Hearing the tenant that the Kingdom of Heaven is to be experienced NOW on this earth literally made me cry. I have felt this way for so long and have not known how to express it. The truly brings me so much peace after years of trying to earn grace and kindness in a world that wouldn't give it to me as an evangelical. We are living in the Kingdom of Heaven. We can create peace and grace and kindness. Our life isn't worth wasting. How freeing that is... finding a Quaker Meeting near me.
Better to read the works of early, emphasis early, Quakers: George Fox's Journal, his works, and his letters to the congregations are about as good a start of any writing other than scripture itself.
As I learn more about the original Quakers, I am finding validation for my own experiences and beliefs, as well as for my work. The core Quaker belief was that God is Love and we can directly connect to Love/Light/God through our own Hearts. And I realize the truth in this, because I've had experiences with it, since going through a grieving/healing process in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Since then I have felt that when we release the suppressed pain that blocks our Hearts, we automatically connect more deeply with Love/Light/God. This is why my work has focused on embracing our feelings and healing our Hearts, in order to bring more Love and compassion into our world. Many people have put me down and thought I was crazy. So, I am glad to be able to back up my realization with a stand for people who had also found the same reality many centuries ago - the original Quakers. I feel much less alone now, even though I do not know if any of the Quakers had realized how people can deepen their direct connection to God, through focusing on healing their own Hearts - through focusing on releasing the suppressed emotional pain that blocks Hearts and avoiding feeling numbing pharmaceuticals and other substances that block our Hearts from Love/God.
This video is officially endorsed and DEEPLY appreciated by the current Recording Clerk of the Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), who is authorized to speak only for himself. (LOL) Thanks to Tom Richey for this extremely accurate and generous introduction. And thank you for pointing out that we're still alive.
I have nothing but love for the Quakers. I can’t do the math for me, but my grandmother was descended on both her mother and fathers side from the original Quakers in England and America, and were Quakers up until my Granny married a catholic. Though I think her dad had been raised by a Calvinist, it was a recent conversion. It’s a part of my history and honestly, I’m proud to be descended from them.
Thanks Tom, as a newly convinced Quaker I enjoyed your presentation and thought that it showed the simplicity of our values and how we strive to live our lives.
@@anq6887 Advices and Queries is a good place to start if you haven't read it. qfp.quaker.org.uk/chapter/1/ Or just go to a meeting! Sit in silence for an hour and then you can ask people questions afterwards. Quakers love answering questions!
@@LilachLavy-Emanuel Hi. You know the West Bank is under occupation right now. It is not the best time to visit. I live in the USA. I pray that you are working for peace for both sides. Its is distressing what is happening there.
What an interesting video! Prior to watching this, I had no real knowledge of the Quakers or their beliefs. I wanted to learn about the Quakers because I have discovered, by a happy accident, that I am directly related to George Fox. I would imagine any Quakers reading this will immediately recognise my surname as the maiden name of George Fox's mother, Mary. In fact she was my 9th Great Grandaunt, that is, the daughter of my 10th Great Grandfather, John Lagoe, born in 1560 in Kingsbury, Warwickshire, England. In fact, I live only 25 miles from where George Fox was born. I only discovered the link yesterday while researching my family tree, and I cannot express in words how it has affected me. I feel so privileged to know I am related to such a great man and to such a pious woman.
I have Quakers in my ancestry and have been fascinated by what I've found so far. All I ever knew was the old rhyme, "Quakers meeting has begun, no more talking, no more fun. If you use your lips or tongue, you shall pay a forfeit." I find this thyme is actually quite facetious to what they are really about. Thank you for sharing.
after many painful experiences with Evangelical and mainline churches, I pulled out and started my quest... ive been reading about Quakers and finding much agreement
Congratulations! An excellent balanced summary of Quakers. As an addendum, there are many factions in the contemporary Quaker family - generally polarising between programmed (with services, pastors, and evangelical theology) and unprogrammed (as you described it). Over time, Quaker groups - consistent with group theory - drifting toward conformity and becoming programmed. Usually, a smaller group splits off and returns to the practices as you described them - and the cycle starts again. So there are often various types of Quaker meetings in proximity to each other. A New Zealand Friend.
Yeah - I would say not entirely balanced for the reason you mention. This is a good description of Britain Yearly Meeting and FGC Friends, but ignores that the majority of the Quakers in the world are quite different - and live in Africa.
Oh that is cool. I did know there was a difference between programmed and unprogrammed. I have heard of Quakers opening up to other religions, not just Christians. That can potentially form more groups.
Being part of the Original Quaker Families(Hughes and Reed) I am glad to have came across your video.These past couple of years I have been heavily invested on learning more about my Famiy's History and Beliefs. I have started a Non Profit for exactly these subjects. It is gonna be part of teaching the children of today where they come from and it is okay to be part of labels because at the end of today we are all part of One Label, One Nation, and One big Family. I believe that we all deserve to know our true Family Tree and what this stands for.
Hello! Via the Reed family you and I might be related! Does your Reed family branch include ties to Founding Father Benjamin Franklin’s common law wife, Deborah Read/Reed? She and I are 1st cousins 9 times removed.
Wow! Good to know info. I always thought of the Quackers as been weird religious group and never bothered to learn about them. After watching this video, I found out that in some respect, I shared some of their beliefs, hence, my opinion about them has changed. My ignorance about them was a self-inflicted wound. Thanks for sharing your video.
Modern Quakers (and Quaker schools) tend to focus on the shared ethics contained within the “Spices.” S = Simplicity P = Peace I = Integrity C = Community E = Equality S = Stewardship www.sffriendsschool.org/quaker-values/quaker-testimonies
Thank you so very much for your introductory lecture on the Quakers. I never was taught about them in school. It is important to learn of their tremendous contributions to American history.
Many of my ancestors were Quakers who came here during the English Civil war as early as 1620's etc, were Quakers. I never knew until watching this video what they beloved in and what made them so much different that the other early settlers in the American Colonies. Thank You for making it all so easy to comprehend and understand. I too have always believed in direct communication with the Creator, instead of having to go through a third party.
Informative video. I've always admired the Quakers for their stance against Japanese Internment during WWII. One of the few groups who opposed it and took action to secure the release of thousands of interned Japanese. Ballers!
I am as atheist as one can get, grew up in very secular western Europe and am very critical of organised religion. The Quakers however have my utmost respect for their opposition to slavery/some Quakers involvement in the underground railroad.
Found out that my family was part of the Pennsylvania Quakers, trying to learn everything I can about them as I'm also exploring quakerism for myself and my family. Great video!
I am a born again Christian first, with definite quaker leanings. During the pandemic, I have gotten to know a group of liberal Quakers here in Toronto, and I have gone to their worship meetings. I enjoy the silence, as my Baptist church is quite loud. On Sunday, you will hear a very Roccus worship band. I have no theological problem with that, but I’m getting older, and I prefer a quieter Sunday morning. The quaker group I meet with our of course on zoom, as friends house here in Toronto is not yet open. I am quite a newbie, I think they would call me a visitor or one step beyond that, a sitter. I think. I’ve been to about five or six meetings in a row. I have met one or two in person, that is, over the phone. But not in connection with the meetings. As we are in lockdown phase 2, and I really do mean lock down, nobody is going anywhere. So when we have chat meeting, we do silent worship for about 45 minutes, then the host unmute us and we can do a vocal ministry or ask questions. As per the popular use of asking people to use certain pronouns, such as they/them, I am asking that my pronouns are thee/thou. I prefer those words because of my synesthesia, such that when I hear the words, they feel like velvet under my hands, or velvet petting my face. Little did I know how intimate these words actually were. And I’ve been using them that way, to my little girl, to God, to anyone I loved. All along I have been using the word ‘thee’ I didn’t know how intimate it really was. I thought it was just some quirk of my interesting neurology.
The other explanation for the name "Quaker" comes from George Fox standing before a judge who "was the first that called us Quakers, because I bade them tremble at the word of the Lord" (Fox's autobiography). It was the Shakers who were known for habitual shaking as part of their worship, earning themselves the nickname "Shaking Quakers." Also, if you visit meetings today, you'll find two main types: programmed and unprogrammed. Unprogrammed are as Tom describes in the video, but programmed have a more traditional physical layout (with rows of pews facing front and often with a pulpit of some kind), clergy as leaders, and an order of worship that only gives a portion of the time to Open Worship. Finally, although the sacraments as Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, or Protestants would understand them are indeed absent, Friends generally see all of life as sacramental and may even use words like "baptism" or "communion" to describe an inner experience or the presence of Christ in worship. Thanks for this introduction. I hope it spurs others to seek to learn or experience more about the Friends. Disclosure: I am Lutheran myself but have felt an attraction to the Friends for a long time.
From the Quaker community I come from we do have the two kinds... - the programmed and unprogrammed. One was Sunday and the other was Thursday meetings. Strangely, even though we were quakers, my father worked for the Lutherans, in his capacity as a doctor, as they provided a mobile clinic which dad used on his visits to the villages. I appreciate the fact that I was born into Friends society in Palestine and only later found out who they really were. I thinjk children pick up the vibe of the community. For the past years, I have studied Buddhism and learnt meditation as I felt it harmonizes with and complements the Quakers. Life is interesting.
