All Blog Posts (95)

I've recently been doing a lot of reading regarding the very early Quaker view of the "parousia" (or second coming) and how it provided the original rationale for rejecting ritual sacraments or ordinances - the Mass, Eucharist, or Lord's Supper in particular. It's interesting that by the second generation of Quakers (Barclay etc.) Friends had already pretty much dropped their claim that such ordinances were anachronistic (Paul had said the meal was "to proclaim the Lord's death till He…

There’s a radical difference between Quaker understanding of Genesis and that of other Christian traditions. One reason for that is our understanding that sin is “not for term of life,” or at least needn’t be. The binary alternatives before each of us (salvation from sin or condemnation in it) are of utmost importance, and is the main topic of Scripture, which aims to support us in our move toward salvation.

Genesis not only gives us a creation myth, but it also emphasizes the binary…

I am often running into the notion that in order to achieve salvation, in order to come into the presence of Christ, we must somehow rid ourselves of all things physical. Yesterday, in worship, the following came to me.

We do not come into the presence of Christ by getting rid of the physical and its distractions. Rather the presence of Christ comes to us to make the flesh holy and to bring all creation into holy order.

Ellis 

I know nothing about the author of this YouTube video on "The Kingdom of God within" with odd title of "They are trying to kill me again" http://youtu.be/Avh6EoRWAKE having just stumbled upon the Youtube when looking for video instructions on how to patch a hole…

In case anyone is looking for the posts and comments recently put on this site by Keith Saylor, I have removed them and have deleted Keith's membership. His postings were not in accordance with the purpose of our website. He has agreed with me that he did not fit with the NFF. So, we part ways. 

I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause anyone looking for Keith's posts or for comments made in response to his posts.

Ellis Hein

New Foundation Fellowship announces the arrival of our new literature website at Foundationpublicationsnffusa.org. At the site are approximately two dozen items available for purchase: books and pamphlets written and/or edited by NFF workers from Britain, Europe, and the United States. One may also subscribe for one or two years to Foundation Papers, a quarterly periodical. The site is clearly organized and easy to…

I saw this law was the pure love of God which was upon me, and which I must go through, though I was troubled while I was under it for I could not be dead to the law but through the law which did judge and condemn that which is to be condemned. I saw many talked of the law, who had never known the law to be their schoolmaster; and many talked of the Gospel of Christ, who had never known life and immortality brought to light in them by it.…

The New Foundation Fellowship has been in existence since 1974, and has been active in the UK since then.

Some of you may have noticed that there has been a lack of New Foundation activity in the UK for over a year. You may also have noticed that there has been neither a recent newsletter nor edition of New Foundation Papers.

As one of the long-standing members of the UK…

I have agreed to try to help organise a reading group in the U.K.

anyone who may be interested please get in touch; either on this forum (add me as a friend) or my email. 

parkes385@btinternet.com

As a Christian, Christian in the sense of early Friends I have found few people who acknowledge Jesus as their God.  Most Quakers of my acquaintance actually deny Christ and use scripture only when it suits their purpose.   They bask in the reputation earned by previous…

 An exchange on a recent blog post brought to mind Lewis Benson's first published work, titled "Prophetic Quakerism." Written in 1943, the piece diagnoses the state of modern Quakerism as a deviation from the original prophetic faith into a philosophical idealism, which has so beleaguered our Society in the past century. In an excerpt from "Prophetic Quakerism," Benson describes the difference between the two doctrines of the Inner Light: prophetic and philosophical (italics…

Ode to a Quaker

I met him in the silence, before I knew his face

A mystic? No, not I, said he

But his God…

My very first meeting for worship brought me back to my loving friend, Jesus. I have known God since early childhood and had an argument with my Christ when my first born son Jared (father of Enoch who walked with God) died a horrible death after only a few weeks of life.  This traumatic event separated me from my God for forty years. I failed the test; I turned away from Christ and searched the world for a faith which would speak to me but when I walked into meeting, and found that special…

As I read and re-read Traditional Quaker Christianity, I felt a spirit of humble diligence intent upon conveying the core substance of Quaker understanding, as well as the practices that have thus far assisted its continuation. The original draft of this book was the result of a study of Friends faith and witness by Ohio Yearly Meeting member Michael Hatfield. He gave his work to the yearly meeting "to do with as it saw fit." Small study…

In the last post I stated my case for believing Paul did embrace the early Church’s teaching that Jesus is the Prophet like Moses.  The goal of this post is to draw the connection to what Paul taught as he traveled on his missionary journeys and defended himself before Roman governors.

The disciples saw Jesus’ work and their fellowship anticipated in the Old Testament scriptures. Witnessing the fulfillment of the “new covenant” described in Jeremiah 31, they could see that just as…

Dear Friends,

A suggestion has been put forward for the establishment of George Fox Reading Group in the UK. This would involve selecting suitable readings from the published works of George Fox and reading them aloud to each other. A similar group already exists in the United States, and this group has run successfully. Becky and Ellis Hein, in the US, are willing to join such a group and help support it.



The suggestion is that this would be done…

The following epistle of Fox's has a lot to say in answer to the seminar John Gibbs reported on. This epistle clearly points out the difference between the path the early Friends were walking and the "Different Paths..." concept.

FRIENDS,

In the power of life and wisdom, and dread of the Lord God of life, and heaven and earth, dwell; that in the wisdom of God over all ye may be preserved, and be a terror to all the adversaries of God, and a dread, answering that of God in them…

DIFFERENT PATHS UP THE SAME MOUNTAIN

SWANAGE SEMINAR JUNE 2014

 …

Are you satisfied knowing you or your group proclaims a Christian message rather than the Christian message? The difference between that indefinite article "a" and the definite article "the" is profound. And no, claiming to have the Christian message is not arrogance. It is about our position before Christ and the role he plays in the life of the individual and the life of the Church. A brief listing in the table below makes clear the…

When we think of God's speaking to us, we often assume we will receive clear instructions, if not in words heard inwardly, then in a strong sense of what we should do. This certainly happens, yet there is another way God speaks to us and guides us: by power received according to the extent of our obedience.



For example, years ago I was complaining to my husband that I couldn't control my bad moods. Thus, I lost patience and temper with our two young children and always felt guilty…

I have often heard it said, in one way or another, that "The natural mind is the enemy of God". For me, this has always raised the question of "Why should God have given me a mind that is naturally his enemy?" It is contradictory that if man was created in the image of God, he should have been given a mind that is naturally his creator's enemy, but was "pre-bent" to be subservient.

After pondering this for a while, I was finally shown an answer that makes sense, If we turn to Genesis…