Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by James Riemermann on 7th mo. 15, 2009 at 7:22pm

This atheist Friend stands firmly in support of any Christian Friend who is treated disrespectfully or with hostility because of their faith, or who is told that their Christianity makes them less of a Quaker. There's no call for that sort of thing, which can only hurt our religious community. I've heard some other "theologically queer" Friends express similar solidarity with Christian Quakers in this thread, and in many other conversations.

That said, I want to add a little perspective. While I do acknowledge with regret that Christian Friends have at times been treated badly for their faith, I have personally never seen or heard it in my monthly meeting, and only a very few times on the internet. (Let me make a distinction here—expressing views contrary to another’s faith, or noting the obvious fact that institutional Christianity has been used to many wicked ends, is not in and of itself disrespectful or intolerant of Christians, any more than expressing Christian views is in and of itself disrespectful of non-Christians.)

On the other hand, I have heard the legitimacy of nontheist and non-Christian Friends questioned and even flat-out denied, dozens of times in comments and articles on this web site and many other Quaker web sites and blogs. This is not a rarity but a significant public thread in online Quaker conversation, right up there with the more noble aspects of “convergence”.

I also should say that I have heard a larger number of Christian and theist Friends speaking with openness, love and tolerance toward nontheist and non-Christian Friends, and I am deeply grateful for that support.

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