There are now different types of "Quakers", but only one authentic type; It appears that the Quakers continued being targeted in covert ways. It appears that they have been being pushed aside and infiltrated and some of them even manipulated into becoming more like the traditional forms of Christian religions - the ones where the preachers teach and lead the people instead of people being lead by their own direct connection to God. The result of this is the various types of "Quaker" groups that exist today. But there is only one genuine Quaker group, and it is the one that has held strong to the old original Quaker ways of worshiping and living. How many real authentic Quakers still exist? I do not know. It is probably very few. So, I'd like to help bring back the original Quaker values, because they honor our own natural spirituality and the Love that we ALL need far more of in our troubled world. The original authentic Quakers had silent meetings where they meditated. In these meditations some focused on deepening their connection to the Light/God/Love within their own Hearts, and some waited for the connection to happen. Those whose Hearts were not too blocked to make the connection, automatically felt more Love and compassion toward their fellow human beings. Consequently authentic Quakers were often leaders in movements that called for world peace and the abolishment of slavery and many other humanitarian efforts to help poor and suffering people. According to my research the following things are the core of the original Quaker ways. I am surprised by how identical they are to my own beliefs and values... 1. Forming a direct connection to God, through our own Hearts, and following God/Love, instead of only blindly following human leaders. This is the most important core of real Quakerism. And its something ALL people can do. Some people's Hearts are open enough to do it easily. And some people, like myself, have to go through a grieving/healing process, in order to deepen our connect to God/Love/Light. At this point in time, it appears that humanity has been so wounded that a lot of healing has to take place in most people, in order to connect to the levels of Love and Light that are needed in our world. The following Quaker values are all things that people automatically feel strongly about after we have a deep connection to the Love/Light/God in our own Hearts... A. Equality; Authentic Quakers felt that All people are equal. They saw no difference between the rights of Native Americans vs new settlers, between men vs women, between poor people vs rich people, between "black" people vs "white" people, between Christians vs Jews or Buddhists or Quakers...etc. B. There is Good in ALL people; Authentic Quakers saw the good in all people. They believed that ALL people were God's children and that even the worse criminal types could heal and choose better ways. C. Peace on Earth; Authentic Quakers were anti-war. They believed in using only positive, peaceful and non-violent ways to resolve problems. The authentic Quakers refuse to fight and kill, in the wars. Some people viewed this as them being weak or cowardly, but they were just being more kind and compassionate. D. Freedom for ALL Human Beings; Authentic Quakers were against slavery and believed that all human beings should be free to live their lives the way they choose to. This includes freedom of religion. E. Living a Simple and Humble Lifestyle; Authentic Quakers lived a simple lifestyle. This was reflected in their original clothing, which the Amish copied after the Quakers invited them into Pennsylvania. Interestingly, the Quakers stopped wearing that type of simple clothing after the Amish copied them. In a way, the Amish replaced the Quakers in Pennsylvania and other places, but they are complete opposites in the most important spiritual and humanitarian issues. F. Social Reform; Authentic Quakers cared enough about humanity to want to help make things better for ALL people. Consequently they often participated in things like better treatment of the Native Americans, and the abolishment of slavery and protests against violent wars and getting laws passed to give women the right to vote...etc. G. Humanitarian Aid; Authentic Quakers did what they could to help the poor and suffering people. H. Love thy Enemy; Authentic Quakers did not seek vengeance. They treated their enemies with compassion. And this list could go on. The original authentic Quakers had more Love/Light/God in their Hearts and so were genuine humanitarians. There are many people throughout the world, who are not Quakers, and who exist both inside and outside many different religions and cultures, who also have deep direct connections to God/Love/Light in their own Hearts. Most just do not realize it or do not view it as a connection to "God." They are the people whose Hearts have not been too blocked to feel deep levels of Love. They too are authentically compassionate and humanitarian types of people. People can have a deep connection to Love/God/Light without ever even believing in God or Jesus and without ever following any religion. I have deeply felt this truth, to the core of my own heart and soul, since the early 1990s. People who have open Hearts automatically care about people and want peace and freedom and feel Love for ALL people. Its actually not just a Quaker trait, its a natural human trait that exists in everyone whose Heart is open enough. God is Love and we can ALL feel that Love through our own Hearts. I view the original authentic Quakers as people who had found and honored, the most important part of the natural spirituality that ALL human beings are born with - the Heart - the Love - the Light - the God that exists within us all. And they aimed to show the rest of humanity this natural human capability, which is why they were targeted.
Dear Sir, as always, time well spent. I was raised by Catholic and Lutheran parents. All we learned during our parochial school years was that Quakers did convulsive actions during their services. Thank you, these folks are living proof of the criticality of religious freedom. Thank you
In Hindu practise, there are two concepts called Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam ( the world is my family); and Aham Brahmasmi, twam brahmasmi ( my innermost core of my being is the creator, your innermost being is the creator); which seems to quite match with the Quakers!
I've been doing geneology research and found out that my ancestors were elders in the quakers in the late 1600s early 1700s. so fascinating to hear about the things they might have believed
I haven't watched your channel in a while, but I'm getting interested in Quakers and clicked immediately when I saw you had a video. Your videos are always very fun and informative!
Thank you so much. My Quaker family is buried in the Friends Cemetary in Newberg, OR. The line goes ways back to Wales and before. Your information helped round out the how and why they came to America and settled first in the colony in Eastern Tennessee and then to Indiana That was our mother. The other grandmother's line goes back to Robert the Bruce and the Anglo Norman conquest and monarchs marrying for alliance with other religions Scotland.My mother insisted we get a good education in a Presbyterian church but were told to believe what we want. Interesting spiritual training. I took buddhist precepts decades ago and brought the teachings of Jesus along. Their philosophies are so similar that I am certain Jesus was a student.
Tom, as a practicing Quaker I find myself watching videos to see how others see us. That is how I found your video. Well done. However, your book collection behind you is EPIC. Hitler AND Robert E Lee? Tolkien AND Seuss. Epic!
As I learn more about the original Quakers, I am finding validation for my own experiences and beliefs, as well as for my work. The core Quaker belief was that God is Love and we can directly connect to Love/Light/God through our own Hearts. And I realize the truth in this, because I've had experiences with it, since going through a grieving/healing process in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Since then I have felt that when we release the suppressed pain that blocks our Hearts, we automatically connect more deeply with Love/Light/God. This is why my work has focused on embracing our feelings and healing our Hearts, in order to bring more Love and compassion into our world. Many people have put me down and thought I was crazy. So, I am glad to be able to back up my realization with a stand for people who had also found the same reality many centuries ago - the original Quakers. I feel much less alone now, even though I do not know if any of the Quakers had realized how people can deepen their direct connection to God, through focusing on healing their own Hearts - through focusing on releasing the suppressed emotional pain that blocks Hearts and avoiding feeling numbing pharmaceuticals and other substances that block our Hearts from Love/God.
We were not waiting lol that’s how we talk to God, it’s a meditation & you just listen to God.... since I was a little tiny child, my grandmother would tell me to just listen & see what God has to say to me, I didn’t understand it as a youngster but it’s shaped my life. Thanks for sharing. Elizabeth Fry was the first woman involved with reforming prison. She brought food, Quaker literature, and even taught women how to quilt while incarcerated.
Thank you Tom for doing your reaserch so many people get a lot of these things wrong I also really apprisiate you comeing to meeting. Also your always welcome to come to meeting if you want. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
I know their history and 17 century history of that time and the puritans but that religion is the one that makes me smile. It just wants to pray and be prayed for. A happy religion with no hang ups😘
Interesting topic. I was reading a book that mentioned the Quakers so i decided to investigate to see who this society of friends were. Nice information Tom. Thank you.
Even today in parts of Yorkshire in England, some people use the forms 'thee', 'thou' and 'thine' in regular speech. The terms have not been completely lost. In my childhood, visiting my grandmother in Yorkshire, all the children I knew spoke with that form rather than 'you'.
Quakers had plain dress in the era of early Pennsylvania. Amish, a Mennonite sect, along with other Mennonites and German Baptists came to Pennsylvania in response to the invitation of the Quaker, William Penn. They had developed similar beliefs in plain dress already and actually after arriving in the new land adopted the Quaker style (or lack thereof) plain clothes as part of their religious testimony. The Amish believe that "there shall be no change" and have kept the style more or less, as have a few old order sects whereas the Quakers as far as known in these parts, have long since abandoned it.
This guy is living the dream! I feel like I know this guy. I thought of Quakers as the guy in my oath bag for some reason I thought they were a closer community like the Amish. I think they did have stronger believes in their beginnings they were a Christian outlet for people to share their ideas outside of the religious establishment they took it very seriously as far as I know it was important for them to be people of Great integrity! Very different times the men who started this had very strong grounds for what they believe or don't believe. I am not sure that is the case nowadays!
I know you made this 5 years ago but I just found it wanting to understand my genealogy. They were quakers that came to Pennsylvania in the early 1600’s. I’ve read all their papers thanks to great record keeping. I want to know more about them so thank you for this. As I am reading these I think I may have many cousins in here doing the same thing😅
Amnesty International, Barclays Bank, Cadbury Chocolates, Clark’s Shoes, Greenpeace, Johns Hopkins University, Nike, Sony, Waterford, etc. are all *real* Quaker companies & organizations, but others saw the utility of using the Quaker name & its association with honesty & quality, & thus appropriated it for their own purposes. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Quaker_businesses,_organizations_and_charities Quakers are also responsible for the business practice of using price tags rather than dishonestly charging customers different prices for the same item. aeon.co/videos/how-the-quakers-became-unlikely-economic-innovators-by-inventing-the-price-tag
The man who started quaker oats thought they were wholesome and simple so he named his oats after that. It's really weird like??? Would you like some babtist cerial? Presperterian wheat?
