Sometimes "Yes," Sometimes "No!"
Sadly, too often we Friends cut ourselves off from the very Life the power of which, flowing through us, rocked our spiritual ancesters' world.
Spirit guidance is the true primary "Quaker Value"
We as a Society of the Friends of Jesus, like many other groups within the Church, spent many years living under the locks and keys of specific, judgmental do's, don'ts, human patterns, and Quaker cultural laws that supposedly answered the what, when, where, and how. But the truth is that these "good things" shut us, and our lives, off from the flow of the Holy Spirit and brought us brokenness, exclusion, and spiritual death.
Spirit breathed answers to
"how then shall I live in this moment?"
In the past, "Quaker Values" referred to Biblical emphases that Quakers held in conscious thought as foundations to Christian community and guides to interaction with all of persons. You will note that "value" does not provide a prescription for what, where, and how a proper answer is lived. "Values" were "queries" to take daily, moment by moment, before the throne of God for Spirit breathed answers to "how then shall I live in this moment?"
But Sometimes No??
Further Readings On Quakers and Quaker Values
by this blogger:
I hear you saying that the Quaker values are "good" values because they are Biblical values. It's what we do with them and how we implement them in our lives that is possibly "evil". When those values simply become a legalistic set of rules to follow, rather than a means of drawing us closer to our loving God and Savior, they lose their value. That problem is certainly not exclusive to Quakers. --Richard
ReplyDeleteI love how you said that, "value does not provide a prescription for what, where, and how a proper answer is lived".
ReplyDeleteI really don't like when Christians say that their beef stew is the only way in the world that people should eat beef stew. If you don't use their exact ingredients and in the right proportions, then you really aren't eating beef stew.
What do you think?
Wow! Does that make me a Quaker? ;) It seems always our lot, as we seek to follow God moment by moment, to trend toward falling back into legalism. I believe any movement, if it becomes an organized and congealed "movement" is fated to this eventual outcome. Which is why the only movement we should follow is the moving of the Holy Spirit. Hard to do, impossible to sustain in perpetuity. Each believer and fellowship of believers must learn this anew.
ReplyDeleteThanks folks for you dialogue.
ReplyDeleteRichard - The "beef stew" comment is right on. So much comes from stew God brews out of or despite our messes. Then we formalize it, write done the recipe, and declare "this is the right way to make 'real' beef stew. But the stew we are talking about can not be make by human hands, it is made by the Master Chef. Usually, however, he privileges us to assist [that mean following his directions - not going off on our own].
Cindy -I think the trend to fall back into legalism is really a manifestation of our fallen need to be in control, to control the outcome. Control in reality is just a manifestation of pride. "I can do this." "I know how." "I got it!" I ... I ... I === sure clue that pride's in the mix.
As for movements, I teach that same thought and illustrate it from history - especially the revivals and awakenings. It is sad to have lived through the charismatic awakening and lived long enough to see it oscify. I grieve! Each believer and fellowship of believers must learn this anew - we must continue to move and grow and mature in the Spirit or we have become a "has moved" movement or to say it plain, we have stopped moving!
But on this point I get a bit preachy and alway have to keep turning it back upon myself.