All Blog Posts (304)

On the 15th of November we again considered Fox's Epistle XXXVIII. You can access the recording at 

https://zoom.us/rec/share/dwzNCYm3qF_AKYK7dCes0u6WIuoMdvahWiApeyNSdCPCOWMrbVX8S8Qwp6FphCiN.Ez3nyZ_VA3XrBTzZ

Access Passcode: @*2unN*q

This past Saturday morning was our regular time for reading and discussing Fox's Journal (Volume 1, p. 363 and following from the Works of George Fox). It was a good discussion regarding what Fox said about the seven things people could "sit down in." Today's list might be somewhat different, but the seventh, our sabbath rest, will always be sitting down in Christ Jesus who never fell. What does that mean, to sit down in Christ Jesus? This was part of our discussion which you can see by…

2 P. M. FIRST-DAY MEETINGS NOW SET FOR THIRD FIRST DAY OF EACH MONTH: 11/15, 12/20, ETC.

A group of Indiana Friends have reopened the Sugar Grove Meeting House in Plainfield, just west of the Indianapolis Airport, for a monthly hour of waiting worship after the manner of Conservative Friends. The time was chosen with a view to letting Friends worship at their home meetings in the morning and then travel to Sugar Grove without pressure to hurry. The Meeting House, a…

On Sunday, the 18th of October, we read and discussed the first few paragraphs of Fox's Epistle XXXVIII. In this epistle, Fox calls us to abandon the great city of Sodom with its fascination of all things of this world. Even though we are not to reason with flesh, we live by a different reasoning. "Come let us reason together," says the Lord. It is in the council of the Lord that we see the victory of the Lamb against the great beast with 10 horns.

Listen in to our reading and…

This past Saturday was our regular Zoom meeting for reading and discussing the Journal of Fox. Following is a link and the passcode to access the recording. It is one hour and 15 minutes long. The reading is from Vol. 1, page numbers are given at the beginning. This recording will only be available for 1 week when we will need to make space for the next session.

The link is …

Greetings, Ellis.

In "Welcome to..." at the top of the page you have, "When George Fox spoke of passing through the two-edged flaming sword upon entering the paradise of God..." I'd like to read that in full. Where can I find it? 

Thanks, Allan

Dear Friends,

This is not a regular Blog, but I'd like to solicit everyone's opinions about upgrading this site to the next Ning Platform.

This site is currently running on a platform called Ning 2.0, but, a couple of years ago, Ning released it's latest platform, Ning 3.0. So far, I've ignored their pleas to upgrade.

From a users perspective, it will make little difference to the ordinary users of this site. It will work pretty much as before. There will be no impact on…

The scriptures proclaims that:

"The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech; …

HOW TO FIND YOUR FAVORITE GEORGE FOX QUOTE IN THE DIGITAL QUAKER COLLECTION, SO THAT YOU CAN CITE IT IN SOMETHING YOU'RE WRITING, PONDER IT, TAKE WARNING OR ENCOURAGEMENT FROM IT, OR JUST BASK IN ITS WISDOM, GOODNESS, AND BEAUTY:

Step 1: Say, for example, that you recall that somewhere George Fox wrote the phrase, "in this thick night of darkness that may be felt," and you want to find its source. Go to…

“He must increase, but I must decrease,” said John the Baptist of Jesus (John 3:30 NRSV). Can you imagine having that be your own seven-word graduation speech when you leave seminary? Five years into your post-graduate career, can you imagine yourself saying, with Paul, “it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20)? If a serious soul comes to you for counsel, will you be able to credibly say “we ought to lay down our lives for one another” (1 John…

Hear the word of the LORD...give ear unto the law of our God...To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me?...When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?...Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth...when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment,…

In Part II I looked at Fox's exposition concerning three estates and three teachers wherein he declared that by following the serpent's teaching, mankind entered the fallen estate. By following Jesus Christ's teaching, we are brought up out of the fall into the state of Adam and Eve before the fall and into a higher state in Christ Jesus who never fell.

In Part III I am continuing to explore the answer to the question, "How are we to encounter this divine influence upon the heart that…

In Part I, I looked at some of the writings of Paul and considered what they had to say concerning man's problem and God's solution (salvation) to that problem. I noted Paul's statement that man's problem is death and God's solution is an influence on the heart that brings life. I asked the question, "How are we to encounter this divine influence upon the heart (i.e. God's grace)?

In part II, I want to examine a passage from the Works of Fox, which pertains to the answer to this…

Friends, I've just been informed that Arthur died at 10 o'clock last night, Fourth Month 7, 2020. He was comfortable, the attending physician said. May he forever enjoy "righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit."

In his recent post, The Felt Need Of Salvation That Drives Many To Seek A Savior, John Jeremiah Edminster opened a subject that is replete with contradiction. If you browse the shelves of bookstores or look on the internet, you will find a widely varying body of theologies purporting to be supported by cited scripture, the texts of which often have little or no…

And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants…

The following first appeared on Reddit at https://www.reddit.com/r/Quakers/comments/ettifg/the_bush_is_still_burning/. I am slightly revising the original post and incorporating some of the comments. To see the original, follow the link above.

One of the enduring Bible stories of my youth is the story of Moses and the burning bush. That story came to me…

In an appended comment to Steven Davison's excellent post, I write of the felt need of salvation that drives many to seek a Savior and find one in Jesus Christ; I also describe what I think inhibits such a search. I invite responses. Reclaiming the Christ

From the Journal of Job Scott (1751-1793): a thumbnail-sketch anticipation of his book-length essay On the Knowledge of the One Lord, the Only True God, which was published posthumously and may be found in his Works, in the Digital Quaker Collection (…

Jesus Christ was our first love. We were true believers then, not proud, but filled with joy and excitement of who the Lord Jesus was and the mystery of his words.

In the days of our childhood, we loved Jesus, though the excitement of Santa Claus played the center part of that mystery. Jesus was distant and beautiful like the stars. He was a baby and we knew little of him. Even so, we knew there was something precious in the swaddling clothes.

Why do mysteries die out when…