The emergence of the Friends (or Quakers) is rooted in one man who lived in seventeenth-century England—the mystic preacher George Fox (1625–1691). According to his testimony, Fox had endured years of spiritual conflict during which he was seeking authentic Christian faith. He traveled throughout England speaking to priests and religious leaders, and he searched the Scriptures daily. He found no satisfying answers, however, and this was a great discouragement to him. Fox was about to give up when he encountered a glimmer of hope.
When all my hopes in men were gone, so that I had nothing outwardly to help me, nor could I tell what to do, then, oh! then I heard a voice which said, “There is One, even Christ Jesus, that can speak to thy condition.” And when I heard it my heart did leap for joy.1
Through his direct experience with Christ, Fox came to believe that God gives every person a gift of divine Inner Light or Inner Voice. Every human heart is an altar or shrine of God. All one needs to do is wait on God, and God will speak to the heart of the sincere seeker. Depending on how people respond to that Inner Light (God desires obedience), they can receive more light. Fox’s main message became “Christ is here among us, and He will directly teach our hearts if we are receptive to it.”
Fox’s belief that every person had this Inner Light affected his followers’ interaction with those around them. They became very service-oriented and took a strong stand against slavery. (Slaves also had the Inner Light and therefore were equal with others.)
This Inner Light doctrine ultimately meant that revelation was no longer limited to the Scriptures. Even though the Bible is to be valued, its words should not be taken as God’s final and definitive revelation. New revelations could come today just as they did in the days of the apostles. After all, the men who wrote the Bible did so under the power of the Holy Spirit. Since that same Holy Spirit works through us today, revelations can continue today. Even when we do read the Bible, we must depend on the Holy Spirit who wrote those Scriptures to guide us in our understanding of them.
Fox believed that people of his day could minister just as the first-century apostles did—teaching, prophesying, and healing, all under the same power of the Holy Spirit. He felt this was vital, for he believed that all this became lost when the church became institutionalized.
Because of the presence of the Inner Light in all people, Fox believed in the ministry of all believers. We do not need a hierarchical structure of priests and bishops, he said. We do not need mediators between God and us. Rather, each of us can have direct access to Jesus. One and one alone—Jesus Christ—can speak to each person’s condition. And because all of us have access to Christ, we can all—both men and women—minister to others.
Fox had not intended to start a new sect or denomination. His goal had been to merely persuade the churches of his day that they needed to return to New Testament teachings. In 1667, however, a group of Fox’s followers gathered and was organized into a system of monthly, quarterly, and yearly meetings. (A monthly meeting is a local congregation that meets weekly for worship and once a month for business.) By the time of his death in 1691, some 60,000 people had left their churches to become affiliated with Fox’s movement.
Fox had consistently exhorted his followers not to become contaminated with the vanity that is part and parcel of this world. Simplicity in daily living became a part of his message. He believed people should dress in simple fashion, without adornments like wigs or jewelry. Moreover, his followers used the words thy and thou in daily life, though this is not practiced in modern times.
In seeming reaction against Anglican formality and liturgy, worship services were unprogrammed. Because of their belief in the Inner Light, church members typically sat in silence, waiting for the Spirit to prompt someone to speak, pray, or sing.
Fox’s followers came to be known as Friends, based upon Jesus’s comment to the disciples in John 15:14: “You are my friends if you do what I command.” They also became known as Quakers. The term was first used when Fox was in a court of law, and he advised the judge to “tremble at the Word of God.” The judge called him a quaker. Before long, the Friends themselves embraced the term as a way to label their movement.
As the Quaker movement grew, so did resistance against them. They were persecuted—sometimes quite fiercely. Many were whipped, jailed, tortured, mutilated, and even murdered. Even Fox spent six years in jail.
The Quakers made their way to America in the mid-1600s. They did not find a hearty welcome at first. Some were accused of being witches, others were beaten on the whipping post, and some were even hanged. This persecution continued until the passage of the Act of Toleration of 1689.
