But Peter answered and said to Him, "Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away." Jesus said to him, "Truly I say to you that this very night, before a cock crows, you shall deny Me three times." Peter said to Him, "Even if I must die with You, I will not deny You." (Matt. 26:33-35)

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a certain servant-girl came to him and said, "You too were with Jesus the Galilean." But he denied it…

This is the title of a workshop I would like to give soon. After reading Terry H.S. Wallace's None Were So Clear: Prophetic Quaker Faith and the Ministry of Lewis Benson and Catholic Quakerism by Lewis Benson, I am in the process of creating a workshop for New England Yearly Meeting Friends on the importance of the historical prophetic voice and what the prophetic voice means to Friends, and beyond, today. I've drafted some ideas about this workshop, and would appreciate…

How are we to know the difference between true and false religion? religions, subsets of religions, and anti-religions abound, each one claiming to be the best. Over all, the banner of tolerance and respect is held high, in a manner that amounts to an admission of defeat. Since we can’t agree on the truth, proclaim one and all, we may as well resign ourselves to a life without it. This attitude has it’s good points; it is far better than wars fought by fanatics. But it is far from what we…

Fox repeats this call over and over: "Keep your testimony...for your worship in the spirit and in the truth, that Christ Jesus hath set up" (Works, 8:34); "keep up your testimony in the light, power, and spirit of God, for the worship that Christ set up above sixteen hundred years since, in spirit and in truth,...which is a worship that cannot be shaken." (8:84) This is a testimony that the Quakers had before the peace testimony was formulated in 1660, and I think in Fox's mind it was the…

You can tell someone something

or they can tell you.

And what is told is true and good.

But You only, LORD, can give the substance to true and good.

You breathe its life into us

that we might see and know;

know in a way only you can impart.

The world is full of wisdom 

that grinds night to night;

its lite of little stature;

its mouth of little heed.

But to tell the truth of it to another, 

to plead…

Be a Blessing!  Be Kind to One Another!

These exhortations from one person to another were common in the holiday season in December 2016 and have continued on into a hard winter in 2017.  I have heard them from folks across the religious and political spectrum.  It is an unusually cold and wet winter in many parts of North America and political change has many uncertain or even fearful.

These sentiments seem right at first take.  I want people to do these things also.  But on…

8th day, 1st month, 2017

Autobiography of George Fox, location 1303

"As we travelled we came near a very great hill, called Pendle Hill, and I was moved of the Lord to go up to the top of it; which I did with difficulty, it was so very steep and high. When I was come to the top, I saw the sea bordering upon Lancashire. From the top of this hill the Lord let me see in what places he had a great people to be gathered."

And gather them he did. And those people gathered are…

This poem (parable, what have you) came to me last summer, and I felt drawn to share it here.

The Heretic

I built my house in the lonely mountains,

I built a place where I might rest.

For of this world I was so weary

That all I asked was one request.

I said good neighbors, can't you leave me be?

I said the peace of the Lord is here,

I said your church is not for me,

They said I blasphemed, it was clear.

They said old…

A common phrase you may see describing a particular denomination or church is, “Bible based.” But the Biblical basis of Fox’s message was not a surface adherence to certain passages, but a comprehensive alignment with God’s purpose throughout history.

Fox lived in a period that was Biblically literate and highly religious. Since Fox rejected all the various forms of Christianity of his day, an appropriate question might be, “Was Fox a Christian?” Lewis Benson’s lecture no. 3,…

Love mercy and true judgment, justice and righteousness; for the Lord delighteth in such. Consider these things in time, and take heed how ye spend your time. Now ye have time, prize it; and show mercy, that ye may receive mercy from the Lord: for he is coming to try all things, and will plead with all flesh as by fire (Works, 1:115)

This statement is from a letter that Fox wrote in 1651 while he was being held in Darby jail. In this letter, Fox…

When Jesus walked the earth in the flesh, those who recognized him as the Messiah must have been seized by the conviction, "EVERYTHING this man says and does is important." Therefore, they wanted to record it all for future generations, and did their best.

However, earthly life dictates that a certain percentage of our actions and words are mundane and everyday, tied to the necessary tasks of living, such as eating, working, or repairing and maintaining machinery. In living on…

A Christmas message from John Gibbs in Dorset UK - Quaker @ Bournemouth Meeting

                                               …

Blessed is the Lord.

Today in Red Cedar Friends Meeting I, for the first time, saw, heard, experienced the Lord working in his people. This morning was an answer to my prayers. This morning he sent me an angel I had asked for. The angel came in the beautiful voice of a woman who began a hymn and, after the first stanza, was joined by the young woman sitting in front of her. 

I heard the voices of Friends who witnessed pain, one physical, one emotional; the latter most…

Dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

     I ask for your indwelling strength, courage, wisdom and love to well up within me to enable me to move forward with your grace as I choose to participate in my nation's government as a catalyst for your Hope, Peace, and Love. I humbly confess my despair and anxiety, grief and an overwhelming sense of loss due to recent political strife. I pray for Donald Trump that he and his administration may follow your lead to guide us in your ways,…

1 and 2 Thessalonians

In Post 8 about Paul on this question, I considered Paul’s discourse of farewell to the Ephesian Elders in Acts 20, connecting it to Ellis Hein’s openings in John.  The post concluded with this: “The grace of God is the voice declaring: ‘This is the way; walk in it.’”

This was such a departure from the meaning of the Grace of God taught to us by Protestant churches that for some time I felt at sea.  But finally a sense of assurance came and grounding that…

Ye that have seen the everlasting gospel, and known the everlasting gospel preached again, which was among the apostles, and have been reaped out from among the apostates, got up since the apostles’ days; I say, live in it, and dwell in it; in which life and power ye see over to the apostles’ days (The Works of George Fox 7:268). 

"The Everlasting Gospel Preached by George Fox" is the second of ten lectures given by Lewis Benson in his lecture series Rediscovering the…

I give what the Lord gives to me. Yesterday and the day before were restless, gray days for me. Two things veiled my spirit: worry about my country and an unsettled sparring match with a Meeting surrogate. As the day turned to evening these two worrisome issues prompted an internal dialog. I went over what was troubling me and presented the situations clearly. I'll tell this to the Lord, I thought. It would be redundant; he already knew but I vocalized anyway, though not as clearly. I prayed…

It would seem reasonable to suppose that, nearly three centuries after the death of George Fox, there would be some measure of consensus among church historians concerning the place he should be assigned in Christian history. But this is not the case. They all agree that he has an assured place in history, but there is an astonishing variety of theories purporting to tell us exactly what that place is.…

A year and a half ago I wrote an essay titled “The Only Antidote,” in which I argued for the need to think critically: to use natural powers of reason and conscience to honor, discern, and communicate the truth. Referring to Hannah Arendt’s understanding of the cause behind the rise of Fascism and also referring to a Bible story of John the Baptist’s execution by Herod, I pointed to the crucial and perennial role of critical thought in containing the spread of evil.

Although critical…