Quakerism

This is one of the Christian groups that emerged during the English Civil War (1642-1651) with George Fox as its founder.  History of the Christian movement bear that George Fox felt unsatisfied by the teachings and practices of the Church of England.

Origin of the Group

            His discomfort with Anglicanism led him to a personal revelation or vision on the Pendle Hill in Lancashine – England in which he concluded that Yahweh made him to see in what places he had a great people to be gathered.  This vision prompted him to travel around England, the Netherland and Barbados to preach of his new found faith to peoples.

The fundamental message of George Fox was that the Hebrew messiah whom he identified as Jesus Christ along other Christians has come to teach his people himself.

The central doctrine of the movement was based on the priesthood of all believers as it laid much emphasis on the direct relationship with Yahweh and believers through the acclaimed Jesus Christ.

The Quakers support direct religious experience with Christ and the reading and studying of the Bible as the base of their Christian practices.

Source of the Name

The group is officially known as the Religious Society of Friends although adherents describe themselves variously as true Christians, Saints, Children of Light, Friends of Truth etc.  The movement became known as Quakers in 1650 when George Fox was accused of teaching religious heresy and blasphemy.  He was brought before the magistrates Gervase Bennet and Nathanial Barton where they were firstly called Quakers by magistrate Bennet as George was Quaking and shaking in response to the charges.  George Fox explained the experience as the “Quaking in the Lord”.

Therefore, the term – “Quakers” became a mocking or derogatory name given to the movement by the people which the movement later treasured and began to use as their description or identity.

Quakerism is one of the Christian movements that claim restorationalism to the way of Yahoshea Meshiyach and his early apostles which got lost within the period of Apostasy.  Historical facts bore that close to a million converts seek for Yahosheanism through Quakeris. The converts are divided into evangelic, holiness, liberal, traditional and  conservative Quakers.

Based on its tradition of placing whole regard to direct relationship to Yahweh, the movement avoided creeds and ecelestical or hierarchical structures that are available in other Christian bodies.

Methods of Worship

Quakerism adopted two forms of worship which it term as the “programmed worship” which is observed by some friends (Quakers) with singing and a prepared message from the Bible and often conducted by a pastor.

The next is the “waiting worship” or “unprogrammed worship” in which the order of service is not planned in advance.  The waiting worship is mainly silent and which may include an unprepared vocal ministry (message) from anyone in the congregation.

The member that is to render the vocal ministry must be moved by Yahweh and the message to be credible to those present as acclaimed.  Some of such meetings recognized some trained persons in the Quaker's way whom they identify as the Recorded Ministers who are equally identified as possessing gift of the vocal ministry.

The waiting worship or silent worship is equally termed as the holy communion in the method of friends that was instituted by George Fox and the early Quakers. Friends that move by suchmethod claim that such was the normal worship method of the early Christians.

By this method, Friends (Quakers) assemble in what they term as the expectant waiting upon Yahweh to experience his still small voice leading them from within.  The Quakers do not make plans on how to proceed but believe that it is the spirit of Yahweh that plans what to happen and equally leading people to speak in the vocal ministry.

The vocal ministry by a touched member is often followed by moments of silence before future vocal ministry is made by another spirit led person.

In the days of George Fox, this meeting last for some hours and to be closed by two elders starting a handshake with exchange of the sign of peace and to be followed by others in the meeting.

In unprogrammed worship, some times, the entire members remain silent from the beginning to the end. Also, at sometimes, there is speech of the vocal ministry.

The prepared worship include singing of hymns, a sermon, Bible reading, a period of silent worship and joint prayers.  This method of Quakers worship resembles those of other protestant movements although without Eucharist service in most of the cases.

Polity and Structure

On congregational structure, the Quakers are organized into independent, regional and national bodies called the yearly meetings.  The yearly meetings differs from various friends due to differences of Christian doctrines.

In programmed tradition, local congregations are known as “Friend’s Churches” while the unprogrammed methods, local congregational are referred as “a meeting” or “a monthly meeting”.

Some monthly meetings assemble for worship at least once a week while some have several worship meetings in a week.

Monthly meetings constitute the regional group called a quarterly meeting which constitutes part of the larger group referred as a “Yearly meeting”.

Some yearly meetings organize a larger group that coordinate and maintain order within the society. Some of those major organizations include – the Friends General Conference, Friends United meeting and Evangelical Friends Church International.

Claims and Exploits

The Quakers view their movement as a gathering of a holy tribe or as the family or household of God.  This prompt them to lay emphasis on the family or communal spiritual orientation.  That is referred as the “holy conversation” in which speech and behaviour are meant to reflect piety, faith and love.

