Final Blog Project- Quakerism

A Brief History of the Quakers:
   
George Fox, Founder of Quakerism 
 
                In the Mid 17th century George Fox started questioning why he had to go to a priest or pastor to make a connection with God. Fox went around England and found people who shared similar beliefs; this is where Quakerism started to bloom. Quakers were persecuted in England under the Quaker Act of 1662 (later this was stopped by the Act of Toleration in 1689). During the time of persecution some Quakers were able to escape to America where they were semi-accepted in Rhode Island and West Jersey. A huge step for Quakers was in was in 1682 when William Penn founded Pennsylvania on Quaker principles, shortly after he signed a peace treaty with the Delaware tribe.

What Quakers Believe in:

             Quakers are considered a Christian Denomination but do not use the sacraments (baptism the Eucharist). Quakers call themselves "Friends" and believe in simplicity. Cutting out the ancillary things in life (like shopping, material things) helps a friend focus more on their inner light. Unlike Catholosism, Quakers do not have life size statues or stained glass windows in their church, instead they have benches in an unadorned room. Friends reject symbolism, but by rejecting symbolism in itself is symbolic. Quakers believe that symbols distract from the main focus which is the inner light.
A common meeting house set-up.

                    Not only do Quakers believe in simplicity in their church, but also within themselves. Many Quakers choose to keep their look simple with no make up, hair dye, or flashy outfits. Often people today do not know a lot about Quakers and think they dress like suto-pilgrims. Friends dress just like everyone else that you may see strolling down a street.
 Stereotypical Quaker (You may recognize him from the oatmeal tin) 

 

                 Meeting houses would be the equivalent to a church but are much smaller and are simply houses (no groin vaults or arches).
 Friends Meeting House, Uxbridge MA


So, what is a Quaker meeting?

                    Most Quaker meetings are held in complete silence for about an hour each week. Some groups read the bible  before silence. Silence is a time to reflect and open yourself up to the Holy Spirit. If someone feels compelled to stand up and say something they may, but instead of the congregation responding everyone stays in silence to reflect on what they have heard. Many Quakers have had experiences where they felt the overwhelming power of God during silence. For someone who has never been to a silent meeting before they may feel uncomfortable, often not knowing what to do when suddenly all stimulants are taken away.

Here's a video from England I found where Friends explain what Quakerism is to them and about meeting:

             Like many religions, Quakerism has different sects; Liberal Friends, Conservative Friends, Pastoral Friends, and the Evangelical Friends.

            Liberal Friends: are a sect of friends who are much less structured than other groups. They simply sit in silence without any scripture reading. They welcome anyone in, whether they are Christian or not. Liberal friends also involve themselves in community service.

            Conservative Friends: : "Conserve" the Quaker traditions from the 19th century. Like Liberal Friends, Conservative Friends have an un-programmed service. Some also choose dress and speak plainer.

             Pastoral Friends: Have a Pastor lead their worship, unlike Conservative and Liberal Friends. They also emphasize the scriptures during their services. Pastoral friends are also known for their missionary work.

             Evangelical Friends: Put a lot of emphasis on the scriptures, they also have a programmed service and practice at a church instead of a meeting house. They are also known for being missionaries.

                Although singing is not popular among the Friends' services, there are some songs that do reflect values and are taught in Quaker schools. This one's called Simple Gifts and here, it is sung by Jewel. This song is pretty straight forward it talks about finding true simplicity, very Quaker.

                  Quakers believe in peace and oppose war and violence. They were famous during the Vietnam War for their anti-war protests. Quakers were also extremely famous in history for their work against slavery. In fact George Fox spoke out against slavery when he visited America. In 1688 in Philadelphia (once called Germantown) Quakers protested against slavery. Then in 1974 John Woolen used his influence in the Friends society to explain the horrors of slavery. Friends were famous for harboring run away slaves, giving a helping hand for those who were breaking free from injustice.
Susan B Anthony

                  A very famous Quaker who embodied much of what friend hold important was Susan B Anthony. Anthony was widely know for her work to push for women's suffrage. She also played an important role in New York's anti-slavery movement. Anthony worked for human rights and equity; prominent beliefs in Quakerism.

