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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Chanticleer’s Call: Religion as a Naturalist Views It
(from Godless for God’s Sake: Nontheism in Contemporary Quakerism, David Boulton ed., Dent UK: Dales Historical Monographs, 2006, pp. 43-48; available at quakerbooks.org) We move. Sometimes we are moved and sometimes it results from our earlier movements. Some movements are private, only noticeable to the person moving. Some barely feel like motion. Talking and remembering [...]
Henry Joel Cadbury: No Assurance of God or Immortality, With Added Notes
What follows is a biographical essay about Henry Cadbury plus notes that are mainly excerpts from his writings. The essay, without notes, is in “Godless for God’s Sake: Nontheism in Contemporary Quakerism” edited by David Boulton, published in 2006 by Dales Historical Monographs (ISBN 0-9511578-6-8). That book is available from the publisher (Hobsons Farm, Dent, Cumbria LA10 5RF, [...]
On Quaker Unity
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.
Nontheism among Friends at Powell House – report
“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.”
Learning to love and accept “Quatheists” (Nontheist Friends) at Powell House
For three days I have been at the beautiful Powell House Quaker retreat center, up in Old Chatham, New York. I have been attending a workshop on “nontheist Quakers” led by Robin Alpern and Zach Alexander with about 16 other Quakers from around the northeast area.
Why Not Join the Unitarians?
Why Not Join the Unitarians? That is one of the questions most frequently asked when I tell people about being a nontheist Friend. The answer that comes to mind first has nothing to do with being of a nontheist bent. I grew up in the Religious Society of Friends, literally and figuratively. My parents joined [...]
Notes for “David Duncan and the Free Friends of Manchester”
Here, after a brief introduction, are excerpts from the writings of the Free Friends of Manchester, England. These are meant to accompany the chapter, The Making of a Quaker Nontheist Tradition, in Godless for Gods Sake: Nontheism in Contemporary Quakerism. The original text will be posted on this website in March 2007, but not before [...]
“Quakers from the Viewpoint of a Naturalist,” with notes
(published in Friends Journal, March 2006, pp. 18-20) The text of the Friends Journal article follows, and then notes expanding on several cryptic statements in the article. At the end is a brief reading list. I grew up loving nature and feeling part of it – dirt, bugs, people, and everything. It was, and still [...]
Only Human
In the summer of 1991, at the Sea of Faith conference in Leicester, two intellectual bruisers debated religion and humanism. One was Nicolas Walter: anarchist, peace activist and passionate rationalist. The other was Don Cupitt: elegant, Cambridge, deanish and donnish. Their debate was not the familiar one which had raged for a century, between humanism and Christianity. What was at issue was not humanism but the kind of humanism which might speak to the condition of a postmodern world at the scruff-end of two Christian millennia.