The Quakers tradition of holy conversation is mainly sustained by the Quaker’s women which engages in spirituality of larger society through convening of meetings that regulate marriage and domestic attitudes.

Quaker women's meeting plays a prominent role in definition of the movement although its establishment brought lot of controversies such as the Wilkenson. Such split saw a portion of Quakers community separated from the main body to worship independently in protest of the women's meeting.

In all, the issue of holy conversation placed women converts at recognizable position especially within the Hicksite group that occurred in 1827-1828.

Splits and Challenges

The movement had evolved many splits and denominational differences but are tolerating to each other.  Majority of the Quakers believe on the doctrinal principle of continuing Revelation which hold that religious truth is continuously communicated directly to individuals from Yahweh.  For such reasons, the Quakers reject the idea of priests but believe on the priesthood of all believers.

Various groups identify the continuing process of revelation to individuals through phrases as the “Inner light” “Inward light of Christ” or “Holy Spirit”.

The understanding of the Inner light have made many diverse groups within Quakerism to formulate statement of faiths, confessions or theological texts.  Such confession include the letter to the governor of Barbados (Fox, 1671), Apollogy for the true Christian Ministry (barday), Catechism and Confession of Faith (Barday 1690), the Richmond Declaration of faith (adopted by five years meeting – 1887) and the Essential Truth (Jones and Wood, adopted by five year meeting 1922).

Some yearly meetings pursue their own “Book of Discipline” that deal on the practices of the Friends in that yearly meeting.

Doctrines and Beliefs

On practical doctrines, the Quakers lays emphasis on testimonies in their spiritual life. They believe strongly on the scriptural presentation that faith without works is dead.  They feel personally moved by Yahweh more than religious codes.

The movement has varieties of groups of friends, splits and ideologies.  Some proves conservatism.  For example, the conservative friends includes Wilburities, a name they took from their founder called John Wilbur.

This group observe practices that were originally held by George Fox and early friends. They believe that other friends broke-away from them but not them breaking away from any other group of friends.

The conservative friends reject outward sacrament as Eucharistic and Baptism. They equally reject any form of religious symbolism.  The conservative friends believe that meal held with others is the better form of communion with the creator and other mortals.

Another prominent group of Quakers are the Evangelical friends who share similar religious principles with other protestant evangelical Christians. This group held to the doctrine of penal substitution of atonement by the Saviour whom they term as Jesus Christ.  They equally believe in the biblical infallibility, evangelism of the gospel.

The statement of faith of the evangelical friends resembles those of other evangelical protestant Christians.  In some of the yearly meetings of the evangelical friends, doctrines as sharing of Eucharist and adult baptisms are practiced.

Another Quakers ideology is found amongst the Gurneyite Quakers, a movement found by Joseph John Gurney in 19th century.  This body of friends regard the saviour as the teacher and Lord and closely working with other protestant Christian churches.

This group place higher regard on Bible than on personal and direct experience with the creator.  They worship along with other practices of protestant Christian churches.

Another body of friends holds to holiness tradition of protestant Christianity. This group is influenced by holiness movement of the Wesleyan doctrine of perfection that is theologically known as “entire sanctification” Holiness friends hold that George Fox’s message of perfection was in line with the holiness movement of the protestant Christianity.

There are also liberal Quakers who profess liberal Christian ideology.  This group of friends share a mixed ideas, focus on social message and are critical to some Biblical presentations.  This group was brought to light by Rufus Jones, an American friend in the early 20th century.

Liberal friends place much regard on good works and examples shown by the saviour's lifestyle.  Liberal Quakers equally regard equality of all peoples, peacifism and truth speaking.

Liberal friends do not regard outward religious symbols and sacraments rather hold on the ethnicity of the inner-light of the saviour.  This body of Quakers hold the divine direction to a believer superior to the biblical adoption.  They equally view congregational confession of faith as obstruction towards listening to new insight. Liberal Quakers are totally non-creedal but may produce “a faith and practice” book that directs on religious experiences to an adherent in the yearly meeting.

Again, there are universal friends who belong to religious pluralism.  This group profess that there are many different paths to Yahweh and that understanding the creator through non Christian method is as valued as Christian method itself.

The universalist Quakerism was found by John Linton who established the Quaker Universalist Fellowship in 1978 that accept Christians, Muslims and Hindu worshippers.

Such Quakers are not necessarily Christian Universalists but are known for adopting the ideology of universal reconciliation.

Another group of friends are identified as the non-theist Quakers which shares non-theist ideologies available in other churches as the Sea of Faith within the Anglican Communion.  Members of this group are predominantly atheists, agnostics and humanists.

