'Q' is for Quaking: Charismatic and Pentecostal Aspects of the Quaker Way
1. Introduction
A
radical and life-changing experience of spiritual transformation acted as the
catalyst for the emergence of the Quaker movement. For those involved, this
appeared to be a replaying of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out on
the apostles establishing a church guided by the presence of the risen Christ
(Dobbs 1995, p.2). A dramatic experience of Christ appearing in their midst
convinced early Friends that the true church was reappearing after centuries of
apostasy (Wilcox 1995, p.3) and many Quakers saw these conversions in terms of
Paul’s dramatic encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus
(Damrosch 1996, p.108). The revelation of Christ brought a spiritual crisis in
which the sinful and apostate heart was condemned (Wilcox 1995, p.79) and a
sense of joyful liberation was achieved. Everything that is distinctive about
the Quaker way developed out of a response to this experience and the efforts
of early Friends to make sense of it.
2. Quaking
The
Pentecostal nature of the early Quaker movement was revealed in the charismatic
behaviour of its adherents. Rosemary Moore has argued that more than anything
else it was the charismatic nature of their early worship that distinguished
Quakers from other radical sects with which they shared many ideas (Moore 2000,
p.75). Douglas Gwyn has noted that early Quaker worship was “strongly
emotional, filled with dread, punctuated with inchoate sounds of sobbing,
groaning, sighing and impromptu singing” (Gwyn 2006, p.122). The most enduring
legacy of this charismatic behaviour was the name given to the movement ‘in
scorn’. The quaking and trembling that gave Quakers their name was the result
of their inward spiritual experience (Barbour 1964, p.99). For early Friends,
Quaking represented a decisive manifestation of the prophetic power described
in the Bible (Damrosch 1996, p.34). God’s presence in worship was not revealed
through human speech but rather through quaking (Moore 2000, p.144).
3. Signs and Wonders
Another
effect of the Pentecostal outpouring of the Spirit in the early Quaker movement
was the performing of signs and wonders including healings (Dobbs 1995, p.47).
Fox and early Friends believed that miracles were a product of being in harmony
with the whole of creation so that inner fruitfulness produced outer fruitfulness
(Damrosch 1996, p.157). Fox in particular was seen to have healing powers and
accounts of his healings were carefully recorded even if they were later
suppressed when Quakers wanted to play down the ‘enthusiasm’ of the early
movement. Having rejected all outward ceremony and liturgy, the prophetic sign,
based on the model of the Hebrew prophets became one of the principle means for
early Friends to express their inward spiritual experiences externally.
Examples of this include ‘going naked as a sign’ and James Nayler’s prophetic
re-enactment of Jesus entry into Jerusalem in 1656 at Bristol.
4. Links to Other Charismatic Groups
It
might be argued that, based on their quaking, signs and wonders the early
Quaker movement was a precursor of contemporary charismatic Christianity. In
her book Holiness: The Soul of Quakerism:
an historical analysis of the theology of holiness in the Quaker tradition, Carole
Dale Spencer traces the links between early Friends and the modern Pentecostal
churches via Wesleyan Methodism. These links are also made by Paul Alexander in
his essay Historical and Theological Origins
of Assemblies of God Pacifism in the journal Quaker
Theology (number 12, Fall-Winter, 2005/6). This essay is available on line
- http://quakertheology.org/issue-12-alexander-1.htm. Finally, in an
interesting development in the UK, Quaker scholar Benjamin Wood is currently
pursuing a research project aimed at developing an ecumenical theology for
Quakers and Pentecostals.
5. Gifts of the Spirit and Living the Way of
Jesus
For
early Friends, the most important dimension of the experience of baptism in the
Spirit was that it led to a regenerated life; one in which people found
themselves brought into right relationship with God, with other people and with
the whole creation. The charismatic phenomenon of Quaking was a manifestation
of the work of the power of God within them but the real fruit of the process
was a new life. We can see this emphasis reflected in the New Testament
writings.
