Quaker Theology

Quaker Theory

  • “To Be Broken and Tender: A Quaker Theology for Today”* A Review

    This review of Margery Post Abbott’s book “To Be Broken and Tender: A Quaker Theology for Today” highlights its engaging and accessible style, blending traditional Quaker spirituality with contemporary and mystical elements. Abbott’s theology is described as progressive and inclusive, drawing on Christian and non-Christian spirituality while emphasizing humility, brokenness, and peacemaking.

  • “The Creation of Quaker Theory: Insider Perspectives,”* A Review

    The review critically examines “The Creation of Quaker Theory: Insider Perspectives,” highlighting its limitation to academic insiders and the exclusion of many notable Quaker theorists. It contrasts diverse perspectives within the book, from feminist mysticism to evangelical orthodoxy, and notes the surprising lack of focus on the peace testimony despite its centrality to Quakerism. The…

  • Love and Peace in Cuba Today From the Perspective of a Quaker

    This post is a deeply reflective essay by a Cuban Quaker poet, Julio Antonio Cuesta Martínez, translated by Stephen W. Angell. It explores the spiritual, social, and economic challenges faced by Cubans today, emphasizing the importance of inner peace and faith in Christ amidst external and internal hardships including economic blockade, societal stagnation, and personal…

  • “Following Jesus: The Heart of Faith and Practice”* A Review

    This review critiques Paul Anderson’s book *Following Jesus: The Heart of Faith and Practice* for its attempt to merge Evangelical Christianity with early Quakerism, ultimately arguing that it reduces spiritual experience to scriptural interpretation rather than immediate guidance by the Spirit. The review highlights Anderson’s reliance on textual authority and traditional criteria for discernment, contrasting…

  • The Fall of Man

    Angelina Grimké challenges the traditional Christian doctrine of the “Fall of Man,” arguing that humans are not inherently sinful but are progressing through natural stages of moral and intellectual development. She sees evil and moral friction as necessary for growth and insists that God’s nature as love and benevolence is incompatible with the idea of…

  • “Let the holy seed of life reign” Perfection, Pelagianism, and the early Friends

    This article explores the early Friends’ theological stance on sinless perfection, contrasting it with Pelagianism and Augustinian doctrines. It argues that early Quakers, including George Fox, Robert Barclay, and William Penn, advocated a “third way” that affirms human depravity alongside divine grace and human responsibility, articulated through the concept of two seeds—the fallen human will…