Quaker Podcasts: Recent Episodes
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Hello QuakerQuakers,
An update to my email about the migration of QuakerQuaker: when I began the design this process, I divided the work into three stages and am happy to report the first two are largely done. Thank you to everyone who helped out last month with well-wishes and donations to the effort!
The new draft website still looks really empty and bare, so much so that I'm not going to even point anyone to it. But it is taking shape. The next step will be buying the…
Hi QuakerQuaker fans,
It's time to start the migration of QuakerQuaker to a new online platform. It started on Ning in almost 15 years ago. That's forever in internet years!
The first stage will be archiving the conversations currently on QuakerQuaker. There are many year's worth of great blog posts and invaluable discussion threads. A recent tool built to examine the source material for all the new AI chat bots found that QuakerQuaker is the internet's second largest online…
Jesus Christ and the awareness of the of the continuous presence of the Holy Spirit in the mind and hearts of people hacks the reflective nature and the religious, political, educational, and commercial agencies and agents the dialectical world order manifests.
When the visitation of the spirit of Jesus Christ is revealed in the conscious awareness of people, it happens they are drawn out of the cycle of dialect narration to guide their relations and affairs. It is discovered to them…
I am thrilled to share that Friends United Press is going to publish my collection of sermons by the 19th-century Orthodox Quaker minister Murray Shipley!
It will take some time before the book is available, but you can follow my new Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/sabrinadarnowskyauthor) or website (https://sabrinadarnowsky.com/) for updates!
As part of the rethinking of QuakerQuaker, I've started a QuakerQuaker account on Mastodon. Known best as a "Twitter alternative," it's a micro-blogging site that is much more open than Twitter. In November I wrote a post on my personal blog, Quakers on Mastodon, which is a good place to start if you're interested in learning more.
-Martin
I'm not one to make New Years resolutions most of the time but it seems as if modernizing QuakerQuaker should be one for 2023. While it still boasts over 3,700 members, it's built on Ning, a long-outdated and semi-abandoned platform that has any number of frustrating technical limitations. QuakerQuaker isn't used as much as it should be, even by its members.
Reimagining QuakerQuaker and setting up the tools to make it work will cost some money. Please consider funding QuakerQuaker and its evolution for 2023, either as a monthly donation or a one-time gift. Also I'm open to emails with ideas about what you'd like to see (I'm imagining something that's more modest but also more used).
In Friendship,
Martin Kelley for QuakerQuaker
Aristides (120)
“Whatever Christians would not wish others to do to them, they do not to others. And they comfort their oppressors and make them their friends; they do good to their enemies. Through love towards their oppressors, they persuade them to become Christians.”
Justin Martyr (100-165)“We who formerly used to murder one another do not only now refrain from making war upon our enemies, but also, that we may not lie nor deceive our examiners, willingly die confessing Christ. We who were filled with war, and mutual slaughter, and every wickedness, have each through the whole earth changed our warlike weapons,— our swords into plowshares, and our spears into implements of tillage, — and we cultivate piety, righteousness, philanthropy, faith, and hope, which we have from the Father Himself through Him who was crucified.”"We do not wage war against our enemies.""We will not ask you to punish our oppressors. Their present wickedness is sufficient punishment."
George Fox–– I…denied the drawing of carnal weapons against…any man on earth; for my weapons are spiritual, which take away the occasion of war, and lead to peace.
1660 Declaration to Charles II We utterly deny all outward wars and strife and fightings with outward weapons, for any end or under any pretense whatsoever. And this is our testimony to the whole world. The spirit of Christ, by which we are guided, is not changeable, so as once to command us from a thing as evil and again to move unto it; and we do certainly know, and so testify to the world, that the spirit of Christ, which leads us into all Truth, will never move us to fight and war against any man with outward weapons, neither for the kingdom of Christ, nor for the kingdoms of this world.