One individual who was instrumental in the spread of the Friends movement in the colonies was William Penn. Penn had become a convert to the Quakers in 1667. In 1681, he was given a grant of land as a payment of a debt that King Charles II owed his father. The land became known as Pennsylvania.
Penn used his colony in Pennsylvania as a “holy experiment,” allowing religious freedom to all and removing the government from interference. He attempted to apply Quaker principles to the running of his colony’s government. The colony flourished for decades during this experiment. It became a haven for Quakers. In 1756, however, the Friends lost control of the Pennsylvania legislature over the issue of taxation.
In any event, Fox’s efforts resulted in giving birth to a leading religious movement during the colonial period of America: the Religious Society of Friends. As history unfolded, a number of Friends affiliations emerged—including the Evangelical Friends International, the Friends General Conference, the Friends United Meeting, and the Religious Society of Friends (Conservative).
Distinctive Ideas in Friends Churches
• Every person is given the gift of a divine Inner Light.
• God can speak to the heart of the receptive person.
• This means revelation is not limited to Scripture alone.
• Worship services are unprogrammed. Anyone is welcome to speak. There is no paid clergy.
• No sacraments are observed.
• The Friends label is based on John 15:14: “You are my friends if you do what I command.”
Founded: 1900
Members: 34,000
Congregations: 650
Beginnings
The Friends General Conference is an association of 14 autonomous yearly meetings and seven monthly meetings. The association is open to all Friends who wish to affiliate with its programs. The association has no authority over member churches.
The Friends General Conference was established in 1900 and grew out of four previous Friends conferences: First-Day School General Conference (founded 1868), Friends Union for Philanthropic Labor (founded 1881), Friends Religious Conference (founded 1893), and Friends Education Conference (founded 1894). The present conference is governed by a central committee made up of 170 Friends.
Members prefer to think of the Friends General Conference as a service organization that seeks to nurture and enhance the spiritual life of affiliate churches and their members. Typical of Friends theology, the organization focuses on one’s direct experience of God. All members are encouraged to experience God’s living presence and discern God’s leadings. Members are exhorted to share their experiences with each other.
Beliefs
The conference is open to theological diversity and is generally considered a more liberal group of Friends. They formally disavow creeds and believe each person must prayerfully seek guidance and follow his or her understanding of God’s leading.
The Bible. The Friends General Conference is less reliant on written Scripture than many groups. Heaviest emphasis is placed on the Inner Light that dwells in each person. This Inner Light includes continuing revelation. Whenever the Bible is read, it is to be understood through the same Holy Spirit who produced the Scriptures.
God. Emphasis is placed on a direct experience of God. God—or at least a spark of the divine—is found in every individual. Through the Inner Light within, human beings can experience God speaking to their condition.
Jesus Christ. There is a wide spectrum of beliefs regarding Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is often spoken of as the Light of Christ, the Spirit of God, or the Inward Light. The Holy Spirit brings illumination. By virtue of the Holy Spirit, people can become centers of radiating love.
Sin and salvation. Salvation involves a continuing process of spiritual renewal. It results from the power given to human beings to make correct choices under the guidance of the Inner Light.
The church. Worship services are unprogrammed (they have no set schedule). Members assemble and then worship in silence, fully expecting that someone will eventually speak as led by the Holy Spirit. Since any member is welcome to speak, the responsibilities normally handled by pastors are handled by church members. (No pastors are employed.) Women are as free as men to be involved in ministry. Homosexuals are also welcome.
The sacraments. No outward sacraments are observed.
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Founded: 1902
Members: 41,150
Congregations: 475
Beginnings
The Friends United Meeting seeks to provide a united Quaker witness in missions, Christian education, and the publication of Sunday school materials. Leadership development is also provided. The goal is to energize and equip Friends through the power of the Holy Spirit and to gather people into fellowships that honor and obey Jesus Christ.
