What Do Quakers Believe About God?
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- Опубликовано: 23 июл 2024
- What is God? We asked 20 Quakers, here’s what they said.
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Transcript:
Paula Palmer: I do have a sense that all living things are in some mysterious way connected; that life itself is such a miracle. I want to feel that connection, acknowledge that connection, be conscious of it, be appreciative of it, cherish it, share it, and not define it.
What Do Quakers Believe About God?
Patricia McBee: I have a lifelong experience of hearing something speak to me and guide me. I can’t reconcile my belief in an abstract sense of God and this sense of guidance, so I have this big, rich, dizzyingly awe-inspiring abstract God and this very close presence that I can turn to and will speak to me.
A God That Transcends Understanding
Kenyatta James: My concept of God is everything that we can know but not understand. That there’s a lot in this world that we might be able to know but we don’t really understand or that we can’t replicate . For me, that energy, that power is what God is.
Jim Rose: Christ, Jesus says, “The kingdom of God is within you.” That is what Quakers are convinced of and I’m convinced of, is that our journey is a journey inward. Whether you call it God, the divine, the light, there is something to be found there and it’s something that is-I don’t want to call it irrational, but the rational mind cannot cope with these things that are inexpressable, ineffable. The definition of God is not something that the rational mind can grasp. What can grasp that is only the heart.
God As an Experience
Laura Boles: God is an experience to me, it is not a belief or a concept and so I am looking to experience God in my daily life and allow myself to be a vessel for others to experience God through me. And you know when you feel it. You know when you feel it. You know when your greatest gifts as a person, as an individual are shining to their highest capacity.
Kevin-Douglass Olive: As someone once told me if I can understand God, if I can conceptualize God in God’s fullest, then that is not a God that can transform my life and bring me out of any dark night, of any hurt, habit, or hang-up.
John Moorman: The almighty being, whether it’s he or she or what that was there at creation, was there before creation. I don’t pretend to understand it but it is there. I will be seeking it until the day I die. I won’t know the answer, but I know the presence is there.
Ruth Montague: I think life is very whimsical. I think my brain isn’t really wired to really understand everything that might be or is going on and I’m okay with that. It sounds funny, but I love the word “whimsy” I think it describes… I mean, isn’t it crazy that we get to have this experience? I mean, wow. Here we are. Hm.
The Limitations of Language
Amy Kietzman: I use the word, “God” because it’s the currency, because it’s the word we use in our culture. But for many years when I write the word “God,” I write G-!-D because first of all, “God” is not God’s name. We pretend that that is the name of something, but it really… we don’t know what it is. And it’s important not to know, or not to try to know too much because it’s more about that we’re experiencing something and we have to communicate about it, so we have to have words.
More: fdsj.nl/god
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The views expressed in this video are of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Friends Journal or its collaborators.
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FILMED & EDITED by Jon Watts: jonwatts.com
"seeing that of God....in every person...." How powerful!
I find these videos to be encouraging, uplifting and very informative. Thank you.
I consider myself to be a Taoist Quaker. I grew up in an Evangelical Quaker church. I left because of their narrow view of God. My understanding of the earliest understanding of the Tao is that the "gods" of all religions are a manifestation of the Tao. These "gods" speak to specific cultures, but are really the same. It is all about the idea that we exist on Earth to learn to live in harmony with nature and each other. To value everything around us.
O SENHOR NOSSO DEUS É O ÚNICO SENHOR. Dt.6:4.
JESUS CRISTO É O SENHOR PARA A GLÓRIA DE DEUS PAI. Fl.2:11.
JESUS CRISTO É O VERDADEIRO DEUS E A VIDA ETERNA. 1Jo.5:20e 21.
Great understanding of the divine, which is inexplicable to the human Mind. All major world Religions teach the exact same thing, which binds them all together as One !!
Peace to All Truth Seekers.
Watch acts17apologetics and one for israel.
@@renjurichard Is that one channel or two ? What knowledge does it share with humanity ?
False, give me one major religion that says "God is love" these don't even know what God means themselves judging from their answers, just "what they feel" as if their feelings are guided by God, and can never be influenced by their whims or devils that lurk.
The closest thing I know of to such beliefs is that of some man in Andalusia, called Ibn Arabi. who said every living creature had "God" in them, including a tree, a dog, a human. He said a similar thing to the Levantines when he visited them, then promptly lynched him.
@@vergesserforgetter2160 Friend, the phrase "God is love" is literally in the bible. Would Christianity qualify is a major religion?