Quaker T-shirt design

            Peace within one's self is central to Quaker belief, because, without inner-peace, one cannot share and create peace with others. Some Quaker groups explore how to become a peaceful society, here is a peace testimony that a group of students developed at a Quaker all girls school in Providence, RI.

Peace Testimony

Lincoln School

                 We don’t know if universal peace is possible. We don’t even know if it’s possible for each of us to become a completely peaceful person. But we do know that these two are connected. We know that we cannot be a peaceful community without being people of peace.

                  It is not enough to make rules so we can get along, while in our hearts we carry hard feelings or ill will. We must each start with ourselves, not just saying we want peace, but taking action every day to make peace with ourselves and those around us. This means being truthful and trustworthy even when it is difficult. It means being respectful of each other even when we do not like each other or are angry. It means living with kindness and humility rather than criticism or judgment. It means speaking out when we witness actions that divide rather than unite. It means listening past our differences until we can hear and know the inner goodness we all share. We know we are not many and most of us are young, but we also know that every act of trust, honesty, kindness, and love increases the trust, honesty, kindness, and love in the world.

           We believe these are the seeds of peace.



            This is a really striking idea, even if one does not agree with Quakerism or holds other religious principles, everyone can learn from this and if we all tried to add these qualities to our lives society would be much more peaceful. Quaker's hold some important central values; peace, simplicity, equity and love for others, these are not widely outrageous views, but ones that go unpracticed very often. Hopefully this entry will educated people on Quakerism and perhaps persuade them to adopt a few Quaker principles of their own.

Taking What Isn't Yours

For the week 10 blog post, read the Book of Abraham passed out in class (which you could also find online I'm sure). Then discuss how you might go about assessing a document like this. Are there any fine points in this text that lead you to think it is not from the supposed time of Abraham (2000BC?). In studying religion we have been surrounded by all kinds of claims about the world, and I am curious if there is any kind of critical approach that you can define through a discussion of this text.


                     Wow, where to begin. When I first started reading this it sounded like  a lot of other texts we have looked at, then I read closer and noticed somethings which REALLY made me doubt that Abraham wrote this. At some points when I was reading I had to re-read a sentence one or more times to see if I actually read it correctly because it seemed so outlandish. In chapter one what really stood out to me was that it said when Egypt was first discovered it was underwater...I'm fairly certain that is blatantly false and was during John Smith's time as well. 


                 Also, just like in the book of Mormon the book of Abraham was written messily so nothing was straight forward, "And the Gods called the light Day, and the darkness they called Night. And it came to pass that from the evening until morning they called ^anight; and from the morning until the evening they called day; and this was the first, or the beginning, of that which they called day and night." (chapter 4). It just seems to be rambling and not getting to the point which is important so people know what they are choosing to believe and follow. 

              I looked up the hieroglyphics that John Smith translated and they were reviewed later on when people had the ability to properly translate them, turns out they are believed to be common funerary writing. It seems like John Smith acquired these papers and turned them into a religious writing to help his cause when really they already had a specific purpose for Egyptians.

Too Big for being SO New

                   After reading through all the assigned texts this term and now reading through the book of Mormon I definitely feel differently about the book of Mormon. I just feel as though it was written in a manner that needed so badly to convince people, so it threw in all sorts of miracles that happened in America. I understand that the point of religious texts is to reach out and convince people to have faith but the book of Mormon is sometimes way over board.
                  I feel like John Smith wrote this book to convince and appease people so they would join his religion. Instead of being truthful he was shoving things down people's throat he thought they would want to hear.   Yes, a lot of things were seriously embellished in other religious texts but with Mormonism being so new, and claiming such big things like Jesus coming down from heaven and all sorts of other things, it seems unrealistic. I'm not trying to say that Mormons are wrong or that people should ignore the book of Mormon because it seems outlandish. I just think if we all took and appreciated the book of Mormon with a grain of salt we'd all be golden.

Pride over Fact

            I read through the Third Book of Nephi and within the text was a section which discussed Jesus Christ descending from heaven in front of a group of people. Jesus calls Nephi out from the crowed and speaks to him about spreading his message and baptizing people. "And again, more blessed are they who shall believe in your words, because that ye shall testify that ye have seen me, and that ye know who I am." -488.
 