The roots of the Friends United Meeting go back to 1887, when delegates of Friends groups were called to a meeting in Richmond, Indiana. These delegates quickly discovered that they had a great deal in common in terms of missions, evangelism, Christian education, and the need for Bible schools. They decided that they could be much more effective in their overall goals if they undertook them together instead of individually. In 1902, a formal organization called the Five Years Meetings of Friends in America was founded in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1963, the name of the organization was changed to Friends United Meeting after the decision was made to meet every three years instead of every five years. The Friends United Meeting sponsors both local monthly meetings and regional yearly meetings.
Beliefs
The Bible. All Scripture is inspired by God. The Bible contains a divinely authorized record of the doctrines that are binding on Christians. The Bible must be read in dependence on the same Holy Spirit who inspired it.
The Bible is not God’s only revelation. Through the Inner Light, people receive continuing revelations today. All revelations received through this Inner Light are checked against Scripture, for the Holy Spirit will never lead a person to believe something that is contrary to the Word, which He inspired.
God. The one true God is all-wise and everlasting. He is the Creator and Preserver of the universe. He is eternally manifest in three persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. True religion involves a direct encounter with this living God.
Jesus Christ. Jesus is fully God. He is Lord and Savior, the eternal Word, and Redeemer. In the Incarnation, He was the fullness of the Godhead bodily. His death on the cross brought redemption and the remission of sins. He was buried and rose again the third day, after which He ascended into heaven.
The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit convinces the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He witnesses to and glorifies Jesus. He is a teacher and guide of believers. He quickens and sanctifies them, indwells their hearts, and enables them to understand Scripture.
Sin and salvation. Humankind fell into transgression and thereby lost the spiritual life of righteousness in which it was created. Sin is not imputed to specific human beings, however, until they individually transgress God’s divine law, having understood its moral consequences.
Salvation is a gift that is received by God’s grace. Upon repentance and faith, a person is justified, pardoned of sins, and given a new life. Guilt is taken away, and one is reconciled to God. Believers who backslide can repent and receive forgiveness.
The church. The church is a company of people in whom Christ dwells. About one-fifth of the church services are unprogrammed, in which church members wait in silence for God to inspire someone to speak, sing, or pray. The remaining services are programmed, utilizing pastors to provide preaching, teaching, and pastoral care. Women may become pastors.
The sacraments. The denomination does not celebrate outward rituals or sacraments. Inward attitudes are much more important than outward rites. Church members believe the one true baptism is spiritual and inward and involves one’s yielding to God’s will. Likewise, they believe the one true Lord’s Supper involves inward attention to and communion with God.
The end times. Jesus will come again to render final judgment. The righteous will be resurrected to eternal life, and the unrighteous will be resurrected to eternal punishment.
Distinctives. The Friends United Meeting is a peace-loving denomination. Service in the military, however, is a matter of individual conscience.
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born again
Literally means to be “born from above.” It refers to God’s giving of eternal life to the one who believes in Christ (Titus 3:5).
justified
God declares righteous all those who believe in Jesus. He acquits them and pronounces a verdict of not guilty.
reconciled
For the one who believes in Jesus, the alienation and estrangement that formerly existed between oneself and God is eradicated (2 Corinthians 5:19).
God said, “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17). This is forgiveness.
adopted
Believers are adopted into God’s forever family (Romans 8:14).
RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS (CONSERVATIVE)
Founded: 1904
Members: 1500 (estimate)
Congregations: Unknown
Beginnings
The Religious Society of Friends (Conservative) emerged in 1904 as a result of several divisions that occurred among the Friends. In England, a Friends leader named Joseph John Gurney (1788–1847) influenced Quakers toward evangelical beliefs, including the authority of the Bible. Meanwhile, Elias Hicks (1748–1830), a New York Friends leader, opposed Gurney’s evangelicalism as being inconsistent with the Quaker emphasis on the Inner Light. This led to a division in 1827 between those who followed Gurney’s evangelical lead and those who followed Hicks with his traditional emphasis on the Inner Light.
In 1837, Gurney relocated from England to the United States and was involved in yet another division. This time the division was between followers of Gurney (who stressed the authority of the Bible) and those who were loyal to John Wilbur (1774–1856), a Rhode Island Friends leader who placed heavy emphasis on the Inner Light. Wilbur did not deny the authority of the Bible, but he felt Gurney tended to substitute a creed for immediate and direct revelation from the Holy Spirit.