Ask a dozen Quakers what they believe about _anything_ and be prepared for thirteen answers LOL - and yes, I am one myself.
Exactly the same with Unitarians too, lol.
@@torspedia
I
Apart from slaughtering Whales to the brink of extinction, they were very good at that and united in their action.
Honestly christianity isn’t any different that’s why there’s like 87 million different Christian churches. I mean honestly the Catholic God seems very different than the born-again evangelical God or the god of Church of England.
@@mindyourownbusinessfattynot exactly united. The Nantucket Quakers weren’t great but it wasn’t exactly a policy of yearly meeting or anything
Thank u all for your inspired and deep words. From Southern Europe.
Jesus taught us to relate to and call GOD Abba...our Heavenly Father. When I relate to GOD as a loving Father, I find peace that calms my spirit...a love beyond understanding and description.
I'm so happy I found these videos!
Hey Victoria! We're happy you found us too!
I have missed going to meeting. Just found Quaker Speak during this pandemic. Love this! Thank you
I get the struggle. We tend to make an idol of God and mould him according to our own understanding or even, perceived lack of understanding. Does God want to be known by us?
Good question, and intriguing as well. Are you coming from a Deist perspective?
gret question-i would say yes...!!!...im posting my full comment among the general comments...
God wants to be known by us. When you pray. Who definitely hears us? Ourself, hears our prayers. And ourself is God. So, if we want to know about ourselves. Then God must want to know us. God must be hungry to know us.
What an heartwarming review of shared concepts of the God I experienced as a birthright Quaker and have come to appreciate more fully as an adult. I graduated from Olney Friends School in Barnesville, OH, 1952 --and in recent years have regularly attended Earlham School of Religion's annual colloquium for writers and their spirituality programs. The concept of God's presence, guidance, and providence has marked my life in wonderful ways just now shared in my book titled "FAITH SHARING: a spiritual memoir inviting reflection and dialogue," published by WestBow, a division of Zondervan. I have been appreciating QuakerSpeak for a long time. Even though I am ordained in one of the other peace churches, my Quaker roots are alive and well.
Excellent video. Thank you for sharing the message.
When you stay still long enough, God check in on you through nature. These days very rare through people.
"isn't it crazy that we get to have this experience? I mean...here we are. wow." that's a woman who practices ❤
why i never heard about this faith before..im realy glad to find your channel honestly...im muslim and im happy to learn about you. Your idea of god is the same as muslims ..you dont need a mediator to speak to god...love and respect to you from oman
Wow
I want to be a Quaker
hi Kri Burkhander. I think the song you were referring to may be this one, Turn Your Radio On by John Hartford. ruclips.net/video/8fgjvwPOyYs/видео.html
❤
💚💚💚
Actual question. I've heard some members of the Quaker community don't believe in a "literal" God or perhaps better said some don't believe in God at all but are still welcome in the community? Is there anyone here who actually is Quaker who can confirm that is true (or untrue?)
It is if you mean a traditional God, yes. I think this comes out through the multiple of voices you have just heard right here through this genuine video graciously put out by Quakerspeak :-)
I’m an atheist, but I still consider myself Quaker, and was still welcomed to join meeting with everyone else (despite most of them believing). I wasn’t shamed, forced, or otherwise coerced to believe what everyone else did, and that’s what kept me as a Friend. I still believe every life is sacred, and all the rest of the Quaker testimonies, I just disbelieve the existence of God.
Jesus said, "We are the children of God."
Well, that would make us baby gods.
O SENHOR JESUS CRISTO É O VERDADEIRO DEUS E A VIDA ETERNA. 1Jo. 5:20.
My name is kevin fisher and i have traced my bloodline back to 1648 as quackers based in Cheshire England can anyone elaborate if this is true? God bless x
If what is true? Many people have Quaker ancestors. Doesn't sound off to me :)
But the Holy Spirit was put inside of the disciples through baptism and hand on travel from person to person...if you haven't had that done then it isn't the Holy Spirit ...
"And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father [and the Son]; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets." The holy spirit has been speaking through others since the beginning of time.
@@kevin-douglasolive3616 Thing is, there is more than one spirit that gives light and one is a deceiver...so how do you know that, if you're not baptised, which is what Jesus gave example of, that it is the Holy Spirit that you are having communication with/from?
The prophets weren't baptized.
@@kevin-douglasolive3616 if you believe the words in the Bible as truth, as obviously the first Quakers did. They would have been baptised. John 14:16-30. Jesus explains that he had to go back so that God could send the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament times, things were done differently by God. It was before Jesus was crucified. It was before God said he was doing a new thing...