Rachel Dole growing up in a Quaker meetinghouse, I heard the words “simplicity” and “plain” constantly, bcuz we keep simple lives & wear simple attire, and basically its simple for us to know god without any translators or preachers etc...so I see why they wanted the Quaker belief to represent the oats
I just finished reading a book about the first woman doctor, and I wasn’t surprised that she was a quake. So I was always wondering what set them apart from other Christians. But your presentation answered my questions. So thank you so much for this video. I will continue to learn more about this wonderful group of people. ❤ 🙏
Wow! Your channel has grown considerably since I was last here a couple of years ago. My oldest graduated, but I’m now homeschooling my others and found my way back. Great videos. Go knights! Class of 1998! 😁
The Quakers are my favorite Chritin group. So much of thier characteristics I greatly admire. I like thier main value of connecting to God directly and so rendering clergy unessisary. I like the concept of the inner light and God being in everyone. I like the values of love, peace, charity and equality. The biggest value is freedom, and tht is wonderful. I like the community service. The hard core abolition way back when is impressive. I like the waiting worship. That is a lot of good stuff, making the Quakers the best. The only noteworthy thing I don't like is a plain aesthetic. However it is good for waiting worship by minimizing distractions. So this is a nitpick more than anything. I think it would be cool if the pretty Catholic aesthetic can be used to inspire visions. Then it can combine the good parts of both Quakers and Catholics. There is nobody who does this. I came up with the idea myself. Visions are a thing in New Age. So it would be nice if it can somehow apply to Christianity. The video had some nice tidbits for me to learn. Quakers were really feminist for thier time and they were into prison reform. That is cool. Quaker churches were built in a more egalitarian way. That is cool and interesting. English has formal and informal versions of you, just like Spanish. Wow, I didn't know that. I did learn that Quakers did suffer intense persecution. That makes me die inside. These guys are so sweet and gentle once you get to know them. I know mass murdering heretics was a thing back in the day but... YIKES!! The tongue thing is effed up. Quakers are a little like the Penticostals in that both are into contacting God directly. The method is very different though. Quakers have the calm method, which is like meditation. Pentacostals on the other hand get into over-the-top wacky antics. The main one is speaking in tongues. There is also aggressive laying on hands, handling snakes and other antics. I find this very unpleasent, and I question the sanity. Quakers are so much better, and thier calm method seems healthier. I do know that certain groups got thier name by reclaiming insults. Christian, Babtist and Methodist originated this way. I find it really unfair that Quakers are the ones to get an insulting name and the Pentacostals don't. Pentacostal is nice name. It comes from Pentacost, a holiday celebrating the Holy Spirit. I would much rather be switched. Alternativly both groups can have equal names. There can be nice name of the Friendlies and the Pentacostals. Friendlies is a nice warm fuzzy name for the Quakers. It is fitting since it refers to the origional designation of Religious Societiey of Friends. If there had to be an insulting name for Quaker, I think its only fair for the Pentacostals to have an insulting name. The speaking in tongues stands out as an easy target. There can be names like barbars, bablers and gibbers. The best name I can think of is the tonguies. I know that mass murdering heretics was a thing in the olden days. It is very bloody and gruesome. It was so bad that Christians even murdered each other. The Anababtists faced heavy persecution. They are the precursors to mainly the Babtists, but also the Mennonite groups. Anababtist was an insulting name referring to the practice of adult babtism. One main method to murder Anababtist was to drown them. It is a mockery of babtism. That is so screwed up. This is screwed up to the extreme. That isn't just cruel. It seems so sadistic. Pentacostals were not around back then. It is a good thing. They would be dead. They would be oh so dead. When they get all exited about the Holy Spirit, thier enemies could easily mistake that for a demon possession. This can lead to Pentacostals as a whole being mistaken for Satanists. Anybody branded a Satanist is doomed. I know how persecutors are. Other groups get crucified for a lot less. Quakers were around back then. They ae not nearly as troubling, but they were still victims of mass murder. The tongue piercing seems like the perfect way to mock and punish a Pentacostal. It is like speaking in tongues. This is horrifying torture. Quakers don't speak in tongues. However they do speak up in church, if they feel inclined by ther inner light. It seems that to do tough piercing torture on a Quaker seems like a sick mockery. That is beyond screwed up.
My biggest takehome for this video is George Fox. I knew he was the founder of the Quakers. Yet hearing about him and his life is incredibly compelling. He even became one of my favorite people of Christian history. I have four favorites. Christianity has historically had a tyranny problem.. The bloodshed on the olden days is my pet peeve. So all my favorites rebel against tyranny in some way and make Christianity better.. Martin Luther is my top favorite.He is the only famous one. He rebelled against the tyranny of extremist Catholics. He focused on freeing people by offering the Bible as well as freeing them from economic exploitation. Martain Luther was mainly known as the founder of Protestants. However he didn't go as far as many other Protestant founders. Comparatively speaking, he even resembles Catholics relativly speaking. It is ironic. I like that. Both sides have thier benefits, but I do see Catholics as being a bit better. I got to admire Luther for showing reasonable restraint. If the channel has any videos on this guy, I would like to see them. Two other favorites are Roger Williams and Anne Hutchenson. They really go together in my mind. Both lived in colonial Rhode Island, and both went against the Puritans. So both essentially rebelled against extremist Protestantism. Since Protestant is the weaker side, it can use two rebels instead of one. Roger Williams focused more on freedom of religion and separation church and state. Anne Hutchenson focused more on freedom of lifestyle and improving Calvinism. The channel has a video for each one, and the videos are awesome. George Fox was a rebel too, but in a different way. He essentially rebelled against both sides. The English Civil War is horrendous. It is agonizing enough to read about that. Thier is a lot of factions competing for power. So there is a lot of violence and bloodshed. It is just like Game of Thrones. One group I greatly admire is the Anglicans. They engaged in both sides. This is a realist approach in a way. The Anglicans had this idea of via media. They tried to find some happy medium between Catholic and Protestant. There is a nice way to approach this. On one hand, they can have all the cool stuff of the Catholics. There can be ceremonies, and imagery and all that. On the other hand there can be certain freedoms that the Protestants get. There are things like freedom of divorce, an English Bible and freedom for the Pope. I do feel sorry for the Anglicans at the time of thier formation and war. They were caught in the middle.. On one hand they have to deal with the tyranny of the Catholics. Henry the Eight may be a hot mess, but his love life is none of the pope's buissinesss. He even had a really good reason for breaking ties with his first wife. On the other hand, the Anglicans had to deal with the radicalness of Puritans. It may seem that Anglicans were the tyrants who bullied the Puritans. However Puritans became tyrants themselves once they fled to America. Then they provoked the rebellion of Roger Williams and Anne Hutchenson. So yeah, the English Civil War was a mess. This is when George Fox came in. He found a way in between both. He rejected both and did his own thing. He has an apathetic approach. This is the opposite of the realist approach 9f the Anglicans. Both groups are somewhere in between, and both are amazing. The Catholic and Protestant fight in itself is a form of tyranny on both sides. George Fox rebelled against the fight entirely. That led him to forge his own path and find his own spiritual discoveries. To oppose the war, there was things like peace, love and friendship. The more direct approach to God brings freedom for all. If everyone is free, then nobody can gain control and power. So they wouldn't have the power to fight, even if they want too. The value of peace is really refreshing because it goes against all the religious bloodshed. Quakers are mainly like Protestants due to freedom from clergy as well as a plain aesthetic. Yet there is a slight similarity to Catholic. Monotheism is something that tends to be abused. People fight and kill over who's God is the right God. Protestants really focus on monotheism,, and that is a downside.. Toning this down can take some homocidal incentive away. Multiple forms of divinity can help. Catholics use saints as multiple manifestations of divinity. Different Catholics can focus on different saints and potentially coexist in peace. It reminds me of polytheism. Quakers don't have saints. However they have multiple manifestations of divinity in having the divine inner light in everyone. Respecting the divinity of others can allow for more peace in a group. It reminds me of pantheism. Both Catholics and Quakers tone down the harsh monotheism of Chrisitanity. I just thought of something. Quakers are essentially the Hippies of the Christians. Think about it. There are two opposite groups fighting over who is better. There is some selfish motivation on showing one's way is better. Then some rebel by going against the fight. They become chill and friendly. They are all into peace and love.
I come from a very long line of Quakers... The term Quaker comes from a Bible verse that essentially means that we quake in the presence of the lord... I've never seen nor heard of anyone jumping up and shaking... I think you may be mistaking us for Shakers? They are known to do this.... which is why they are called shakers. I believe the term Quaker is ment the symbolize our awe of the Lord. 🤷♀️
My 9th ggmother Provided Southwick (b. 1641) was a Quaker in Salem, Massachusetts. She and her brother were auctioned at the order of Gov. Endicott to pay her parents’ fines for refusing to attend Puritan meetings. Lawrence and Cassandra Southwick were exiled with I think four other Quaker adults to Shelter Island, where they both died in 1660; there’s a monument there but I’ve never seen it myself. Regarding the auction: No one would bid on them, so not sure how/if the fines got paid, but Provided was still there in 1662, when she married Samuel Gaskill/Gascoigne. They had several children, among them my 8th ggmother Mary, who married a Worley.
Probably because we’re too quiet about our services and our general lack of converting. Doesn’t quite draw in crowds when nobody really knows about us.
I was on Ancestry looking up a person and it directed me to the Society of Friends Minutes of the meetings. It seems besides the inner light part of what they did, they also kinda snitched on other members. Rachel Smith was seen with Isaac Brown, a non-member. And in the minutes they sent a couple of Friends to reason with her to bring her back to the fold. If she were to marry said Isaac Brown, she would be charged with being out of fellowship and tossed out as well as shunned. I kept reading because it was so interesting. If you didn't go to meeting twice, they would send a pair of Friends to your house. If you wanted to visit another meeting house say in an area where your parents lived, you had to state that you are wanting to do that ahead of time, the members vote if it's okay and then they send a letter to that house stating that it's okay that you are there. Also if you wanted to marry another member, the group had to counsel and then vote if it's okay or not. One incident involved a rape. The girl was forcibly raped and had a child as a very young teen. The group forbade her to marry when she was marriageable age. Ancestry has tons of these minutes from all over the US from the very early times, even before the Revolution. But I found their social practices VERY unenlightened.
