Quaker Theology

Issue #30 & #31 — Winter-Spring 2017 & Summer-Fall 2017

  • Is There Life after Death in Quaker North Carolina?

    This article provides a detailed account of the dissolution of the North Carolina Yearly Meeting of the Friends United Meeting (NCYM-FUM) after 320 years, highlighting the internal conflicts over theology, authority, and inclusivity that led to its demise. It examines the birth of two successor groups—the Friends Church of North Carolina (FCNC) with an evangelical…

  • Editor’s Introduction, #30/#31

    This double issue is an effort to recover some momentum that’s been lost in the past year. The last issue, #29, appeared almost eighteen months ago. Yet our “mission statement” on the copyright page says our intention is to publish two issues per year. And we’ve kept up that pace fairly closely since beginning in…

  • An Increasingly Familiar Story: Northwest Yearly Meeting Expulsions & Sequelae

    This article examines the 2017 expulsions of LGBT-affirming meetings from Northwest Yearly Meeting (NWYM), the formation of a new body called Sierra-Cascades Yearly Meeting of Friends, and the ongoing challenges faced by these groups in creating inclusive and viable Quaker communities amidst institutional decline. It highlights tensions over governance, the legacy of pastoral structures, and…

  • Wilmington YM: Another Yearly Meeting Schism?

    This article examines the ongoing theological and organizational conflicts within Wilmington Yearly Meeting, particularly focusing on debates over same-gender marriage and the autonomy of monthly meetings to decide sensitive issues. It traces the historical background of Wilmington Yearly Meeting, highlights the controversies surrounding LGBT inclusion and disciplinary actions, and discusses the challenges of maintaining unity…

  • Lucretia Mott & The Perils of Dissent – Excerpts from James & Lucretia Mott, Life & Letters.

    This post recounts the challenges faced by Lucretia Mott and her husband James within the Quaker community due to their abolitionist and reformist stances, highlighting their experiences of exclusion, intolerance, and opposition at Quaker meetings in Ohio and Indiana. It emphasizes Mott’s unwavering commitment to justice and moral principle despite social ostracism and personal suffering.

  • Joseph Southall & The Ghosts of the Slain:

    The post highlights Joseph Southall, a British Quaker artist and pacifist who used his art to protest World War One and militarism. It focuses on his 1917 allegorical pamphlet “The Ghosts of the Slain,” which condemned politicians, munitions makers, and churches supporting war, emphasizing the Quaker commitment to peace and draft resistance.

  • “Many Friends Do Not Know ‘Where They Are’”: Some Divisions in London Yearly Meeting During the First World War”

    This article explores the divisions within London Yearly Meeting during the First World War, focusing on differing Quaker responses to the conflict and their peace testimony. It contrasts the experiences of two Friends, Wilfrid E. Littleboy, a steadfast pacifist and conscientious objector who endured imprisonment, and Walter Trevelyan Thomson, who supported the war and served…

  • Milton Mayer, Quaker Hedgehog

    A Review and Profile, by H. Larry Ingle Reprinted from Quaker Theology #8, 2003 Oxford-educated political scientist Isaiah Berlin, in his minor classic “The Hedgehog and the Fox” (1953), divided people into two groups, those who understood one big thing like the hedgehog and those, like the fox, who knew many things. The subject of…

  • Everyday/Extraordinary Resistance: Two True Stories from the Vietnam Years

    The post details two true stories of Quaker resistance during the Vietnam War era. Marion Anderson recounts her bold act of delivering anti-war literature directly to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, while Ken Maher describes his involvement in a clandestine network helping draft evaders escape to Canada, known as the Vietnam Era Underground Railroad.

  • Jim Corbett, Sanctuary Prophet of Post-Desert Quakerism

    This article profiles Jim Corbett, a Quaker activist and founder of the 1980s Sanctuary movement, which aided Latin American refugees fleeing U.S.-supported wars. It highlights Corbett’s unique spiritual journey as a Quaker “unbeliever,” his discovery of the prophetic faith, and his vision of the Church as a diverse, ecumenical people dedicated to justice and peace.

  • Remembering Tom Fox Introduction to: Tom Fox Was My Friend. Yours, Too.

