Issue # 6 — Spring 2002 – Quaker Theology

Contributors, Issue Six

Chuck Fager is Editor of Quaker Theology. He serves as Director of Quaker House in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and is Clerk of the Fellowship of Quakers in the Arts. Robert Griswold is also the author of an article, “No Creed Is Not the Same as No Theology,” in Friends Journal, Eighth Month, 2001. He is retired from a career…
A Great Deep: The Peace Testimony and Historical Realism

This article critically examines the historical complexities and ambiguities surrounding the Quaker Peace Testimony, particularly through the lens of colonial Rhode Island during King Philip’s War and British Quakerism during the early 20th century. It highlights how Quaker pacifism has evolved amid internal conflicts, societal pressures, and differing interpretations, ultimately emphasizing the need for honest…
Herrymon Maurer and the Tao of Quakerism

The article explores Herrymon Maurer’s unique contribution to Quaker thought through his translation and commentary on the Tao Te Ching, connecting Taoism with Quaker prophetic traditions. It details his life, struggles with alcoholism, and the spiritual insights that emphasized universal truth, non-violence, and liberation from ego. Herrymon’s work offers a profound synthesis of Eastern and…
Friends’ Theological Heritage: From Seventeenth-Century Quietists to A Guide to True Peace Though Silent Worship

This article explores the historical and theological connection between Quaker silent worship and the seventeenth-century Catholic Quietist movement, focusing on the influence of mystics Fénelon, Guyon, and Molinos. It highlights how their writings, particularly compiled in “A Guide to True Peace,” shaped Quaker contemplative prayer and spirituality, emphasizing themes such as divine love, inner prayer,…
“Condition” in Quaker Theology and George Fox

This article explores the concept of “condition” in Quaker theology as experienced by George Fox, emphasizing the universal human struggle with ego and false authority that obscures true spiritual reality. It argues that recognizing and transforming this condition through inward spiritual experience is central to authentic Quaker faith and practice. The author encourages modern Quakers…
Friends for 350 Years

George Fox, Firbank Fell, England, 13th of Sixth Month, 1652: While others were gone to dinner, I went to a brook, got a little water, and then came and sat down on the top of a rock hard by the chapel. In the afternoon the people gathered about me, with several of their preachers. It…
Editor’s Introduction (Issue #6)

By Chuck Fager “There is one, even Christ Jesus, that can speak to thy condition.” It’s a familiar, and central, quote from the Journal of George Fox. But most attention to the sentence has been focused on Jesus, the “speaker,” especially the familiar debates about how “Christian” Quakerism, was, is, or should be. In this issue, Robert Griswold…