Depends on what social practices. They could be very insular and fail to live up to their ideals, but they also saw women as full members (and many of the early suffragettes were Quaker), were anti-slavery as a body by the 1750s, and refused to engage in warfare.
Keep in mind that religions are internally diverse and religions change and are reinterpreted by members all the time. 3 Things Everyone Should Know About Religion th-cam.com/video/K2GxRSW8DAE/w-d-xo.html&index=
The quakers sound like the cathars which were condemned and murdered by the Catholic Church. The more I hear about the quakers the more I like. Being a fervent Catholic for my first 40 years of life I now have never felt more spiritual since I condemned the Catholic Church.
hi im actually related to Elizabeth fry and for a long time i wasn't even aware funnily enough im also related to the Cadburys other Quaker legends but the name is or at least was on the money and everyone I encountered about it knew who she was in my experience also commonly said when you say 'im related to the Cadburys' people tend to say they were Quakers right ? thats actully why im here im trying to learn more about it
Christians are given the Holy Spirit to have direct communication with God. However we are not to become schismatics and separate ourselves from the one apostolic Church established by Christ. We are to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:3.
This is very interesting! Something I didn’t understand, do the Quakers visibly “quake” or is it an analogous way of saying what’s happening internally?
The early Quakers probably did quake or shake under the power of the Holy Spirit as do modern day Pentecostal and charismatic Christians. Quakers need to seek once again the fullness of the Holy Spirit that they may quake under the power of God.
@lemon grab There should be times of silent worship before the Lord but also times of speaking forth a prophetic word or singing a song in the Spirit. In all things we should be guided by the Holy Spirit who will guide us to worship in Spirit and in Truth.
@lemon grab Modern day Quakers have exalted their tradition above the Holy Spirit. They no longer worship God in Spirit and in Truth. In the Gospel, John 4:23, 24, Jesus tells us the true worshipers must worship the Father in the Spirit and in Truth. Quakers must return to ecstatic worship in the Holy Spirit characterized by quaking and speaking in unknown tongues of the Spirit.
lol quakers never quaked literally. George Fox made a speech in court yelling at a judge saying "you will tremble and quake in fear of god" . The Judge and people of the court laughed and started calling him the Quaker. He liked the nickname and kept it going.
Google “what does George Fox say” for a dorky and amusing video by some Quakers ..who are pretty hippie-ish nowadays from my experience in Cambridge, MA
Those would be the Unprogrammed Liberal Quakers, who are actually the minority of Quakers worldwide. Most Quakers are in Africa and represent a more conservative, programmed, and evangelical/pastoral branch of Quakerism.
I’d like to know more about the Louisiana Quakers, as some my ancestors were that. They eventually mostly became Presbyterians. They were from Ireland, Scotland and some from England.
That's interesting. I wonder if there are different issues of it. I can almost swear that the note that I had didn't have any identifying information on it...
Tom Richey Elizabeth Fry on the £5 comes in at 3:24 in the link below. Check it. (I’m surprised you didn’t go into the real reasons she’s on the note.) vimeo.com/110877004
^^^Listen to this comment. I have been misled personally because I did not test the spirits. I could have stopped it sooner if I did so. Not every voice is God speaking to you. I even had one imply it was Jesus without actually saying it by giving me the verse Acts 9:5.
I adore what I am learning about Quakerism, a beautiful theology. I am confused, however, by the Christ focus. If God is love, and everyone can have 'a direct, personal relationship with God without involving a priest or minister', why then deify human prophet Jesus? If there is Oneness, and that is God, I feel super uncomfortable praising a human man selectively. Love to chat if anyone has ideas. Peace be upon you and within you.
Because they are a Christ based group. Those who believe in Christ do not believe that he was simply a human prophet, but the son of god/one with god, an eternal being. The very beginning aim of George Fox in founding Quakerism was to have a direct experience with Christ, to restore pure Christianity. There is no way around the fact that it is a Christian group, with a belief that Jesus is the only way to god, as it says in the bible. Not as a human being, but as a heavenly high priest interceding for us to god. This is why Fox believed there was no need for an earthly ordained clergy, as he already saw one in Jesus. The god with whom they strove to have a personal relationship was the god of the bible, the god of the children of Israel, of the apostles, not an unknown deity simply comprised of love. God cannot be separated from Jesus in this context, unless you deny the new testament, as seen in Judaism, or you believe in a different version of the creator, which is not what they did.
Jesus is not just a prophet but is above all the Messiah, who is both human and divine. Jesus came to restore our connection to God through his death on the cross and resurrection from the dead. He gives us the Holy Spirit that we may have a direct connection with God who becomes our Father in heaven and we become His children.
Lot of good info here - particularly liked the break down of the usted vs. tu forms. Well stated. However, you seem to have confused Quakers with Shakers. The term Quaker originates to 1650 when George Fox was arrested and tried in Darbye (Derby), England. Two magistrates presided over his trial: Gervase Bennet and Nathaniel Barton. During the trial, Fox is said to have protested to the Magistrates that they would "tremble" at the word of the Lord. Bennet is credited with the quick-witted response that the only "Quaker" in the court was Fox. The pejorative term stuck and the Religious Society of Friends has forever been known as the Quakers. The Shakers were also an English denomination - but did not form until 1747. That term - was a pejorative for the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing. Talk about a mouthful! Occasionally they are referred to as the "Shaking Quakers" but are not associated with the Religious Society of Friends.
Lake Michigan Yes, such could be wonderful. As Einstein said: “If I were not a Jew, I would be a Quaker.” (Einstein: the life and times by Ronald W. Clark, World Pub. Co., NY, 1971, p. 622) vimeo.com/110877004
Just my opinion on somethings... The problems started to happen when things became centralized I've noticed. God works differently between different people. It's when someone or group went to go and centralize everything. Store all your treasures in heaven and not of this world I've heard... This world, now what's wrong with this world?
Princess Elizabeth was a refugee in holland will Penn was her friend her followers were Menonite they went toPa. To farm. Elizabeth's grandson was king George.
Hearing the tenant that the Kingdom of Heaven is to be experienced NOW on this earth literally made me cry. I have felt this way for so long and have not known how to express it. The truly brings me so much peace after years of trying to earn grace and kindness in a world that wouldn't give it to me as an evangelical. We are living in the Kingdom of Heaven. We can create peace and grace and kindness. Our life isn't worth wasting. How freeing that is... finding a Quaker Meeting near me.
Better to read the works of early, emphasis early, Quakers: George Fox's Journal, his works, and his letters to the congregations are about as good a start of any writing other than scripture itself.
The kingdom of heaven will not come with signs to be seen, neither will anyone say 'lo here' or 'lo there', for the kingdom of heaven is within you.
😭
@@daviddubbetter to do what James 1 told his sons in the basilica doron,we need to read Gods words, not mens to get understanding!
As I learn more about the original Quakers, I am finding validation for my own experiences and beliefs, as well as for my work. The core Quaker belief was that God is Love and we can directly connect to Love/Light/God through our own Hearts. And I realize the truth in this, because I've had experiences with it, since going through a grieving/healing process in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Since then I have felt that when we release the suppressed pain that blocks our Hearts, we automatically connect more deeply with Love/Light/God. This is why my work has focused on embracing our feelings and healing our Hearts, in order to bring more Love and compassion into our world. Many people have put me down and thought I was crazy. So, I am glad to be able to back up my realization with a stand for people who had also found the same reality many centuries ago - the original Quakers. I feel much less alone now, even though I do not know if any of the Quakers had realized how people can deepen their direct connection to God, through focusing on healing their own Hearts - through focusing on releasing the suppressed emotional pain that blocks Hearts and avoiding feeling numbing pharmaceuticals and other substances that block our Hearts from Love/God.
This video is officially endorsed and DEEPLY appreciated by the current Recording Clerk of the Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), who is authorized to speak only for himself. (LOL) Thanks to Tom Richey for this extremely accurate and generous introduction. And thank you for pointing out that we're still alive.
I have nothing but love for the Quakers. I can’t do the math for me, but my grandmother was descended on both her mother and fathers side from the original Quakers in England and America, and were Quakers up until my Granny married a catholic. Though I think her dad had been raised by a Calvinist, it was a recent conversion. It’s a part of my history and honestly, I’m proud to be descended from them.
Thanks Tom, as a newly convinced Quaker I enjoyed your presentation and thought that it showed the simplicity of our values and how we strive to live our lives.
I’m seriously considering leaving the Lutheran Church and becoming a Quaker. It meshes more with my own personal beliefs.
Derek, I came in contact with Quakerism only recently, but I am deeply interested in learning more. Any tips?
@@anq6887 Advices and Queries is a good place to start if you haven't read it. qfp.quaker.org.uk/chapter/1/ Or just go to a meeting! Sit in silence for an hour and then you can ask people questions afterwards. Quakers love answering questions!
My students seem to like the Quakers but don't know where to feed them. Is it still in existence?
TH-cam is a wonderful resource, Quaker Speak is a great channel On it and contains a lot of contemporary Quakers that explain what we are about.
I am a born Quaker from Ramallah, Palestine and this is very helpful and accurate information!
I'm a Jewish Israeli, and this is very interesting! There's a Quaker colony in Ramallah??!?
Will you give me a tour??
