Quaker Theology

07. Biography

  • “Ham Sok Hon: Voice of the People and Pioneer of Religious Pluralism in Twentieth Century Korea

    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…

  • 01: “Truly Radical, Non-violent, Friendly Approaches”

    This article examines longstanding internal challenges faced by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), focusing on criticisms from within liberal Quaker circles regarding its governance, professionalization, diminished explicit religious commitment, and political stances. The piece chronicles tensions from the AFSC’s founding in 1917 through the late 20th century, highlighting key moments of internal dissent and…

  • A Biographical Sketch of Chuck Fager

    Chuck Fager was born in Kansas in 1942. The oldest of eleven children, he was raised in a Catholic, military family on Air Force bases, principally in California, Puerto Rico and Wyoming. After nearly enrolling in the U.S. Air Force Academy, he attended Colorado State University, where he won medals in Air Force ROTC. He…

  • 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…

  • Faith, Power, and Trump

    The article explores the responses of three major 20th-century religious thinkers—Reinhold Niebuhr, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X—to racism and social justice in America, especially during the Civil Rights Movement and the Age of Trump. It contrasts their theological perspectives on faith, power, sacrifice, and activism, critiquing white evangelical support for Trumpism and urging…

  • From “The Church, the Draft Board, and Me” by George Amoss, Jr.

    This article recounts George Amoss Jr.’s journey from his early years as a Catholic seminarian faced with moral and institutional failures to his evolving pacifist stance during the Vietnam War draft. It culminates in his transition to Quakerism, where he finds a faith centered on direct spiritual experience, love, and social witness without reliance on…

  • Lucretia Mott — A Sermon

    In this 1858 sermon, Lucretia Mott presents the divine light within every person as the foundation of religion, emphasizing justice, love, and moral action over creeds, ceremonies, and clerical authority. Advocates freedom of conscience, rational interpretation of Scripture, and women’s spiritual independence, while condemning biblical justifications for slavery and war. Calls for abolition, racial equality,…

  • 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…

  • Whittaker Chambers, Alger Hiss, and Quaker Leadership: A Problem for Friends

    This article explores the complex and largely overlooked Quaker identity of Whittaker Chambers, a key figure in the Alger Hiss espionage case, and the challenges he faced within the Quaker community, particularly from Clarence Pickett. Chambers’s deep Quaker faith influenced his anti-Communist testimony, yet he was marginalized by Quaker leaders due to political and theological…