    The post recounts the life and tragic death of Tom Fox, a Quaker and Christian Peacemaker Team member kidnapped and killed in Iraq in 2006. It highlights Tom’s dedication to peace activism, his faith-driven decision to pursue nonviolent witness in conflict zones, and the efforts to raise awareness and advocate for his release. The article…

  • Passages by Tom Fox & James Loney

    This post shares reflections from James Loney and Tom Fox on captivity, pacifism, and peacebuilding in violent contexts like Iraq. It explores the paradox of relying on military forces for protection while maintaining Christian pacifist convictions and emphasizes standing firm in peace despite fear and aggression. The post also highlights the spiritual practice of seeking…

  • Passages from the Qur’an

        2:155-156: And certainly, we shall test you with something of fear; hunger; loss of wealth, lives and fruits, but give glad tidings to the patient ones, who, when afflicted with calamity say, ‘Truly! To Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return.’     2:216; It may be that you dislike a thing…

  • Resisting Oppression: Friends and the Stuart Restoration, 1660-1689

    The article explores the response of Quakers to the Stuart Restoration (1660-1689), detailing their persecution, internal organization, and evolving political engagement. It highlights key figures like George Fox, Margaret Fell, and William Penn, and traces Quakers’ efforts toward religious toleration culminating in the 1689 Act of Toleration.

  • The Quaker Peace Testimony as Questing Beast

    The article explores the multifaceted nature of the Quaker Peace Testimony, likening it to the mythical Questing Beast—a complex and elusive entity that embodies various perspectives on pacifism, nonviolence, and peacemaking. It examines historical foundations, personal and corporate interpretations, definitions of violence, and the challenges Friends face in living out this testimony authentically today.

  • Study War Some More (If You Want to Work for Peace)

    This article explores the complexity and history of the Quaker Peace Testimony, emphasizing the need for a strategic, long-term approach to peace work. It critiques the influence of the U.S. military-industrial complex, highlights the spiritual dimensions of militarism, and advocates learning from military strategy to enhance Quaker peace activism. The author proposes a “Hundred-Year Lamb’s…

  • “No Country for Jewish Liberals,” “The Half Life of a Free Radical”* Two Reviews

    This article reviews two autobiographical memoirs that, despite different cultural backgrounds, resonate with themes relevant to Quaker concerns such as war, social justice, and exile. Both authors grapple with the personal and political impacts of the Vietnam War and Israeli-Palestinian conflict, highlighting issues of militarism, occupation, and the struggle to maintain hope in polarized societies.

  • Nixon’s First Cover-Up, The Religious Life of A Quaker President

    Nixon’s First Cover-Up, The Religious Life of A Quaker President. By H. Larry Ingle. University of Missouri, 271 pages. Reflections on a “Quaker” President Who Wasn’t Actually a Quaker By Lon Fendall [Note: This essay was originally presented to a panel at the 2015 American Academy of Religion meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.] I want to…

  • The Fearless Benjamin Lay: The Quaker Dwarf Who Became the First Revolutionary Abolitionist

    This article reviews Marcus Rediker’s biography of Benjamin Lay, an early Quaker abolitionist known for his radical and confrontational anti-slavery activism. It explores Lay’s challenges to slaveholding Quakers, his prophetic actions, and the complexities of his theological and intellectual influences within the Quaker tradition. The review highlights Lay’s significance in Quaker history and the ongoing…

  • Excerpts from: ALL SLAVE-KEEPERS That keep the Innocent in Bondage, APOSTATES

    This article features excerpts from Benjamin Lay’s early Quaker abolitionist writings condemning slavekeeping among Quakers in 18th-century America. Lay passionately denounces the hypocrisy of slaveholding ministers and members of the Quaker community, pleading for a complete separation from the practice of keeping slaves as incompatible with Christian truth and Quaker principles. The text provides historical…

  • “Ham Sok Hon: Voice of the People and Pioneer of Religious Pluralism in Twentieth Century Korea; Biography of a Korean Quaker”* A Review

    This article reviews a biography of Ham Sok Hon, a Korean Quaker known for his spiritual quest and opposition to multiple oppressive regimes in twentieth-century Korea. Despite personal hardships and political imprisonments, Ham’s work emphasized religious pluralism, spiritual freedom, and a universalist approach to faith, combining elements from Christianity, Taoism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. His life…

  • Review Essay: Resistance Theology in Niebuhr, Barth, Rauschenbush & Dorrien; Irony & Living a Theological Saga

    This review essay analyzes Gary Dorrien’s extensive works on American liberal theology, focusing on key theologians like Karl Barth, Walter Rauschenbush, and Reinhold Niebuhr, particularly their resistance to war and militarism. It highlights the tension between liberal theology and emerging neoconservatism, and calls for theological reflection that supports resistance to militarism and the “war spirit”…

  • About the Contributors, #30-31

    Marion Anderson (1932-2002) was the founder and director of Employment Research Associates,which prepared reports critical of defense spending. The Washington Post wrote that her work “reverberated through Washington because of extensive press coverage of her reports and testimony before congressional committees.” Their research showed “that huge increases to the military’s budget came at the expense of…