@@LilachLavy-Emanuel Hi. You know the West Bank is under occupation right now. It is not the best time to visit. I live in the USA. I pray that you are working for peace for both sides. Its is distressing what is happening there.
@@lmansur1000 True spirituality is beyond state and national interests.
@@LilachLavy-EmanuelGod will not forgive what your people are doing to His children in Palestine.
Oooh so interesting
What an interesting video! Prior to watching this, I had no real knowledge of the Quakers or their beliefs. I wanted to learn about the Quakers because I have discovered, by a happy accident, that I am directly related to George Fox.
I would imagine any Quakers reading this will immediately recognise my surname as the maiden name of George Fox's mother, Mary. In fact she was my 9th Great Grandaunt, that is, the daughter of my 10th Great Grandfather, John Lagoe, born in 1560 in Kingsbury, Warwickshire, England. In fact, I live only 25 miles from where George Fox was born.
I only discovered the link yesterday while researching my family tree, and I cannot express in words how it has affected me. I feel so privileged to know I am related to such a great man and to such a pious woman.
Wonderful news Steven.
I have Quakers in my ancestry and have been fascinated by what I've found so far. All I ever knew was the old rhyme, "Quakers meeting has begun, no more talking, no more fun. If you use your lips or tongue, you shall pay a forfeit."
I find this thyme is actually quite facetious to what they are really about. Thank you for sharing.
after many painful experiences with Evangelical and mainline churches, I pulled out and started my quest... ive been reading about Quakers and finding much agreement
I'm a Scots-Irish / Ulster-Scot protestant from Northen Ireland, and the values of Quakers seems to speak volumes to my own out-look.
Congratulations! An excellent balanced summary of Quakers.
As an addendum, there are many factions in the contemporary Quaker family - generally polarising between programmed (with services, pastors, and evangelical theology) and unprogrammed (as you described it). Over time, Quaker groups - consistent with group theory - drifting toward conformity and becoming programmed. Usually, a smaller group splits off and returns to the practices as you described them - and the cycle starts again. So there are often various types of Quaker meetings in proximity to each other.
A New Zealand Friend.
Yeah - I would say not entirely balanced for the reason you mention. This is a good description of Britain Yearly Meeting and FGC Friends, but ignores that the majority of the Quakers in the world are quite different - and live in Africa.
Oh that is cool. I did know there was a difference between programmed and unprogrammed. I have heard of Quakers opening up to other religions, not just Christians. That can potentially form more groups.
Being part of the Original Quaker Families(Hughes and Reed) I am glad to have came across your video.These past couple of years I have been heavily invested on learning more about my Famiy's History and Beliefs. I have started a Non Profit for exactly these subjects. It is gonna be part of teaching the children of today where they come from and it is okay to be part of labels because at the end of today we are all part of One Label, One Nation, and One big Family. I believe that we all deserve to know our true Family Tree and what this stands for.
Hello! Via the Reed family you and I might be related! Does your Reed family branch include ties to Founding Father Benjamin Franklin’s common law wife, Deborah Read/Reed? She and I are 1st cousins 9 times removed.
Hey a Hughes!
Wow! Good to know info. I always thought of the Quackers as been weird religious group and never bothered to learn about them. After watching this video, I found out that in some respect, I shared some of their beliefs, hence, my opinion about them has changed. My ignorance about them was a self-inflicted wound. Thanks for sharing your video.
This is a high compliment! It's a pleasure to be able to inform people.
I guess I am like an old dog, always learning a new trick (Knowledge) in the positive side of the Internet. So much good things to learn out there.
Modern Quakers (and Quaker schools) tend to focus on the shared ethics contained within the “Spices.”
S = Simplicity
P = Peace
I = Integrity
C = Community
E = Equality
S = Stewardship
www.sffriendsschool.org/quaker-values/quaker-testimonies
Thank you so very much for your introductory lecture on the Quakers. I never was taught about them in school. It is important to learn of their tremendous contributions to American history.
Many of my ancestors were Quakers who came here during the English Civil war as early as 1620's etc, were Quakers. I never knew until watching this video what they beloved in and what made them so much different that the other early settlers in the American Colonies. Thank You for making it all so easy to comprehend and understand. I too have always believed in direct communication with the Creator, instead of having to go through a third party.
Hello, possible Cousin!
Same here. Pennsylvania 1600’s We may be cousins😅
Informative video. I've always admired the Quakers for their stance against Japanese Internment during WWII. One of the few groups who opposed it and took action to secure the release of thousands of interned Japanese. Ballers!
I am as atheist as one can get, grew up in very secular western Europe and am very critical of organised religion. The Quakers however have my utmost respect for their opposition to slavery/some Quakers involvement in the underground railroad.
Found out that my family was part of the Pennsylvania Quakers, trying to learn everything I can about them as I'm also exploring quakerism for myself and my family.
Great video!
Me too😊
I am a born again Christian first, with definite quaker leanings. During the pandemic, I have gotten to know a group of liberal Quakers here in Toronto, and I have gone to their worship meetings. I enjoy the silence, as my Baptist church is quite loud. On Sunday, you will hear a very Roccus worship band. I have no theological problem with that, but I’m getting older, and I prefer a quieter Sunday morning.
The quaker group I meet with our of course on zoom, as friends house here in Toronto is not yet open. I am quite a newbie, I think they would call me a visitor or one step beyond that, a sitter. I think. I’ve been to about five or six meetings in a row. I have met one or two in person, that is, over the phone. But not in connection with the meetings.
As we are in lockdown phase 2, and I really do mean lock down, nobody is going anywhere.
So when we have chat meeting, we do silent worship for about 45 minutes, then the host unmute us and we can do a vocal ministry or ask questions. As per the popular use of asking people to use certain pronouns, such as they/them, I am asking that my pronouns are thee/thou. I prefer those words because of my synesthesia, such that when I hear the words, they feel like velvet under my hands, or velvet petting my face. Little did I know how intimate these words actually were. And I’ve been using them that way, to my little girl, to God, to anyone I loved.
All along I have been using the word ‘thee’ I didn’t know how intimate it really was. I thought it was just some quirk of my interesting neurology.
I was so pleased to see Tom as lecturer. Great lecture…history, in all its phases, is so beautiful. Thank you.
The other explanation for the name "Quaker" comes from George Fox standing before a judge who "was the first that called us Quakers, because I bade them tremble at the word of the Lord" (Fox's autobiography). It was the Shakers who were known for habitual shaking as part of their worship, earning themselves the nickname "Shaking Quakers." Also, if you visit meetings today, you'll find two main types: programmed and unprogrammed. Unprogrammed are as Tom describes in the video, but programmed have a more traditional physical layout (with rows of pews facing front and often with a pulpit of some kind), clergy as leaders, and an order of worship that only gives a portion of the time to Open Worship. Finally, although the sacraments as Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, or Protestants would understand them are indeed absent, Friends generally see all of life as sacramental and may even use words like "baptism" or "communion" to describe an inner experience or the presence of Christ in worship. Thanks for this introduction. I hope it spurs others to seek to learn or experience more about the Friends. Disclosure: I am Lutheran myself but have felt an attraction to the Friends for a long time.
From the Quaker community I come from we do have the two kinds... - the programmed and unprogrammed. One was Sunday and the other was Thursday meetings. Strangely, even though we were quakers, my father worked for the Lutherans, in his capacity as a doctor, as they provided a mobile clinic which dad used on his visits to the villages. I appreciate the fact that I was born into Friends society in Palestine and only later found out who they really were. I thinjk children pick up the vibe of the community. For the past years, I have studied Buddhism and learnt meditation as I felt it harmonizes with and complements the Quakers. Life is interesting.
@@lmansur1000 you’re saying there’s Quakers in Palestine? I’m learning a lot here!
Thanks for the elaboration.
There are now different types of "Quakers", but only one authentic type; It appears that the Quakers continued being targeted in covert ways. It appears that they have been being pushed aside and infiltrated and some of them even manipulated into becoming more like the traditional forms of Christian religions - the ones where the preachers teach and lead the people instead of people being lead by their own direct connection to God. The result of this is the various types of "Quaker" groups that exist today. But there is only one genuine Quaker group, and it is the one that has held strong to the old original Quaker ways of worshiping and living. How many real authentic Quakers still exist? I do not know. It is probably very few. So, I'd like to help bring back the original Quaker values, because they honor our own natural spirituality and the Love that we ALL need far more of in our troubled world.
The original authentic Quakers had silent meetings where they meditated. In these meditations some focused on deepening their connection to the Light/God/Love within their own Hearts, and some waited for the connection to happen. Those whose Hearts were not too blocked to make the connection, automatically felt more Love and compassion toward their fellow human beings. Consequently authentic Quakers were often leaders in movements that called for world peace and the abolishment of slavery and many other humanitarian efforts to help poor and suffering people. According to my research the following things are the core of the original Quaker ways. I am surprised by how identical they are to my own beliefs and values...
1. Forming a direct connection to God, through our own Hearts, and following God/Love, instead of only blindly following human leaders. This is the most important core of real Quakerism. And its something ALL people can do. Some people's Hearts are open enough to do it easily. And some people, like myself, have to go through a grieving/healing process, in order to deepen our connect to God/Love/Light. At this point in time, it appears that humanity has been so wounded that a lot of healing has to take place in most people, in order to connect to the levels of Love and Light that are needed in our world.
The following Quaker values are all things that people automatically feel strongly about after we have a deep connection to the Love/Light/God in our own Hearts...
A. Equality; Authentic Quakers felt that All people are equal. They saw no difference between the rights of Native Americans vs new settlers, between men vs women, between poor people vs rich people, between "black" people vs "white" people, between Christians vs Jews or Buddhists or Quakers...etc.