@@kevin-douglasolive3616 Acts 9:17 Ananias was sent by Jesus to baptise Saul..he laid his hands on him to give him the Holy Spirit.
God has expressly revealed Himself through the Person of Jesus Christ, this is who God is...it's not what you believe He is, it's who he actually IS. God is not a subjective concept, but is an objective reality. If someone wanted to define you in obscure personal language you would be like: "oh that's cute, but it's wrong." Therefore God is who He is, and has revealed Himself through the person of Jesus Christ, died for our sins, and then was resurrected for all who will believe in Him (clearly defined God/Man; Jesus Christ).
Except there is no such certainty. When all the facts have been muddled by time and distorted by zealots, it is up to each of us to decide what it is we believe, guided by our inner light.
@@charliemallonee2792 what he said is True.
Bible says it's true.
Whether you believe it or not won't change truth.
You'll see when your turn comes to die.
But I pray you see it sooner.
Your eternal future depends on whether or not you accept truth.
Shalom
@@endtimesareuponus8930 All religious texts claim to be true. Most of them are not. The fact that the Bible claims to be true means nothing given this. All I can know for certain is what the holy spirit tells me.
@@charliemallonee2792 so?
You're beliefs are contained only in your head. That's SUPER Tiny compared to the Universe and beyond.
Bye
"God is an experience" "you'll know when you feel it"
IT!!! 🤔❓
this sounds more like pantheism
It = the experience
@professeurolive God is much more than just an experience. He is a person who perfectly correlates with His Word. There are definitely other demonic "feelings" out there, so you have to be careful what experience you're giving yourself too.
It’s all about the blood of Messiah without the blood there is no remission of sins
For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of Elohim (God) YHVH
Call on the Name of YEHSUA HaMashiach and be saved from this wicked world of sin
I pray this finds you well
Shalom
Ps it all sounds lovely but don’t be deceived for Yeshua ( Jesus ) said don’t be deceived many many times, He is the Way the Truth and the Life and no one come to the Father except through Him
Remember also the devil / satan can come as an angel of light and deceive
Keep your eyes on YEHSUA the Messiah
Amen
What does it mean when a woman says yes about god while shaking her head no?
That she is from India? 😚
There is life after death.(time lapse don't exist in the grave) but All humans will be judged by that very something that's talking to you mam. God is Spirit. But......there is only one way to everlasting life......YEHOSUA THE SON OF GOD
There is One mediator between us and Elohim (God) and His Name is Yeshua HaMashiach others know Him as Jesus Christ.
There are words also
The Word became flesh and tabernacled ( pitched His tent ) among us
HalleluYaH
If you love Me Keep My commandments John 14:15
Rom 8:7 For the mindset of the flesh is hostile toward God, for it does not submit itself to the law of God-for it cannot.
Rom 8:8 So those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Rom 8:9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Ruach-if indeed the Ruach Elohim dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Ruach of Messiah, he does not belong to Him.
Rom 8:10 But if Messiah is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the Spirit is alive because of righteousness.
Rom 8:11 And if the Ruach of the One who raised Yeshua from the dead dwells in you, the One who raised Messiah Yeshua from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Ruach who dwells in you.
Elohim is God
Ruach is Spirit
If your foundation isn’t Yeshua the Messiah then your foundation is sand, for Yeshua is the Rock
For one must be born from above “born again” to see the kingdom of heaven
I could see and feel many things spiritually as a non believer in Messiah but since having my sins washed by His blood and my conscience cleansed by the baptism I know all my guilt and shame is gone and no other path could do that HalleluYaH
I pray this finds you well
Shalom
Amen
I thought quakers we're Christian? Have you all stopped reading your Bibles?
Some of us are, and some of us aren’t. I’m atheist, but most Quakers do consider themselves Christians. Most of us agree that the Bible and its teachings are useful tools for morality, but not the end of guidance. We believe in a continuous revelation on an individual basis.
Not all are Christian’s ..
Most Quakers believe Jesus is the Son of God. Most Quakers have faith IN Jesus, but some have the faith OF Jesus.
Heresy!
There is One mediator between us and Elohim (God) and His Name is Yeshua HaMashiach others know Him as Jesus Christ.
There are words also
The Word became flesh and tabernacled ( pitched His tent ) among us
HalleluYaH
If you love Me Keep My commandments John 14:15
Rom 8:7 For the mindset of the flesh is hostile toward God, for it does not submit itself to the law of God-for it cannot.