Menno Simons–– All Christians are commanded to love their enemies… Tell me, how can a Christian defend Scripturally retaliation, rebellion, war, striking, slaying, torturing, stealing, robbing and plundering and burning cities and conquering countries?
“What is the duty of Salvationists at such a crisis? … One thing is plain―every true soldier of The Salvation Army would cry day and night to God to avert so dreadful a calamity. Let him shut his ears to all the worldly, unscriptural, unchristian talk about war being a necessity. It cannot be a necessity before God that tens of thousands of men should be launched into eternity with all manner of revengeful passionate feelings in their souls … Whatever may be the right method of settling human disputes and preventing earthly calamities, this cannot be the divine plan. This cannot be the will of God.” ~ William Booth
God is love (I John 4:16)
"For love overcomes, and builds up and unites all the members of Christ to him, the Head; for love keeps out of all strife, and is of God; and love and charity never fail, but keep the mind above all outward things, or strife about outward things; and is that which overcomes evil, and casts out all false fears; and is of God, and unites all the hearts of His people together in the heavenly joy, concord, and unity." ~ George Fox
"We must not have Christ Jesus, the Lord of life, put any more in a stable amongst the horses and asses; but he must now have the best chamber, the heart..." ~ George Fox
But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2:19).
"And you may see...how Mary wrapped Christ in swaddling clothes, and how tender she was of the heavenly birth, conceived by the Holy Ghost. And must all true and tender Christians, that receive Him in the Spirit... She kept all the sayings that were spoken of Christ, and pondered them in her heart. And so should every true Christian."
She...laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn (Luke 2:7).
"And there the shepherds found him swaddled, lying in a manger. A poor entertainment for the Saviour of the world, and King of kings, and Lord of lords..."
For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich (II Corinthians 8:9).
"Now here you see the Son of God, and the Lord of glory, what entertainment He had at His birth, amongst them that were in the pomp of the world. You know a manger is in a stable, where you feed your horses in. And who were Mary and Christ's visitors, but the country shepherds that watched their flocks by night... Oh! the proud and lofty ones might say, this place was good enough; there was no room within for a carpenter's wife and her son..."
“We are up to the hilt advocates for peace, and we earnestly war against war. I wish that Christian men would insist more and more on the unrighteousness of war, believing that Christianity means no sword, no cannon, no bloodshed, and that, if a nation is driven to fight in its own defence, Christianity stands by to weep and to intervene as soon as possible, and not to join in the cruel shouts which celebrate an enemy’s slaughter. . . . Today, then, my brethren, I beg you to join with me in seeking renewal.”From An All-Round Ministry, (Charles Spurgeon’s Annual Conference Addresses at the Pastors College), “A New Departure.” [SIXTEENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE, Spring 1880]
Nonresistance Library
Tolstoy Library
These collections have been provided kindly by Tom Lock from his archived site nonresistance.org.
"For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious."
(II Corinthians 3:11)
"The law woundeth, but the gospel healeth, and is glad tidings and good news. The law condemneth: and the gospel delivereth. And Moses accuseth: but Christ defendeth. And Moses condemneth; but Christ pardoneth. The law restraineth the hands: but the gospel restraineth the hands and the mind. And the law condemneth: but Christ saveth."
§1. Chrysostom and the putting away of the immediacy of Christ's presence. Draft 1
"It were indeed meet for us not at all to require the aid of the written word, but to exhibit a life so pure, that the Grace of the Spirit should be instead of books to our souls, and that as these are inscribed with ink, even so should our hearts be with the spirit. But since we have utterly put away from us this Grace, come, let us at any rate embrace the second best course."
John Chrysostom, in this prelude to his homilies on the Gospel of Matthew, laid down these words around 390 years after the birth of Jesus Christ and the dispensation of the Holy Spirit permeating human being and human affairs.
His words document, to the "blame" of the christened, a moment in the history of the consciousness of the Christened wherein he could confidently state "we" (the Christened) "have utterly put away" the Grace of the Holy Spirit experienced as sufficient in itself to guide and inform without the need of the reflective nature through the agency of the written word.