B. There is Good in ALL people; Authentic Quakers saw the good in all people. They believed that ALL people were God's children and that even the worse criminal types could heal and choose better ways.
C. Peace on Earth; Authentic Quakers were anti-war. They believed in using only positive, peaceful and non-violent ways to resolve problems. The authentic Quakers refuse to fight and kill, in the wars. Some people viewed this as them being weak or cowardly, but they were just being more kind and compassionate.
D. Freedom for ALL Human Beings; Authentic Quakers were against slavery and believed that all human beings should be free to live their lives the way they choose to. This includes freedom of religion.
E. Living a Simple and Humble Lifestyle; Authentic Quakers lived a simple lifestyle. This was reflected in their original clothing, which the Amish copied after the Quakers invited them into Pennsylvania. Interestingly, the Quakers stopped wearing that type of simple clothing after the Amish copied them. In a way, the Amish replaced the Quakers in Pennsylvania and other places, but they are complete opposites in the most important spiritual and humanitarian issues.
F. Social Reform; Authentic Quakers cared enough about humanity to want to help make things better for ALL people. Consequently they often participated in things like better treatment of the Native Americans, and the abolishment of slavery and protests against violent wars and getting laws passed to give women the right to vote...etc.
G. Humanitarian Aid; Authentic Quakers did what they could to help the poor and suffering people.
H. Love thy Enemy; Authentic Quakers did not seek vengeance. They treated their enemies with compassion.
And this list could go on. The original authentic Quakers had more Love/Light/God in their Hearts and so were genuine humanitarians. There are many people throughout the world, who are not Quakers, and who exist both inside and outside many different religions and cultures, who also have deep direct connections to God/Love/Light in their own Hearts. Most just do not realize it or do not view it as a connection to "God." They are the people whose Hearts have not been too blocked to feel deep levels of Love. They too are authentically compassionate and humanitarian types of people. People can have a deep connection to Love/God/Light without ever even believing in God or Jesus and without ever following any religion. I have deeply felt this truth, to the core of my own heart and soul, since the early 1990s. People who have open Hearts automatically care about people and want peace and freedom and feel Love for ALL people. Its actually not just a Quaker trait, its a natural human trait that exists in everyone whose Heart is open enough. God is Love and we can ALL feel that Love through our own Hearts.
I view the original authentic Quakers as people who had found and honored, the most important part of the natural spirituality that ALL human beings are born with - the Heart - the Love - the Light - the God that exists within us all. And they aimed to show the rest of humanity this natural human capability, which is why they were targeted.
Dear Sir, as always, time well spent. I was raised by Catholic and Lutheran parents. All we learned during our parochial school years was that Quakers did convulsive actions during their services. Thank you, these folks are living proof of the criticality of religious freedom. Thank you
Convulsive actions? I've never heard nor witnessed that. Could you be confusing Quakers with Shakers?
@@convincedquaker I heard of Shakers. They did not believe in carnal relations between husband and wife. Their group died out rather quickly. 😂
In Hindu practise, there are two concepts called Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam ( the world is my family); and Aham Brahmasmi, twam brahmasmi ( my innermost core of my being is the creator, your innermost being is the creator); which seems to quite match with the Quakers!
I've been doing geneology research and found out that my ancestors were elders in the quakers in the late 1600s early 1700s. so fascinating to hear about the things they might have believed
They kindnesses will never go forgotten .You are truly Brimful with joy.
I haven't watched your channel in a while, but I'm getting interested in Quakers and clicked immediately when I saw you had a video. Your videos are always very fun and informative!
Its good to know there's a religion, matches my beliefs, i have all those years
Thank you so much. My Quaker family is buried in the Friends Cemetary in Newberg, OR. The line goes ways back to Wales and before. Your information helped round out the how and why they came to America and settled first in the colony in Eastern Tennessee and then to Indiana
That was our mother. The other grandmother's line goes back to Robert the Bruce and the Anglo Norman conquest and monarchs marrying for alliance with other religions Scotland.My mother insisted we get a good education in a Presbyterian church but were told to believe what we want. Interesting spiritual training. I took buddhist precepts decades ago and brought the teachings of Jesus along. Their philosophies are so similar that I am certain Jesus was a student.
Love the teaching, love the accent.
Love from Old England.
And love for you, as well! Appropriate when we’re talking about the Quakers.
Tom, as a practicing Quaker I find myself watching videos to see how others see us. That is how I found your video. Well done. However, your book collection behind you is EPIC. Hitler AND Robert E Lee? Tolkien AND Seuss. Epic!
As I learn more about the original Quakers, I am finding validation for my own experiences and beliefs, as well as for my work. The core Quaker belief was that God is Love and we can directly connect to Love/Light/God through our own Hearts. And I realize the truth in this, because I've had experiences with it, since going through a grieving/healing process in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Since then I have felt that when we release the suppressed pain that blocks our Hearts, we automatically connect more deeply with Love/Light/God. This is why my work has focused on embracing our feelings and healing our Hearts, in order to bring more Love and compassion into our world. Many people have put me down and thought I was crazy. So, I am glad to be able to back up my realization with a stand for people who had also found the same reality many centuries ago - the original Quakers. I feel much less alone now, even though I do not know if any of the Quakers had realized how people can deepen their direct connection to God, through focusing on healing their own Hearts - through focusing on releasing the suppressed emotional pain that blocks Hearts and avoiding feeling numbing pharmaceuticals and other substances that block our Hearts from Love/God.
We were not waiting lol that’s how we talk to God, it’s a meditation & you just listen to God.... since I was a little tiny child, my grandmother would tell me to just listen & see what God has to say to me, I didn’t understand it as a youngster but it’s shaped my life. Thanks for sharing. Elizabeth Fry was the first woman involved with reforming prison. She brought food, Quaker literature, and even taught women how to quilt while incarcerated.
Thank you Tom for doing your reaserch so many people get a lot of these things wrong I also really apprisiate you comeing to meeting. Also your always welcome to come to meeting if you want. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
I know their history and 17 century history of that time and the puritans but that religion is the one that makes me smile. It just wants to pray and be prayed for. A happy religion with no hang ups😘
These people were ahead of their time ❤️
Interesting topic. I was reading a book that mentioned the Quakers so i decided to investigate to see who this society of friends were. Nice information Tom. Thank you.
Knowledge is power and your awesome.. Thank for breaking it down😊
Thank you for this video. I'm an amateur genealogist. I've found a lot of Quakers in my tree and had NO IDEA about the religion or who founded it.
Just had my tree done and I have a lot as well.
Even today in parts of Yorkshire in England, some people use the forms 'thee', 'thou' and 'thine' in regular speech. The terms have not been completely lost. In my childhood, visiting my grandmother in Yorkshire, all the children I knew spoke with that form rather than 'you'.
Quakers had plain dress in the era of early Pennsylvania. Amish, a Mennonite sect, along with other Mennonites and German Baptists came to Pennsylvania in response to the invitation of the Quaker, William Penn. They had developed similar beliefs in plain dress already and actually after arriving in the new land adopted the Quaker style (or lack thereof) plain clothes as part of their religious testimony. The Amish believe that "there shall be no change" and have kept the style more or less, as have a few old order sects whereas the Quakers as far as known in these parts, have long since abandoned it.
You did a great job! Informative, to the point and interesting. Thanks!
Respectfully, it seems as far as western christian denominations go, the Quakers had the light.
Ty for this incredible information.. genealogy search says I'm a descendant of the original quakers in this country.😮
Hi, Tom Loved the way You have explained Thank you soo much.
Hi Tom! Love your videos! Keep up the great work! Greetings from California!
Much appreciation for your support! I expect to have a video on the Pennsylvania Colony coming out right on the heels of this one.
This guy is living the dream! I feel like I know this guy. I thought of Quakers as the guy in my oath bag for some reason I thought they were a closer community like the Amish. I think they did have stronger believes in their beginnings they were a Christian outlet for people to share their ideas outside of the religious establishment they took it very seriously as far as I know it was important for them to be people of Great integrity! Very different times the men who started this had very strong grounds for what they believe or don't believe. I am not sure that is the case nowadays!
I know you made this 5 years ago but I just found it wanting to understand my genealogy. They were quakers that came to Pennsylvania in the early 1600’s. I’ve read all their papers thanks to great record keeping. I want to know more about them so thank you for this. As I am reading these I think I may have many cousins in here doing the same thing😅
So how did the quakers become associated with oats?
Someone looked up the Quakers in an encyclopedia and decided to go with it. True story!
Quakers ran their businesses honestly, so the people who founded the company used the Quaker brand to make their products seem more trustworthy.
Amnesty International, Barclays Bank, Cadbury Chocolates, Clark’s Shoes, Greenpeace, Johns Hopkins University, Nike, Sony, Waterford, etc. are all *real* Quaker companies & organizations, but others saw the utility of using the Quaker name & its association with honesty & quality, & thus appropriated it for their own purposes.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Quaker_businesses,_organizations_and_charities
Quakers are also responsible for the business practice of using price tags rather than dishonestly charging customers different prices for the same item.
aeon.co/videos/how-the-quakers-became-unlikely-economic-innovators-by-inventing-the-price-tag
The man who started quaker oats thought they were wholesome and simple so he named his oats after that. It's really weird like??? Would you like some babtist cerial? Presperterian wheat?
Rachel Dole growing up in a Quaker meetinghouse, I heard the words “simplicity” and “plain” constantly, bcuz we keep simple lives & wear simple attire, and basically its simple for us to know god without any translators or preachers etc...so I see why they wanted the Quaker belief to represent the oats
I just finished reading a book about the first woman doctor, and I wasn’t surprised that she was a quake. So I was always wondering what set them apart from other Christians. But your presentation answered my questions. So thank you so much for this video. I will continue to learn more about this wonderful group of people. ❤ 🙏
Cool metal music at the end! 🤘🏼
I grew up all throughout Pennsylvania, this is the attitude that I cultivated having been all up and down the eastern half.
