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One nontheist’s understanding of “the light” of Quakerism

Posted by on March 19, 2010 in Blog Posts, Definitions, Republished

To seek to live in the light is essentially a value, a principle of living, rather than a belief. We need no theology, nor even a particular conception of “the light” as a distinct quality, in order to seek to live by it. Perhaps it would help me to clarify my point, if I described my own quirky, incomplete, and mostly psychological sense of where “the light” comes from

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On Quaker Unity

Posted by on June 27, 2009 in Blog Posts, Definitions, Republished

Unity during meeting for worship for attention to business is familiar to Quakers. It is a commitment to move forward together and, significantly, it does not mean we have to hold the same views. This method of doing business has long been characteristic of Quakers.

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Nontheism among Friends at Powell House – report

Posted by on January 9, 2009 in Blog Posts, Definitions, Reports, Republished

“If you think Richard Dawkins is too easy on religion, go down to that end of the room,” I said, indicating the steps up to the bookstore. “And if you…”

“Careful…” someone said.

And I was. There were several believers-in-God present – the exact number depending on your definition – and I didn’t want to make a joke that might be taken the wrong way.

“If you’re, uh… very theistic, go down to the other end,” I finished, indicating the fireplace. “And if you’re somewhere in between, go somewhere in between.”

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Two cheers for Quaker history

Posted by on July 27, 2008 in Blog Posts, Definitions, History, On Other Sites

A Friend on the nontheist Friends e-mail discussion list at some point challenged us to seriously study early Quaker history, and not just dip into it, “to develop our knowledge of and insights into the origins and development of the tradition or movement we have committed to.” Good advice, no question. And yet I felt [...]

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What some folks at Wikipedia think a nontheist Friend is

Posted by on February 2, 2008 in Definitions
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What is a Nontheist?

Posted by on September 20, 2006 in Blog Posts, Definitions

Both within and outside the informal association of Friends who call themselves nontheists, there is little common understanding of what the word nontheist means. There is also little common understanding of related words such as atheist, agnostic, humanist, and materialist, but believers and unbelievers alike have at least a sense of what they mean by [...]

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One God at Most, or Two Gods at Least?

Posted by on July 15, 2006 in Blog Posts, Definitions

If I am to speak of God at all, even metaphorically, I find I must speak of two gods. This may be the reason I tend not to speak of God. Both gods speak to me as metaphors, but I have difficulty calling them by the same name. It is not the world that my [...]

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What is “God” anyway…

Posted by on April 17, 2006 in Blog Posts, Definitions

I was reading a post here, a lovely and painful description of convincement and felt called to write a few lines. It seems to be it all comes down to the Quaker practice of openness. God is only a word. We live in a universe that is following some sort of order, balance, cooperative motion, [...]

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