Is it time, Friends, that Quakerism had its own scriptures? Not, mind you, to replace, let alone supplant, the Bible; though, in a real sense, the New Testament replaced the understandings and practices of the Old; and, the Protestant Bible, with the help of the Jewish canon, supplanted the Roman Catholic one. I'm suggesting prophetic messages, like those infrequently blessing Quaker Meetings these days.

Not taking anything away from the Quaker testimonies as our Tradition, are there…

When I got my driver's license, someone gave me this piece of advice: Remember that you're handling something that is as much a weapon as it is a convenience. At the time, I considered it an inconvenient truth. Yet, nowhere have I valued that advice more than getting on or off a highway. Unlike some drivers, I offer a signal of my intention, slow or speed up to accomodate the flow of traffic, and, most significantly, merge, not blend, with the other cars.

As Quakers on our way to…

Had occasion to recall a dog that I used to walk. Normally, she was well-behaved and a joy to take to the park. One day, however, this good dog showed a quite different side to her regular disposition. She pulled and pulled and would not stop when I told her to heel. After several attempts at same, I was forced to yank her leash and propel her anxiousness backwards.

Apparently, a dog can forget about the person at the other end of the leash.

Now, what about dog spelled…

Anyone who pays an electric bill knows that it's necessary for keeping a household or business connected to power. Anyone who expects flowers, plants and crops to grow knows that a certain amount of sunlight is necessary. Anyone, then, knows the danger of entropy - the loss or diminishment of energy from outside of a system that causes the system to lapse.

More and more scientist, actually physical cosmologists, are warning that the energy of the universe is dissipating as it gets…

Ted Peters in his book, "Sin: Radical Evil in Soul and Society", writes, "Identifying ourselves with the good is called self-justification. Identifying others with evil is called scapegoating. The two fit together like a nut and a bolt." Is there a difference between identifying Christ's merits as my justification and identifying myself as being justified by faith? Are not both suppositions an attempt at self-justification?

When Jesus told his followers, "...apart from me, you can do…

All Quakers should know from our history that William Penn, being of an aristocratic and military family, carried a sword as part of his family's investiture. So when Penn became a Quaker, he asked George Fox if he should "quit" it, as the expression went. Contrary to the staunch image that many ascribed to Fox, George told William to carry his sword until he could no longer do so.

Am I wrong to equate Quaker evangelicals with this account of William Penn? Are you not of a noble and…