The non-theist Quakers consists of the Humanistic Society of Friends that was founded in Angelus in 1939 and later absorbed into the American Humanist Association.

Features of the Group

One of the unique features of Quakerism among Christian tradition is its use of numbers to denominate the name of days of the weeks and months.  The movement term it as the plain calendar as it avoids using names of months and days that they view to be of pagan origin.

For instance, they identify Sunday as the first day, Monday as the second day till Saturday they identify as the seventh day.  Equally, they view January as the first month and February as the second month, on to December they term as the twelfth month.

The calendar method originated from the 16th century Puritanism and was adopted by the Quakers.

Likewise, the Quakers do not observe Christian religious festivals as Christmas, Lent or Easter rather hold that the saviour's birth, death and resurrection is meant to by commemorated daily in a believer's life.

The movement hold the belief of the fasting in Lenten period while eating excessively at other times as a hypocrisy. Quakers prefer simple lifestyle on daily basis in a practice they term as the “testimony against times and seasons”. 

Based on this thought, some Quakers do not hold any day holier than others as found in Christian theology of Sunday holiness.

Conversion and Membership

Regarding conversion or membership, a friend must be of a yearly meeting which he or she may have started from a monthly meeting.  Membership of various yearly meetings varies as some will require the new convert to attend activities of the group in a duration of two years and possible baptism affected while others require the new convert to be regularly visited by other Quakers to observe a process of peer review in which report of the response of the view of the convert will be given to other members of the monthly meeting before a decision of his or her membership be reached.

Within liberal friends, members do not observe baptism or Christian initiation ceremonies.  New born babies have automatic membership in some monthly meetings while in others, they are allowed to grow to adult when they will make their decision over membership.

Trials and Persecutions

Quakerism is a movement that hold itself as a holy tribe and practices the holy conversation. The early friends been faced by persecution at North America began a search for a tolerant territory or environment where they will build a community of their dream.

This prompted many friends to migrate into the North Eastern region of United States in the early 1680s.

The persecution of the Quakers started in England by 1650 when George Fox was imprisoned for the first time.  He was later imprisoned with other early Quakers for charges of causing disturbances and committing blasphemy.

In 1662, the English parliament passed the Quakers Act which made it illegal to refuse to take the Oath of Allegiance to the crown.  The next law that pressed the Quakers was the Conventicler Act of 1664 which reaffirmed that holding of secret meeting without pledging allegiance to the crown is a crime.

These laws affected the Quakers who also bluntly refused to swear an act of allegiance to the crown but continued to practice their faith in the presence of the persecution.

The persecution of Quakers ceased by the Declaration of Indulgence on 1687 and 1688 by King James 11 of England.  This was followed by the Toleration Act of 1689.

When the persecution of Quakers was on top gear, some Quakers moved to Netherlands where they met the Dutch Collegians and the Mennonites who sought protection there.

History record that when William Penn, a Quaker founder of Pennsylvania visited  the Netherlands, he witnessed the height of persecution of Quakers in that territory, he decided to return to Pennsylvania with George Fox and some early friends.

With time, many Dutch and English Quakers migrated into Pennsylvania where William Pen established the holy experiment through combination of temporal and spiritual matters.  The Pennsylvania became the city of the Quakers but lost control of authority due to the disagreement over the funding of military operations or defense in the city.

Quakers in Pennsylvania cleared themselves of political powers but engaged in voluntary and benevolent associations, civic activism, building of  hospitals and schools. They were supported by wealthy Quakers merchants in Philadelphia.

The Quakers faced tough persecution in Puritan led – Massachusetts.  The Puritans considered them as heretics for their belief of inner light's obedience to individuals.  They were banished and imprisoned by the Massachusetts colony, their books given to flames and their properties confiscated.

In 1657, some Quakers from England moved to New Amsterdam and preached of their conviction. Governor Per Stuyvesant of the colony made harsh decrees that bear fines and imprisonment for anyone founding harbouring Quakers.

Persecution and segregation against Quakers made them to turn into commerce and production of items.  People trusted them for their integrity and truthfulness.

As the Quakers became firmly established at the Pennsylvania and other surrounding territories, they began to establish meetings.  Equally, they began to engage in serious social reformation programmes as abolitionism.

Struggle against Slavery

In 1733, the Pennsylvania monthly meeting raised opposition against slavery and such was promoted by some concerned members as John Woolman.  John Woolman preached that buying of slave, selling and owning human beings were wrong practices.

The abolition movement among Quakers on Pennsylvania made the Philadelphia yearly meeting to prohibit its members of owning slaves in 1776.

