Quaker Beliefs
Views of God
Quakers believe that an element of the divine exists in us all and that we all can know God through personal experience. This spiritual experience can be a source of growth, enlightenment and love. Quakers began as a radical Christian sect, but they do not believe inspiration is confined to the Bible or, other sacred texts. Many Quakers see Jesus as an example of life guided by God, and find that Jesus can show us how to live and love. Quakers will express their spiritual experience in many different ways and some may not be comfortable in using the term 'God'. However many will often speak of the 'Inner Light' and 'the Spirit': by these phrases they mean the operation of the divine within us, the promptings of that spark, energy or force which illuminates our lives and underpins all our relationships with the world around us. Quakers share and test their spiritual insights with others because they find that the insight of the group is more reliable than that of the individual.
Worship
The Meeting for Worship is central to the Quaker way of life. Quakers usually hold a public Meeting for about an hour on Sundays but they may gather at any time. The Meeting for Worship begins when people sit together in silence. They settle into a time of quiet worship as daily concerns fall away and stillness gathers all over as they allow themselves to be guided by the Spirit. There are no programmed hymns, prayers or sermons during a Meeting for Worship. Sometimes an individual may feel guided to speak in order to share a particular insight or experience. The words emerge from the promptings of the Spirit and are spoken in a sense of worship, not debate or lecture. Quakers may also supplement attendance at Meeting for Worship with other spiritual activities such as prayer and healing.
Organisation
Quakers are members of the Religious Society of Friends - the formal name of the group. The society began in the mid seventeenth through the life and preaching of George Fox in England and has since spread worldwide. Fox laid the template on which the structure of the Society of Friends is based today. Each local meeting (Preparative Meeting) runs is own affairs with business meetings in which all members are encouraged to participate. There are then larger Monthly Meetings where a number of Preparative Meetings are represented. There is an annual Yearly Meeting that gathers friends from around Great Britain.
Views of the World
Quakers believe that there is something of God in everyone, that every person is capable of giving and receiving love. Every person is unique, precious, a child of God. Violence and oppression are never acceptable; they are an attack on God. Many Quakers are therefore pacifists.
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