Wow! Your channel has grown considerably since I was last here a couple of years ago. My oldest graduated, but I’m now homeschooling my others and found my way back. Great videos. Go knights! Class of 1998! 😁
The Quakers are my favorite Chritin group. So much of thier characteristics I greatly admire. I like thier main value of connecting to God directly and so rendering clergy unessisary. I like the concept of the inner light and God being in everyone. I like the values of love, peace, charity and equality. The biggest value is freedom, and tht is wonderful. I like the community service. The hard core abolition way back when is impressive. I like the waiting worship. That is a lot of good stuff, making the Quakers the best. The only noteworthy thing I don't like is a plain aesthetic. However it is good for waiting worship by minimizing distractions. So this is a nitpick more than anything. I think it would be cool if the pretty Catholic aesthetic can be used to inspire visions. Then it can combine the good parts of both Quakers and Catholics. There is nobody who does this. I came up with the idea myself. Visions are a thing in New Age. So it would be nice if it can somehow apply to Christianity. The video had some nice tidbits for me to learn. Quakers were really feminist for thier time and they were into prison reform. That is cool. Quaker churches were built in a more egalitarian way. That is cool and interesting. English has formal and informal versions of you, just like Spanish. Wow, I didn't know that.
I did learn that Quakers did suffer intense persecution. That makes me die inside. These guys are so sweet and gentle once you get to know them. I know mass murdering heretics was a thing back in the day but... YIKES!! The tongue thing is effed up. Quakers are a little like the Penticostals in that both are into contacting God directly. The method is very different though. Quakers have the calm method, which is like meditation. Pentacostals on the other hand get into over-the-top wacky antics. The main one is speaking in tongues. There is also aggressive laying on hands, handling snakes and other antics. I find this very unpleasent, and I question the sanity. Quakers are so much better, and thier calm method seems healthier. I do know that certain groups got thier name by reclaiming insults. Christian, Babtist and Methodist originated this way. I find it really unfair that Quakers are the ones to get an insulting name and the Pentacostals don't. Pentacostal is nice name. It comes from Pentacost, a holiday celebrating the Holy Spirit. I would much rather be switched. Alternativly both groups can have equal names. There can be nice name of the Friendlies and the Pentacostals. Friendlies is a nice warm fuzzy name for the Quakers. It is fitting since it refers to the origional designation of Religious Societiey of Friends. If there had to be an insulting name for Quaker, I think its only fair for the Pentacostals to have an insulting name. The speaking in tongues stands out as an easy target. There can be names like barbars, bablers and gibbers. The best name I can think of is the tonguies. I know that mass murdering heretics was a thing in the olden days. It is very bloody and gruesome. It was so bad that Christians even murdered each other. The Anababtists faced heavy persecution. They are the precursors to mainly the Babtists, but also the Mennonite groups. Anababtist was an insulting name referring to the practice of adult babtism. One main method to murder Anababtist was to drown them. It is a mockery of babtism. That is so screwed up. This is screwed up to the extreme. That isn't just cruel. It seems so sadistic. Pentacostals were not around back then. It is a good thing. They would be dead. They would be oh so dead. When they get all exited about the Holy Spirit, thier enemies could easily mistake that for a demon possession. This can lead to Pentacostals as a whole being mistaken for Satanists. Anybody branded a Satanist is doomed. I know how persecutors are. Other groups get crucified for a lot less. Quakers were around back then. They ae not nearly as troubling, but they were still victims of mass murder. The tongue piercing seems like the perfect way to mock and punish a Pentacostal. It is like speaking in tongues. This is horrifying torture. Quakers don't speak in tongues. However they do speak up in church, if they feel inclined by ther inner light. It seems that to do tough piercing torture on a Quaker seems like a sick mockery. That is beyond screwed up.
My biggest takehome for this video is George Fox. I knew he was the founder of the Quakers. Yet hearing about him and his life is incredibly compelling. He even became one of my favorite people of Christian history. I have four favorites. Christianity has historically had a tyranny problem.. The bloodshed on the olden days is my pet peeve. So all my favorites rebel against tyranny in some way and make Christianity better.. Martin Luther is my top favorite.He is the only famous one. He rebelled against the tyranny of extremist Catholics. He focused on freeing people by offering the Bible as well as freeing them from economic exploitation. Martain Luther was mainly known as the founder of Protestants. However he didn't go as far as many other Protestant founders. Comparatively speaking, he even resembles Catholics relativly speaking. It is ironic. I like that. Both sides have thier benefits, but I do see Catholics as being a bit better. I got to admire Luther for showing reasonable restraint. If the channel has any videos on this guy, I would like to see them. Two other favorites are Roger Williams and Anne Hutchenson. They really go together in my mind. Both lived in colonial Rhode Island, and both went against the Puritans. So both essentially rebelled against extremist Protestantism. Since Protestant is the weaker side, it can use two rebels instead of one. Roger Williams focused more on freedom of religion and separation church and state. Anne Hutchenson focused more on freedom of lifestyle and improving Calvinism. The channel has a video for each one, and the videos are awesome.
George Fox was a rebel too, but in a different way. He essentially rebelled against both sides. The English Civil War is horrendous. It is agonizing enough to read about that. Thier is a lot of factions competing for power. So there is a lot of violence and bloodshed. It is just like Game of Thrones. One group I greatly admire is the Anglicans. They engaged in both sides. This is a realist approach in a way. The Anglicans had this idea of via media. They tried to find some happy medium between Catholic and Protestant. There is a nice way to approach this. On one hand, they can have all the cool stuff of the Catholics. There can be ceremonies, and imagery and all that. On the other hand there can be certain freedoms that the Protestants get. There are things like freedom of divorce, an English Bible and freedom for the Pope. I do feel sorry for the Anglicans at the time of thier formation and war. They were caught in the middle.. On one hand they have to deal with the tyranny of the Catholics. Henry the Eight may be a hot mess, but his love life is none of the pope's buissinesss. He even had a really good reason for breaking ties with his first wife. On the other hand, the Anglicans had to deal with the radicalness of Puritans. It may seem that Anglicans were the tyrants who bullied the Puritans. However Puritans became tyrants themselves once they fled to America. Then they provoked the rebellion of Roger Williams and Anne Hutchenson. So yeah, the English Civil War was a mess. This is when George Fox came in. He found a way in between both. He rejected both and did his own thing. He has an apathetic approach. This is the opposite of the realist approach 9f the Anglicans. Both groups are somewhere in between, and both are amazing. The Catholic and Protestant fight in itself is a form of tyranny on both sides. George Fox rebelled against the fight entirely. That led him to forge his own path and find his own spiritual discoveries. To oppose the war, there was things like peace, love and friendship. The more direct approach to God brings freedom for all. If everyone is free, then nobody can gain control and power. So they wouldn't have the power to fight, even if they want too. The value of peace is really refreshing because it goes against all the religious bloodshed. Quakers are mainly like Protestants due to freedom from clergy as well as a plain aesthetic. Yet there is a slight similarity to Catholic. Monotheism is something that tends to be abused. People fight and kill over who's God is the right God. Protestants really focus on monotheism,, and that is a downside.. Toning this down can take some homocidal incentive away. Multiple forms of divinity can help. Catholics use saints as multiple manifestations of divinity. Different Catholics can focus on different saints and potentially coexist in peace. It reminds me of polytheism. Quakers don't have saints. However they have multiple manifestations of divinity in having the divine inner light in everyone. Respecting the divinity of others can allow for more peace in a group. It reminds me of pantheism. Both Catholics and Quakers tone down the harsh monotheism of Chrisitanity. I just thought of something. Quakers are essentially the Hippies of the Christians. Think about it. There are two opposite groups fighting over who is better. There is some selfish motivation on showing one's way is better. Then some rebel by going against the fight. They become chill and friendly. They are all into peace and love.
Great video brother.
Btw you're accent is great. "King James Bable!" Lol
Not making fun, I'm from Texas, love the southern draw 🤠
Wow that's really impressive. And Quaker was inovative.
Tom Richey, can you please make a full video on The Italian Revolution.
WE NEED THIS
Thank you Mr. Richey very cool
I come from a very long line of Quakers... The term Quaker comes from a Bible verse that essentially means that we quake in the presence of the lord...
I've never seen nor heard of anyone jumping up and shaking... I think you may be mistaking us for Shakers?
They are known to do this.... which is why they are called shakers.
I believe the term Quaker is ment the symbolize our awe of the Lord. 🤷♀️
Good TED Talk
Great Thanks. How can I email you? I am studying Quakerism here in the Philippines. Long live and God bless!
If he was my history teacher in high school, he’d my be my first teacher crush 😂
Glad you said it first..I feel very much the same!
My 9th ggmother Provided Southwick (b. 1641) was a Quaker in Salem, Massachusetts. She and her brother were auctioned at the order of Gov. Endicott to pay her parents’ fines for refusing to attend Puritan meetings. Lawrence and Cassandra Southwick were exiled with I think four other Quaker adults to Shelter Island, where they both died in 1660; there’s a monument there but I’ve never seen it myself. Regarding the auction: No one would bid on them, so not sure how/if the fines got paid, but Provided was still there in 1662, when she married Samuel Gaskill/Gascoigne. They had several children, among them my 8th ggmother Mary, who married a Worley.
I very much like what these people do and stand for. Why aren't there more Quakers?