With these words, Chrysostom marks and acknowledges both the reality of a consciousness and conscience guided solely by the immediate presence of the Spirit of Jesus Christ and the turning away from that grace by the christened.
It is a surprise to me how readily he accepts this "blame" and gathers his reader's attention to the embracement of the reflective nature stating "But since we have utterly put away from us this Grace, come let us at any rate embrace the second best course." Whereupon he leads his readers into the process of reflection upon the Gospel of Matthew to aid their spiritual being as the "second best" alternative to the living experience of the immediate and continuous presence of the spirit of Jesus Christ as sufficient in itself to teach, aid, and guide them in matters of human relations.
This compelling and powerful mark, in the consciousness of the christened, documents a moment in time wherein a leading figurehead of the church purposefully led the Christened into engagement with the reflective nature to nurture their spirituality through the agency of the written word, even as he states:
"Reflect then, how great an evil it is, for us, who ought to live so purely, as not even to need written words, but to yield up our hearts, as books, to the spirit; now that we have lost that honour, and are come to have need of these, to fail again in duly employing even this second remedy. For if it be a blame to stand in need of written words, and not to have brought down on ourselves the grace of the spirit ..."
Even in the light of his recognition that the Grace of the Holy Spirit as sufficient in itself to rule and guide without the need of the written word is a "lost honour," he can see no other recourse than embracing the reflective nature which is the very cause of the "evil" and "blame" which draws the Christened away from the "honour" of the living Grace of the Holy Spirit itself as guide without the agency of the reflective nature and its agent the written word.
While it is not mine to judge whether the embracement of the reflective nature through its agent the written word is a valid "second course," I can say, through the personal experience of the inshining awareness of the spirit of Christ in my consciousness and conscience, that the honor of the Grace of the living continuous and immediate presence of the Holy Spirit itself as sufficient in itself outside the need of the written word through the agency of the reflective nature is not a lost honor. It is alive today and was not lost at the time of Chrysostom's writing. The renewal of our intellect, saturated in the presence of Jesus Christ, draws human being out of bondage to the agency of the reflective nature and lights our way itself.
The Gadarene demoniac (Mark 5:1-20) is the subject of a new post at Abiding Quaker patradallmann.com The following paragraph is an excerpt from the essay:Because the man has not shirked or hidden the truth of his condition from himself, he is able to likewise see the Truth when it appears outwardly, “afar off.” Truth as it is in Jesus, he recognizes and runs to worship (6). The man’s openness to receiving Truth and Life – when he appears – is proportionate to his having consciously endured their prior absence. Though suffering, the man remained faithful to the truth.
I like the approach of quakerquaker.org to connect people. But I think it is time that quakerquaker.org moves to Mastodon. Why? There are many reasons:
- The layout of quakerquaker.org is old and hard to use on mobile devices.
- There is no multi factor authentication.
- There are no mobile apps
The advantages that Mastodon brings:
- It is easy to follow people.
- It is decentralized but still easy to connect with other communities.…
Hello Friends.
Months ago, I indicated that I would be releasing our book, Jesus Christ MBA: A Gospel for Our Times,chapter-by-chapter on QuakerQuaker.Well, plans often change, and the full book was just released last week. Please see the flyer, attached below. Wishing you well, Donn
Jesus Christ, M.B.A.: A Gospel for Our Times
by Donn Weinholtz Illustrated by David Weinholtz.
An…
And my desires are, that you may dwell in the love that can bear all things. And keep the word of patience, which will never be worn out; for the word liveth, and abideth, and endureth for ever, and over all trials keeps.
C.H. Spurgeon— The spirit of war is at the extremely opposite point to the spirit of the gospel.