            In the 19th and 20th century America was rapidly developing in medicine and population as well as definitively establishing itself as a powerful country. Even so America was a relatively new country that had no roots to any biblical tales or Christianity. When people heard that Jesus had come to America they would have felt a closeness to Jesus that they could not all the way from Israel. Jesus being in America it also may have stirred up so national pride. Mormonism would be appealing for the reason that it would not only create nationalism but also a closeness with Jesus.

           It's an appealing idea to have someone who a group worships be in that certain place. That's why so many religions want a piece of Israel because the land has meaning it just happens to have a lot of meaning to many different groups. By saying Jesus appeared in America it gives a sense of pride to Mormons.

So, why should I believe YOU'RE my prophet?

                  What has been eating at me a little about the Baha'i and other religions is that their prophet is the only one or they put a warranty for 1000 years until there can be a new one. It's odd that people can accept certain prophets but be so quick to dismiss others. So now I want to think about what makes one prophet that can be followed, and if it has to do a lot with the individual or what the people want.

                   What makes someone a convincing enough prophet that people will believe what they say? Is it that they preform miracles and cure lepers? Or do they just need to represent the people and their needs to a certain degree? It's become troubling to me that there seems to be some kind of mold for a prophet, they must be wise, charismatic, represent the trials and tribulations of the people that follow them, and many other characteristics. I also find it pretty aggravating that people are willing to give their full believe to a certain prophet at the time but find it almost blasphemous that there could possibly be anyone else after that. Obviously, besides the first prophet ever, the prophets later were not first, it seems really unfair to say there cannot be any after that. The Baha'i do not say there cannot be another prophet...they just put a 1000 year barrier.

                  I'm not saying every person yelling on the sidewalk that the end is tomorrow is the next prophet, I just don't like the fact that only certain people can be fully accepted and others rejected based on timeline. What if someone who fits all the criteria for what is considered a great prophet shows up tomorrow? So, because they are a few hundred year too early they won't be recognized by one group and just in general will not be seen as legitimate by other groups.

Anything can be turned into positive energy

             I watched Charter for Compassion and found it not only very compelling but a breath of fresh air. The short video was about religions showing their peaceful and kind sides and being depicted as that, rather than angry and violent (which we see so often in the media). People in the video spoke of kindness they had received or witnessed. The Baha'i are peaceful people even though different groups around them are extremely brutal and show no mercy to them.

             Baha'u'llah is at the center of this peaceful idea "In these letters, Baha'u'llah both proclaims his mission and claims and also advises the rulers of the world on how to arrange their affairs so as to bring peace and improve the condition of their subjects." p. 102. Even though the Baha'i are persecuted and thrown into prison (where Baha'u'llah was when he wrote the letters) Baha'u'llah cares for other groups who worship different things than he does, he cares enough to write to very powerful leaders (the pope and Napoleon III were mentioned) about how to improve their followers' lives and how to bring peace. There isn't anything in it for him he simply does it to help.

               Many people in Baha'u'llah's place would want to punish other's and be vengeful but he uses his energy for good and spreading kindness, something people could learn from. It amazes me how many people do hurtful and bad things to others for no reason and here is a group of people who have had terrible atrocities happen to them and they keep on going trying to spread peace.

From Sacred to Lawn Decor

 I think it's safe to say just about everyone has seen this picture (or a variation of it) on poster in dorm rooms, on t-shirts, even key chains and necklaces. Like many people I didn't know much about Bob Marley I knew he smoked marijuana and sang in a thick Jamaican accent but that was about it. What was really interesting to me was how a religion can be assimilated into modern culture, and a long the way can lose the true roots. So, I did some thinking about what elements of religion are seen, and found this.


                   As we can see in the picture above this is a necklace of Jesus, it is white gold and encrusted with diamonds, clearly this does not reflect Christianity. Instead of representing Christianity it shows of wealth and affluence.


                       These to statues are the ancient Greek goddesses Hebe and Aphrodite, they are lawn ornaments. Although ancient Greek religion is not very prominent today it is still kind of disconcerting
 in a way that goddesses that were so significant have become cheesy lawn decor.

             I feel as though religion has lost some of the sacredness that it once had. At least people should try and learn things they wear or display in their home or lawn.