I AM A QUAKER

I am a Quaker because they believe that there is ‘that of God’ in everyone.  They are usually adventurous and open to other approaches, religious, atheist, or anything in-between.  These include other Quaker branches that are conservative, evangelical and universalist.  I align with the liberal Quaker approach which does not proselytize – not pressurizing one’s beliefs on others or bothering much about dogma either – even though this occludes opportunities to share one’s religious perspective and ‘good news’.

Quakerism is ‘quantum’ – you can be many things at the same time, have contradictions, and still be accepted.  As a ‘non-theist’ Quaker (in the minority), I have difficulty believing anything supernatural and struggle with what ‘God’ means.  But Quakers realize ‘truth’ is a deeply personal and evolving thing and, you never know, one might be mistaken.

I am a Quaker because I admire how well other Quakers listen, seek to understand and deal with nuance, accept diversity, are humble and curious, and prophetic and grounded.  Because they recognize and celebrate that spiritual paths evolve and, perhaps more than getting to any end, they try to do their imperfect best in the here and now.