I wish that Christian men would insist more and more on the unrighteousness of war,…
...You who profess the light, faith, grace, and spirit of Christ, and the pure undefiled religion before God the Father, are to keep yourselves unspotted from the world, and to bridle your tongues from evil words, which corrupt good manners; the light of Christ Jesus letteth you see the spots of the world; and the grace of God will teach you to deny…
D.L. Moody— There has never been a time in my life when I felt that I could take a gun and shoot down a fellow being. In this respect I am a Quaker.…
Why did Jesus say we should pray specifically — that God will not lead us into temptation?
Outside of Christianity, this isn't an issue. Elsewhere in the New Testament, it even says this isn't possible. Yet Jesus implied it in 'The Lord's Prayer, his model example of how his followers should pray: "... lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
Were we intended to limit that prayer to ceremonial use in church services? Elsewhere, Jesus suggested…
Google Earth model of Multnomah Meeting by Lew Scholl (link)
(former Masonic Temple on the right -- used during the 2nd major remodel)
For those wishing to catch up on all the changes in our region among the many churches and meetings, I recommend this…
I initially posted this on Facebook and then my blog that no one reads (ha). I thought I'd share it here.
When I tell people I'm a Quaker, some of my friends ask me "What's Quaker?" The tendency is to go into history. We were colonizers who had a different but still problematic relationship with the Natives and who sought to establish a different, tolerant colony in the New World. I could point to how we differed on the holding of slaves but eventually came to…
This was my reply to a post in Friendly Letter about recorded ministry. Many think Friends don't have ministers but that's a modern development. We used to have them. They weren't pastors but they did serve the meeting. The meeting had…
Jesus Christ was crucified through the agency of the reflective nature in the form of political and religious powers and principalities and the human instrumentalities of the thought-entities manifested through the reflective nature.
Politics is the use of and possession by the reflective nature to guide, inform, manage, and influence human relations and public affairs through the agency of political institutions and the human instrumentalities of the thought-entities…
Hello, Friends.
I’ve written a new book that may interest you. Friendly Leadership is now available. You can read more about it, and order copies at: …
P.S. Jesus Christ MBA: A Gospel for Our Times is complete, but will not be published for several months. I won't be posting any more chapters, here.
The spirit of Jesus Christ is come and in Christ's presence I am drawn out of the reflective nature and drawn into the direct awareness of the increase and decrease of the intensity of Christ's presence as the faculty through which my interactions and relationships are guided.
In the presence of Christ, I am not of the reflective nature and do not participate or engage in the reflective process, or own the thought-entities manifested through the reflective nature, to guide and…
♥ My Sacred Space
I take a breath
I find a place
Within myself
My sacred space
I close my eyes
I quiet my mind
Be by myself where I will find…
- Race is the great taboo in our society. We are afraid to talk about it. White folks fear their unspoken views will be deemed racist. People of color are filled with sorrow and rage at unrighted wrongs. Drowning in silence, we are brothers and sisters drowning each other. Once we decide to transform ourselves from fearful caterpillars into courageous butterflies, we will be able to bridge the racial gulf and move forward together towards a bright and colorful…
Dear Friends, as an ongoing work appearantly valiant? Our (global) history will proffer solution oriented pioneers and gems of truth that might need exploration and new light on old light.
