Allow Truth to Settle Your Fear and Strengthen Your Muscles

Allow Truth to Settle Your Fear and Strengthen Your Muscles

“God is reality, that which is; nonviolence, that which holds back from hurt; love, that which goes out to others; pure wisdom, that which is free of outward schemes. He is that power which the apostle John called Truth – that name so profound and yet so incomplete, which embraces all the others, which suggests the eternal inward fact and order and aim of all life. To mean the words the Power of Truth is to mean the very source and strength of all that exists.”

If You See Injustice, Take It On

If You See Injustice, Take It On

“Everywhere you go, if you see injustice, you take it on. [Decades ago, as a child,] I went to the local public school. At that time, teachers were allowed to hit students, and I thought that was just wrong. So I was in first or second grade. I’m a Quaker; I believe in nonviolence. There’s no way it should be acceptable for a teacher to hit their students. And so I refused to go to school. My parents said, ‘That’s totally legitimate.'”  

Meeting for Sufferings

Meeting for Sufferings

“Fifteen-year-old Retford boy, James Parnell, became a Quaker and in 1653 travelled to visit George Fox in prison in Carlisle. He preached in eastern England, was accused of causing a riot, imprisoned in Colchester, and died there after eight months of cruel treatment. Over 450 Quakers died in prison during the early years of the movement.”

The Story of the Incorrigible Quakers and Their Hats

The Story of the Incorrigible Quakers and Their Hats

“‘When we were brought into the court,’ says Fox, ‘we stood a pretty while with our hats on, and all was quiet, and I was moved to say, “Peace be amongst you!” “Why do you not put your hats off?” said the judge to us. We said nothing. “Put off your hats,” said the judge again. Still we said nothing. Then said the judge, “The court commands you to put off your hats.”‘” 

Integrity in an Untruthful World

Integrity in an Untruthful World

“I began to ask other Friends about their own Integrity witness. What do they do when faced with oaths and oath-like situations? How do they respond?

Interestingly, George Fox and yearly meetings notwithstanding, most Friends I talked to admitted fudging a little when the chips are down. One Friend, when sworn in as part of a jury pool, simply didn’t raise his hand. Another didn’t stand. Some Friends have substituted the word ‘affirm’ for ‘swear’ when repeating after the judge. Others have figuratively held their noses and signed papers that were essentially oaths. Few of us, however, have chosen to make a public witness.”

A Vain Fear of Failure

A Vain Fear of Failure

“Theologically, a scruple is defined as ‘a vain fear of sin where there is no reason or reasonable ground for suspecting sin,’ and I would add, a vain fear of compromise, a vain fear of failure, a vain fear of the judgment of others where there is no good reason to be concerned.”

The Quaker Testimony of Truthfulness

The Quaker Testimony of Truthfulness

“The Quaker testimony to truthfulness is central to the practice of its faith by members of the Religious Society of Friends. From the beginning Friends have believed that they could have direct and immediate communication with God which would enable them to discern right ethical choices. They soon experienced common leadings of the Spirit which became formalised into testimonies… Arising from the teaching of Jesus as related in the writings of John and James: ‘Let your Yes mean Yes and your No mean No’, Quakers perceived that with a conscience illuminated by the Light, life became an integrated whole with honesty as its basis.”

How Quakers Invented the Price Tag

How Quakers Invented the Price Tag

“The Quakers thought charging different people different prices for the same thing was morally wrong. So they did this radical thing. In a Quaker store, they said, ‘Each item has one price. The price is just the price.'”

To Strive for Wholeness Is to Be Vulnerable

To Strive for Wholeness Is to Be Vulnerable

“The practice of Integrity is about both self-awareness and wholeness. It is born out of a community of practice committed to living integrated lives. Practices and language develop out of that commitment that gives tools for understanding the self, my relationship to God and other people, the natural world, and material objects. A practice of integrity provides a kind of self-reflective mirror upon which I am invited to look at myself and my community and reflect upon whether my ‘Yes is Yes,’ and my ‘No is No.'” 

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