Westtown Monthly Meeting
The Quakers :: A Look at the Quakers > Basic Tenets of Quaker Faith
 

A Look at the Quakers

George Fox, who “gathered the first Seekers, survived persecution and, with his wife Margaret Fell, laid the administrative foundation of the Religious Society of Friends.”
–PYM Faith & Practice, 2002, p. 240.

“Walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in everyone.”
–George Fox

 
WILLIAM PENN “was an Admiral’s son who cast his lot with Friends and became a promoter of religious freedom and the proprietor or the Holy Experiment in Pennsylvania.”
–PYM Faith & Practice, 2002, p.248.

“The humble, meek, merciful, just, pious, and devout souls are everywhere of one religion; and when death has taken off the mask, they will know one another though the diverse liveries they wear here makes them strangers.”
–William Penn, 1693

Statue of Penn later placed atop Philadelphia City Hall.

The Quakers :: A Look at the Quakers > Basic Tenets of Quaker Faith
 

Basic Tenets of Quaker Faith:

  • There is a spiritual dimension in our lives and in the world, often called God or Divine Spirit.
     
  • Everyone has that Divine Spirit in her or him, called “That of God,” “Spirit,” “Inner Light,” or “Inner Christ.”
     
  • Everyone is capable of a direct relationship with that Divine Spirit, without an intermediary (such as a priest or pastor).
     
  • Spirituality may be cultivated through intentional, inward silence, individually and especially gathered together with others with the same intention.
     
  • Spiritual Truth is revealed to us continuously. (The “Truth” was not handed down at some point in the past; it is continually available to us in our lives, right here, right now.)
    –Ninth Grade Religious Thought Class, Friends Select School, Teacher Tom Hoopes
     
  • The “Testimonies”: Quakers historically have sought to act on concerns for peace and nonviolent resolution of conflicts, simplicity, integrity, equality, community, and the right sharing of the earth’s resources.
     
  • “In worship we discover direction for our lives and the uses of our resources. Leadings are often made clearer by reference to the life and teachings of Jesus and by the transforming power of the Inner Light. From worship there comes a fresh understanding of the two great commandments: to ‘love your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself ’ (Luke 10:27).”
    –PYM Faith & Practice, 2002, p. 18.
     
  • “Friends’ appreciation of the Bible and other scriptures springs from our faith that there is in everyone the capacity to be open and responsive to the experience of the Divine...Friends...have found the Bible to be the record of direct experiences of the Holy Spirit, serving as an important touchstone against which to test our leadings.”
    –PYM Faith & Practice, 2002, p. 30.
The Quakers :: A Look at the Quakers > Basic Tenets of Quaker Faith