal preference, plain and simple.
Jesus
I like what I’m hearing. But I got a question. Why do most of these guys have such a huge beard?
Dear God🙏💕♥️ in heaven, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I acknowledge to You that I am a sinner, and I am sorry for my sins and the life that I have lived; I need your forgiveness.
I believe that your only begotten Son Jesus Christ shed His precious blood on the cross at Calvary and died for my sins, and I am now willing to turn from my sin.
You said in the bible that if we confess the Lord our God and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we shall be saved.
Right now I confess Jesus as my Lord. With my heart, I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. This very moment I accept Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior and according to His Word, right now I am saved. Amen.
Where Does A Quaker Wait Longest ?
In line at the DMV.
Lol I took the quiz he was talking about and I am apparently liberal and he’s orthodox so lol I don’t know what to do but hey
I only found this website by accident
Is it possible to be a friend even if you do not believe in any kind of god ?
Yes there are nontheistic quakers.
I just discovered my inner Jewish Quaker-ism. 👍
I'd love to see the algorithm for "Do you believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ?" As if such a question can be properly addressed by an algorithm.
I went to a Quaker school in Philadelphia..but was raised pentacostal. Well done.
I was Pentecostal Holy Roller; now I'm a Quaking Quaker bro. Blessings.
Free Palestine.
Free israel