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…

"How do I know which voice to listen to?" is one of the most often-repeated questions when the Quaker practice of listening to Jesus Christ is discussed. "There are so many competing voices, both within and outside, that often it seems impossible to tell when God is speaking."



Yet Lewis Benson has written of a voice that speaks to men and women with "absolute authority, in which they cannot disbelieve, and which evokes a response of humble unconditional obedience." [George Fox's…

EXPERIMENT WITH LIGHT

 At regional meeting in April Diana Lampen gave us a very interesting and clear introduction to Experiment with Light.  I took some notes that may be of help especially for those who seek a ‘way in’ regarding spiritual experience. …

A look at Paul in the Book of Acts.

It has been a long time since a post to this blog, so first a brief summary of the goals and prior posts.

The intent of the series of blogs is to follow a thread that George Fox and other early Friends lifted from Scripture to describe Jesus as Messiah.  The thread starts in Deuteronomy 18:15 and goes through Peter’s sermon in Acts 3 and Stephen’s defense in chapter 7.  In prior posts I pointed to the theme in other parts of the New…

Of all the Early Quaker tenets, the doctrine of moral perfection is perhaps the most misunderstood. When confronted with the idea that we can expect complete deliverance from sin in this life, we too often think, Oh no, God expects me never to make mistakes--how can I possibly achieve that? or Now He truly expects the impossible: how can I keep from losing my temper and screaming at my spouse and children in moments of extreme stress? or I can't stop coveting my neighbor's wife…

The focus of the Early Friends was on listening to God. This is why they held silent meetings. They knew that human activity, such as a programmed worship service, was not likely to be in response to a direct leading, received within after much waiting and prayer.…

As Jonah was, so am I. 

I sense that the time has come to allow the Christ, our Lord and Teacher, to speak through me to the auditory that He will guide me to.

Christ has cleansed me from the dross of pride. I must walk in the path of the Guide to the glory of His name.

Pray for me as the way opens.

Brad