At hand is volume one friends journal 1837. I am using a copy from Multnomah MM library. As covid influenza or the rascal nucleic acid with a protein shell hit the fan. I knew library access would be almost prohibited. I took the book knowing I would read it and return once our journey of…
Awareness of the inshining presence of the spirit of Jesus Christ guides and informs my relationships and interactions. This awareness of the Spirit’s presence seated in my consciousness and conscience and the experience of its relative intensity through awareness of the increase or diminishment of the light of the spirit is, in itself, the faculty which anchors my consciousness and informs my conscience. In the power and presence of the spirit of Christ, the faculty of reason or…
Exhibit: bfi.org/synergetics
Me on Quaker-P, May 14 2005 "What Every Quaker Should Know":
This is the geometry curriculum I'd like to see phased in to Quaker schools (not to displace all of what's already there, but in a way that supplements and complements). And Bucky himself: twas an…
Well I see my last post was in April in 2021. A lot as happened since then. I sold my house in Kamloops BC last December and bought a new home in Alberta 5 miles from my eldest daughters family. I now see my grandchildren often and even teach them with some home schooling. I live on an acreage east of Rocky Mountain House. I have lots of pasture for some stock and good black soil for my new veg garden this spring.Although no longer living in the mountains I have a lovely view of them from my…
In the Coastal Mountain Range
The other day I was wading in a stream that runs through a dingle nestled in the coastal mountains along Oregon's south coast. I was there to observe American Dippers as they gleaned food by diving beneath the surface of the stream. It was a cool and dark down in the dingle. Yet, the sun illuminated the top of the mountains as its bright light slowly descended down the face of the wooded ridge and filled the dampened dingle first with a tawniness…
Today the presence of the spirit of Christ is discovering to me a life in the presence of the immanent being of God itself ... drawn out of the reflective nature and into the holy nature as sufficient in itself to guide and inform human relationships and interactions
Bucky Fuller is credited for popularizing a lot of memes, some of which developed into full-fledged physical artifacts, such as the geodesic domes, which blossomed everywhere in architecture, most impressively on the industrial scene, but also in the form of do-it-yourself affordable shelter solutions.
However "the industry industry missed" (Archibald MacLeish) is still…
Both my parents were convinced Friends, thanks to deep discussions they'd been having with their peers at a YWCA closely associated with the University of Washington, where they met. Jack was a Seattle native whereas Carol was a precocious kid at Garfield High, her dad an itinerant Linotype operator.
Dad was having conscientious objections to the university's compulsory ROTC gun training. Mom would later join the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). All that…
The world is ruled by the faculty of the reflective nature. Human relations are guided and informed by and through the agency of political, religious, educational, commercial, industrial, and economic institutions and the individual agents of those institutions. Those who have been drawn outside the reflective nature and into the direct rule of the spirit of Christ in the conscience, often find that the agencies and agents of the reflective nature will seek to force those in the intuitive…
There are people who testify to the witness of how the Holy Spirit leads them to minister (guide and inform human relations) to others through the faculty of the reflective nature; manifested in their reflecting upon other people and circumstances through political and religious intellectual constructs. I am drawn into a different way.
Through the power and presence of the spirit of Jesus Christ in my conscience and…
Hi QuakerQuakers,
When the idea for QuakerQuaker started bubbling up back in the summer of 2005, it was seen as a place for Quakers from across the branches of Friends to come together with curious seekers and Quaker-adjacent spiritual folks to talk about what "primitive Christianity" might look like today. The phrase was lifted from William Penn—you might think of it as his elevator pitch, or summary of what the Quaker movement was trying to do. Blogging was in its golden age and a…
We live in social contexts (the world over) wherein human relations are guided, informed, and governed by the reflective nature through the agency of political, religious, educational, and economic institutional structures and the individual agents of those institutions. There is a different way wherein human relations are guided through the agency of the direct and continous experience of the spirit of Jesus Christ in the conscience and consciousness. In this indwelling experience, people are…
From Brethren Life and Thought by Joel Shenk: "People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered; Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you…
Quoted by Leah Chang in a review of James Kugel's The Great Shift on Amazon: "I don't know You, God because I am in the way. Please help me push myself aside"
Sponsored by Philadelphia Orthodox Friends. In the mission school's later years, it was staffed almost entirely by Ohio Conservative Friends. Eventually, it was closed and the area was intentionally…
Pastor J.D. Greaer, who just stepped down as the presiding officer of the Southern Baptist Convention, answered the question of what Christian Phariseeism looks like;' to wit, "It happens when we take a gospel nonessential like a cultural or stylistic preference … or our political calculus and we give it divine weight".
How do Friends measure up against this query?