Good question
Probably because we’re too quiet about our services and our general lack of converting. Doesn’t quite draw in crowds when nobody really knows about us.
The outcome of the Civil War proved that the Quaker belief of ending oppression through acts of non-violence did not work in all cases.
I was on Ancestry looking up a person and it directed me to the Society of Friends Minutes of the meetings. It seems besides the inner light part of what they did, they also kinda snitched on other members. Rachel Smith was seen with Isaac Brown, a non-member. And in the minutes they sent a couple of Friends to reason with her to bring her back to the fold. If she were to marry said Isaac Brown, she would be charged with being out of fellowship and tossed out as well as shunned. I kept reading because it was so interesting. If you didn't go to meeting twice, they would send a pair of Friends to your house. If you wanted to visit another meeting house say in an area where your parents lived, you had to state that you are wanting to do that ahead of time, the members vote if it's okay and then they send a letter to that house stating that it's okay that you are there. Also if you wanted to marry another member, the group had to counsel and then vote if it's okay or not. One incident involved a rape. The girl was forcibly raped and had a child as a very young teen. The group forbade her to marry when she was marriageable age. Ancestry has tons of these minutes from all over the US from the very early times, even before the Revolution. But I found their social practices VERY unenlightened.
Depends on what social practices. They could be very insular and fail to live up to their ideals, but they also saw women as full members (and many of the early suffragettes were Quaker), were anti-slavery as a body by the 1750s, and refused to engage in warfare.
Keep in mind that religions are internally diverse and religions change and are reinterpreted by members all the time.
3 Things Everyone Should Know About Religion
th-cam.com/video/K2GxRSW8DAE/w-d-xo.html&index=
Old Quakers did a lot of terrible things they did some great things but they did very bad things to that's the case with every religion
The quakers sound like the cathars which were condemned and murdered by the Catholic Church. The more I hear about the quakers the more I like. Being a fervent Catholic for my first 40 years of life I now have never felt more spiritual since I condemned the Catholic Church.
hi im actually related to Elizabeth fry and for a long time i wasn't even aware funnily enough im also related to the Cadburys other Quaker legends but the name is or at least was on the money and everyone I encountered about it knew who she was in my experience also commonly said when you say 'im related to the Cadburys' people tend to say they were Quakers right ?
thats actully why im here im trying to learn more about it
Aloha Tom..thank you for another Educational video🙏🇺🇸🙏❤️🇺🇸
Aloha Toa! You're quite welcome!
Is there a transcript available?
excellent video
They took their ideas from Martin Luther where a man has direct communication with God , fascinating stuff.
Christians are given the Holy Spirit to have direct communication with God. However we are not to become schismatics and separate ourselves from the one apostolic Church established by Christ. We are to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:3.
Luther did NOT come up with that concept. Gotta go way back before him to find the source: Jesus, Paul, Anthony of Egypt, Origen and on and on.
Good job!
Thank you! I knew that Quakers have nothing to do with Quake the game, but now I know a little bit of who they are ;)
tom u are my hero
I think you could do a better job choosing your heroes... but thanks! :D
I remember you when you help me with my study here in my country Uruguay,you are smart,adios.
Are there still quakers nowadays
This is very interesting!
Something I didn’t understand, do the Quakers visibly “quake” or is it an analogous way of saying what’s happening internally?
@lemon grab thank you, I appreciate it.
The early Quakers probably did quake or shake under the power of the Holy Spirit as do modern day Pentecostal and charismatic Christians. Quakers need to seek once again the fullness of the Holy Spirit that they may quake under the power of God.
@lemon grab There should be times of silent worship before the Lord but also times of speaking forth a prophetic word or singing a song in the Spirit. In all things we should be guided by the Holy Spirit who will guide us to worship in Spirit and in Truth.
@lemon grab Modern day Quakers have exalted their tradition above the Holy Spirit. They no longer worship God in Spirit and in Truth. In the Gospel, John 4:23, 24, Jesus tells us the true worshipers must worship the Father in the Spirit and in Truth. Quakers must return to ecstatic worship in the Holy Spirit characterized by quaking and speaking in unknown tongues of the Spirit.
lol quakers never quaked literally. George Fox made a speech in court yelling at a judge saying "you will tremble and quake in fear of god" . The Judge and people of the court laughed and started calling him the Quaker. He liked the nickname and kept it going.
Google “what does George Fox say” for a dorky and amusing video by some Quakers ..who are pretty hippie-ish nowadays from my experience in Cambridge, MA
Those would be the Unprogrammed Liberal Quakers, who are actually the minority of Quakers worldwide. Most Quakers are in Africa and represent a more conservative, programmed, and evangelical/pastoral branch of Quakerism.
Haha love that video
I am related to William Penn . Lehigh Pennsylvania.
Wonderful! thanks for sharing
I’d like to know more about the Louisiana Quakers, as some my ancestors were that. They eventually mostly became Presbyterians. They were from Ireland, Scotland and some from England.
Im irish and i have had these beliefs my whole life i think it comes from us being farmers and having access to mushrooms
One great thing about quakers is they record and minute EVERYTHING with a little searching their's tons of info
They very likey flead religious prosection
Elizabeth Fry's Name and dates are in large text under her portrait on the old £5 notes, 1780-1845 according to this fiver.
That's interesting. I wonder if there are different issues of it. I can almost swear that the note that I had didn't have any identifying information on it...
Tom Richey Elizabeth Fry on the £5 comes in at 3:24 in the link below. Check it. (I’m surprised you didn’t go into the real reasons she’s on the note.)
vimeo.com/110877004
My grandmother was Quaker and I don't know how they lived , dressed or anything else . I would like to know .
Yes love it I agree with all..
I see you quaking in your chair Tom. ^^
Quakers seem pretty cool to me
BELOVED BELIEVE NOT EVERY SPIRIT BUT TEST THE SPIRITS
^^^Listen to this comment. I have been misled personally because I did not test the spirits. I could have stopped it sooner if I did so.
Not every voice is God speaking to you. I even had one imply it was Jesus without actually saying it by giving me the verse Acts 9:5.
His reaction to students calling teachers by their first names makes me feels like my high school experience may have been near dystopian
Okay it's official, Quakers are dope
Lol. Nothing more appropriate than closing out a Quaker video with some rock guitar.
I adore what I am learning about Quakerism, a beautiful theology. I am confused, however, by the Christ focus. If God is love, and everyone can have 'a direct, personal relationship with God without involving a priest or minister', why then deify human prophet Jesus?
If there is Oneness, and that is God, I feel super uncomfortable praising a human man selectively. Love to chat if anyone has ideas.
Peace be upon you and within you.
Because they are a Christ based group. Those who believe in Christ do not believe that he was simply a human prophet, but the son of god/one with god, an eternal being. The very beginning aim of George Fox in founding Quakerism was to have a direct experience with Christ, to restore pure Christianity. There is no way around the fact that it is a Christian group, with a belief that Jesus is the only way to god, as it says in the bible. Not as a human being, but as a heavenly high priest interceding for us to god. This is why Fox believed there was no need for an earthly ordained clergy, as he already saw one in Jesus. The god with whom they strove to have a personal relationship was the god of the bible, the god of the children of Israel, of the apostles, not an unknown deity simply comprised of love. God cannot be separated from Jesus in this context, unless you deny the new testament, as seen in Judaism, or you believe in a different version of the creator, which is not what they did.
Jesus is not just a prophet but is above all the Messiah, who is both human and divine. Jesus came to restore our connection to God through his death on the cross and resurrection from the dead. He gives us the Holy Spirit that we may have a direct connection with God who becomes our Father in heaven and we become His children.
Devemos crer em JESUS CRISTO O SENHOR DA GLÓRIA COMO ÚNICO E SUFICIENTE SALVADOR e em seus Santos Ensinos.
George Fox is one of my ancestors
SpiderNerd Gaming I went to school with Johnny Hopkins... Sloan Kettery too.. 😂😂
I think I am one without even knowing
Here after watching Vision Video's Hariot Tubman animation, where a slave enforcer made a "quaker" remark. And I was curious.
Lot of good info here - particularly liked the break down of the usted vs. tu forms. Well stated.
However, you seem to have confused Quakers with Shakers. The term Quaker originates to 1650 when George Fox was arrested and tried in Darbye (Derby), England. Two magistrates presided over his trial: Gervase Bennet and Nathaniel Barton.
During the trial, Fox is said to have protested to the Magistrates that they would "tremble" at the word of the Lord. Bennet is credited with the quick-witted response that the only "Quaker" in the court was Fox. The pejorative term stuck and the Religious Society of Friends has forever been known as the Quakers.
The Shakers were also an English denomination - but did not form until 1747. That term - was a pejorative for the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing. Talk about a mouthful! Occasionally they are referred to as the "Shaking Quakers" but are not associated with the Religious Society of Friends.
I never knew that thee/thou was the informal way. I always thought it was more formal.
Quakerism is beautiful. If only more people would take the religion to heart.
Lake Michigan Yes, such could be wonderful.
As Einstein said: “If I were not a Jew, I would be a Quaker.” (Einstein: the life and times by Ronald W. Clark, World Pub. Co., NY, 1971, p. 622)
vimeo.com/110877004
Doctrine over dogma is always right
as of prince of deep river god speaks in his words seek ye shall find
Just my opinion on somethings... The problems started to happen when things became centralized I've noticed. God works differently between different people. It's when someone or group went to go and centralize everything. Store all your treasures in heaven and not of this world I've heard... This world, now what's wrong with this world?
Princess Elizabeth was a refugee in holland will Penn was her friend her followers were Menonite they went toPa. To farm. Elizabeth's grandson was king George.
I’m a descendent of John Cox!