Rom 8:8 So those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Rom 8:9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Ruach-if indeed the Ruach Elohim dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Ruach of Messiah, he does not belong to Him.
Rom 8:10 But if Messiah is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the Spirit is alive because of righteousness.
Rom 8:11 And if the Ruach of the One who raised Yeshua from the dead dwells in you, the One who raised Messiah Yeshua from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Ruach who dwells in you.
Elohim is God
Ruach is Spirit
If your foundation isn’t Yeshua the Messiah then your foundation is sand, for Yeshua is the Rock
For one must be born from above “born again” to see the kingdom of heaven
I could see and feel many things spiritually as a non believer in Messiah but since having my sins washed by His blood and my conscience cleansed by the baptism I know all my guilt and shame is gone and no other path could do that HalleluYaH
I pray this finds you well
Shalom
Yes :)
That’s your opinion. Not everyone has or shares the same religion and I wish you would respect that. Not everyone believes in God the SAME way.
@@andrewchase6748 we respect what you choose.
You can choose Satan's lies.
We pray you accept truth and Jesus Christ -- He is Lord.
He lets you choose life or death.
@@endtimesareuponus8930 See that’s the issue: telling everybody else they’re following Satan answers nothing. The point of the video was to showcase the variety of beliefs within Quakerism, and that we are comfortable with disagreement between ourselves.
My image of God is the God of the Bible, in no uncertain terms. And because Quakers clearly do not believe that in entirety, they are not Christians, and are deceitful in a MAJOR way if they purport to be. This is new age mysticism and worship of creation, not the creator. All you have to do is Wikipedia “New Thought Movement” to see for yourself.
Quakers are non-conformist. You are perhaps still young ish Ms. Katie. Since the 17th century, Quakers were abused, Christ-like, for believing in the inner light.
Lol. Quakers are better off than some of us evangelicals and even Pentecostals who only have a relationship with God (through Christ)/stay in the faith only due to the fear that if we leave, we'll be in torture, torment and agony in hell forever and ever. What an asphyxiating relationship to have with our Heavenly Father. I much rather prefer the Quaker understanding and approach. It leads to a healthy, enriching and progressive relationship with our Heavenly Father.
Nobody goes to the Father except through me.
@@gregedwards909 We aren’t supposed to enable this confusing doctrine among the body of believers without calling it out. This is no small matter and I won’t be gaslit by an enabler of false doctrine.
Meh, I think Evangelical Quakers would beg to differ. And Quakers are used to people questioning our Christianity. If you are judging liberal Quakers by orthodox Christian or Evangelical Christian doctrine, yes, we will fall short in some pretty basic ways. We're mostly fine with it and would rather people judge our walk with God rather than our talk about God.
They seem so noncommittal and confused. Sad really. The white man wearing the Burn Loot Murder shirt is especially cringy. Aren’t Quakers pacifists? Smh.
You are in no position to judge another’s beliefs or way of life. They are not harming anyone, they are finding their own spiritual path just like the rest of us may do in life. And how can you judge someone for being a pacifist or nonviolent? Smh. Maybe you should think about what you’re saying.
I am not sure who to find "cringy" here, really...
There is One mediator between us and Elohim (God) and His Name is Yeshua HaMashiach others know Him as Jesus Christ.
There are words also
The Word became flesh and tabernacled ( pitched His tent ) among us
HalleluYaH
If you love Me Keep My commandments John 14:15
Rom 8:7 For the mindset of the flesh is hostile toward God, for it does not submit itself to the law of God-for it cannot.
Rom 8:8 So those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Rom 8:9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Ruach-if indeed the Ruach Elohim dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Ruach of Messiah, he does not belong to Him.
Rom 8:10 But if Messiah is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the Spirit is alive because of righteousness.
Rom 8:11 And if the Ruach of the One who raised Yeshua from the dead dwells in you, the One who raised Messiah Yeshua from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Ruach who dwells in you.
Elohim is God
Ruach is Spirit
If your foundation isn’t Yeshua the Messiah then your foundation is sand, for Yeshua is the Rock
For one must be born from above “born again” to see the kingdom of heaven
I could see and feel many things spiritually as a non believer in Messiah but since having my sins washed by His blood and my conscience cleansed by the baptism I know all my guilt and shame is gone and no other path could do that HalleluYaH
I pray this finds you well
Shalom
@@hannahjohnson7100 we can state our view.
You seem distressed that someone speaks what they think.