Within these period, the Quakers helped to free many slaves and hence became the foremost western group that ban slave holding.  The efforts of Quakers convinced people like Ben Franklin and Thomas Jatterson to press the continental congress to ban the importation of slaves into American in 1775.

In history, Pennsylvania is known as the strongest anti-slavery state at that time.  There were societies as “The Pennsylvania society for promoting the abolition of slavery”.  “The Relief of free Negroes unlawfully held in bondage, and for improving the condition of African Race”

The efforts of Quakers on Slavery Abolition received government attention as Great Britain promised freedom to any slave that will fight for it.  This equally prompted George Washington to allow slaves in the colonies to enlist to fight for America to gain their freedom.

Based on the efforts of the Quakers, slavery was abolished in all of New England, the Atlantic States and the North-West territories by 1780-1804.

In the southern states that held to slavery, the Quakers developed escape routes called the underground railroads across the United States to move slaves to Canada or the free States.

Many Quakers were arrested and found guilty for helping slaves escape from the slave masters.

Social Reforms and Amenities

Other fields of social justice that Quakers look to was  on the equality of women in the society, provision of shelter or apartments for the poor and needy, development of many schools and other developmental projects to alleviate the sufferings of the common people, prison reform, war rescue operations in the world wars, established many international companies, rescued about 10,000 European Jewish children to escape from Holocaust, rescued about 1400 Jewish children to escape Nazi's holocaust etc.

Comments and Summary

Quakerism is known world over as a group of Christian friends that promoted some serious social and developments reforms.  It equally raised some important question among Christendom as based on the absolutism of the clergy and the creeds that suppress the genuinely of the laity.  To many Christian movements, only clergy claim of divine inspiration but the Quakers view each member as a worthy priest of Yahweh whom can be used for the ministry at any necessary moment.

Having taken note of the numerous values that Quakers brought to humanity in three later centuries, we still submit that the movement is not in any form the required continualist movement of the early apostles.

The movement may have practiced some of the principles held by the early apostlic assembly, but it will amount to wrong conclusion when one hold that the Quakers were true assembly that fit to the practices held by Yahoshea Meshiyach.

Reasons to this submission is not far fetched.  Yahosheanism was principally based on the tradition of Hebrew religion. It observed all holy practices that were held sacred by the temple worshippers of Yahuda but rejected all forms of additions or subtractions that were effected by the Yahudeans

In the case of Quakerism, majority of its principles were based on Greek and Roman religious tradition that is presently identified as the Christendom.

Yahosheanism was a creedal movement but had no recognition to those creeds raised by ecumenical councils convened by the Roman Catholic church or her daughters.  Quakerism is never conclusive on creeds but even when some friends adopt any, it runs in tune with Roman Catholic raised creeds.

The creeds of Yahosheanism consist of those edicts or acts of the prophets of old, all Acts of Yahoshea Meshiyach and his early apostles with all Acts of prophet Yahmarabhi Ha Meshiyach and his immediate disciples.  The creeds of the Evangelical Quakers consist of those creeds that were uphold by the protestant Christian movement.

The creeds of Yahosheanism involves proclamation of the sacred name of Yahweh and that of his son Yahoshea and based on the teachings of prophet Yahmarabhi, the observation of Sabbath day rest and love of other mortals more than self.

The creeds of Quakers revolves around addressing of the creator in various names as held in all human tribes and tongues, address of the saviour as Jesus Christ and holding the purported Holy Spirit to represent the force that generate the inner light within members.

The Quakers meeting are not based on the scriptural Sabbath but can be observed according to the friends of monthly or yearly meetings.

Yahosheanism holds to observation of festivals that were enumerated in the Holy Inspired Scriptures while Quakerism do not have regard for any of the ordained festivals.

Based on these differences and others, it is wise to conclude that Yahosheanism and Quakerism is quite different and opposite movements in which the later cannot claim to represent the former in any capacity.

A religious thought that must represent the religious principles and assemblage of Yahoshea Meshiyach must not depart from the principle doctrines that were fundamental to Yahoshea's foundation that was adopted by his early apostles.

This serves as a wise revelation to Quakers who seek for Yahoshea Meshiyach in their practice of inner light of priesthood of all behaviours.  They must be aware that Yahoshea Meshiyach was the chief priest of the assembly and he promised of the comforter who is to continue from him.

That comforter must be in a human form as was prophets of old and Yahoshea and his apostles.  The comforter has emerge in the personage of Most Senior prophet Yahmarabhi Ha comforter who is mandated to guide the saints to the way of Yahoshea that is simple termed as Yahosheanism.

Those who have ears should hear of this wise counseling for Yahweh cannot change his method of dealing with his earthly followers.