Those who followed Wilbur’s traditional Quakerism became the Religious Society of Friends (Conservative). They were called conservative not because of conservative theology but because they chose to continue and preserve traditional Friends beliefs (especially belief in the Inner Light).
Beliefs
Substantial theological diversity exists among the Religious Society of Friends (Conservative), so making representative statements about theological beliefs is difficult. The society agrees on these points:
• Jesus Christ. Believers are to experience the living Christ.
• The Holy Spirit. Believers are to experience the Holy Spirit.
• The church. The style of church worship is unprogrammed. The service begins with silent, expectant waiting on God. All church members can directly commune with God, so all members are welcome to share in ministry to others during the service.
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Unknown
Key Word
Meaning
Old Testament Hebrew word: shaha
Means “to bow down” or “to prostrate oneself” (see Genesis 22:5; 42:6).
New Testament Greek word: proskuneo
Means “to prostrate oneself” (see Matthew 2:2,8,11).
English word: worship
In Old English, worship was rendered worthship, pointing to the worthiness of God. Such worship is the proper response of a creature to his Creator (Psalm 95:6). Worship can be congregational (1 Corinthians 11–14) or individual (Romans 12:1).
EVANGELICAL FRIENDS INTERNATIONAL
Founded: 1990
Members: 40,000
Congregations: 290
Beginnings
The Evangelical Friends Alliance was formed in 1965. The alliance involved an association of four autonomous Quaker groups: the Evangelical Friends Church (Eastern Division), the Rocky Mountain Yearly Meeting of Friends, the Mid-America Yearly Meeting of Friends, and the Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends. These four groups were among the most theologically conservative among the Friends. The alliance was founded to bring about denominational unity and an evangelical emphasis. In 1990, the alliance was formally restructured to become the Evangelical Friends International. (The organization now has an international outreach into Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America.)
Beliefs
The denomination is generally conservative in theology.
The Bible. The Bible is God’s Word. It is inspired, infallible, and authoritative. Humans can understand Scripture through the illumination of the Holy Spirit.
God. The one true God is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. He is the Judge of humankind. He is eternally manifest in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Son of God. In the Incarnation, He was full Deity and full humanity. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, engaged in miracles, was crucified to bring redemption through His blood, was resurrected, and then ascended to the right hand of the Father. It is in our living union with Jesus that we find our true identity.
The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives within every believer. He satisfies the human need for grace, truth, love, and righteousness. He is a comforter and counselor to Christians and gives them spiritual gifts so they can engage in service to the Lord.
Sin and salvation. As a result of the fall, the perfect image of God in man was warped, marred, stained, and corrupted. Since then all people have inherited a pervasive sinfulness that invades every aspect of their being. All people are thus separated from God. God imputes sin to specific humans, however, only when they personally transgress the divine law after having received sufficient capacity to understand it.
Salvation is received by grace through faith in Jesus, not by good works. To those who repent and trust in Christ, God grants the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, regeneration, and the promise of a resurrection body. Those who fall away can lose their salvation.
The church. The church is composed of all those who have repented and exercised faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The church is universal, uniting all Christians everywhere. The church also has local expressions in individual congregations and in families of churches (denominations).
Sunday worship is programmed and includes Scripture reading, hymns, prayer, and a sermon by a pastor. Women have been involved in ministry leadership throughout the denomination’s history. Church government is congregational.
The sacraments. Church members are granted liberty regarding the observance or nonobservance of the external ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism in the Holy Spirit is more important than water baptism. The baptism in the Holy Spirit occurs when a believer submits his life to the Lord.
The end times. Jesus will return in glory. There will be a pretribulational rapture of the church. The second coming will be followed by a 1000-year millennial reign of Christ. Believers will live eternally in heaven by God’s grace; unbelievers will suffer eternally in hell. Church members do not divide over eschatology.
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