INTERFAITH WISDOM

The Quakers are properly called the Religious Society of Friends.  It is a Christian religion dating to the middle 17th century.  Friends congregate in communities - meetings.  Many of these communities are what you would call Evangelical Christian but no fixed doctrine is directed.  Each community can be different because each person brings their own understanding of God based on their own faith and cultural background. 

The shared beliefs of those in a particular community are the basis upon which they gather.  Friend communities can range from Conservative Christian to Evangelical to Liberal and all the way to non-theist. 

As an example, our local Friends community in Cincinnati claims "most of it's members share these beliefs:

• There is within each human being a Divine Presence to which we can listen.
• We know the Presence by many names, including the Inner Light, the Inner Teacher, the Seed within, the Divine, the Inner Christ.
• We desire to be directed by this Inner Presence - Inward Light.
• We can understand the words of scripture only by the guidance of the Inner Teacher.
• We call the ongoing guidance of God "continuing revelation"

They further explain:

"Living in accord with the Inner Teacher will naturally lead to a life of integrity, simplicity, peace, equality and community.  These are some of our Quaker testimonies.  Major Quaker testimonies flow from our belief that there is a God in everyone.  We practice peace and non-violence because all human life is precious, integrity because our life should be God-directed, and sustainability of the Earth's resources is our testimony of this generation."   

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