Following
the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-21), the disciples do
appear to have undertaken signs and wonders (Acts 2:43). However, the biblical
text suggests that, a new way of living that reflected the way of Jesus was of
greater significance. For these early disciples, this included sharing all
possessions in common, giving to the poor and needy, worshipping together,
eating together and seeking to live in harmony with all people:
Life among the Believers
Awe came upon everyone,
because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in
common; they would sell their
possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the
temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the
people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being
saved. Acts
2:43-47 (NRSV)
In
his letter to the Galatians, Paul makes it clear that the fruits of the Spirit
are to be found in a different way of living. Again, this reflects the way of
Jesus. He lists these fruits as love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control:
But if you are led by the
Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication,
impurity, licentiousness, idolatry,
sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am
warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit
the kingdom of God.
The Fruits of the Spirit
By contrast, the fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law
against such things. Galatians
5:18-23 (NRSV)
This suggests that
charismatic behaviour such as quaking has little or no value when it is
separated from the formation of a new life based on an active commitment to
justice, peace and mercy.
6. Charismatic Aspects of Contemporary
Quakerism
It would seem that the
charismatic aspects of early Friends live on in the faith and practice of
contemporary Quakers in various parts of the world, particularly in the Global
South. Recently, members of the US-based Friends
of Jesus Fellowship (a ‘convergent’ experiment in the formation of new
Quaker communities) have also begun to explore and reflect upon the charismatic
and Pentecostal dimensions of the Quaker way. I have provided links below to
the blog pages of Hye Sung Francis Gehring and Micah Bales as good examples of
this interesting development:
Hye Sung Francis Gehring - https://hyesungfrancis.wordpress.com/
Micah Bale - http://www.micahbales.com/quakers-speak-in-tongues/
7. George Fox’s Defence of Quaking
The
opponents of early Friends used lurid accounts of charismatic behaviour within
meetings for worship to dismiss the movement as an outrageous and dangerous
example of religious enthusiasm. The label ‘Quaker’ was initially applied to
Friends as a term of abuse. In response to this, early Quaker leaders felt
compelled to defend their quaking. George Fox does this in his 1660 tract To All the Nations under the
Whole Heavens. Using examples drawn from the Bible he argues
that, throughout history, the true people of God have always quaked and
trembled in the power of God.
I have produced a modern English paraphrase of this
tract which is set out below.
To
All the Nations under the Whole Heavens - George Fox (1660)
A Modern English Paraphrase
And to everyone who preaches from the Bible but
does not know the spiritual Truth and so leave others in ignorance of both the
living Spirit and the Bible. This is a message from the people who are
disrespectfully called Quakers because they tremble at the word of God in their
hearts. The Old Testament and the New Testament show that this is the way holy
people have always responded to God’s revelation.
Everyone listen! All the true prophets and teachers
of the Bible had an intimate relationship with God. Those who do not have the
direct experience of the Spirit that the apostles enjoyed know nothing of the
ways of God. All the clergy and teachers who lack this intimate relationship
with God and preach for money that comes from tithes, deceive people and
prevent them from experiencing the Spirit of God within them. This is
wickedness because they block the way to salvation.
Ephraim
was a Quaker! Ephraim was a great and respected man in Israel but, when he
spoke God’s word, he trembled (Hosea 13:1). Likewise, through
the prophet Joel, the Lord proclaims that at the Day of the Lord, all the inhabitants
of the earth will tremble (Joel 2:1) God expects
everyone to be a Quaker!
Despite this, however, many people condemn quaking.
Clearly this means that they haven’t experienced God’s Spirit working within
them. The Lord condemns such people. They should beware, because the Day of the
Lord is coming and they are estranged from God. When this day arrives, the
earth will quake and all people will tremble. Christ, the seed has replaced the
outward law and all the old ways. In the power of Christ, the earth trembles, the heavens are
pulled apart and water falls from the sky (Judges 5:4).
The
prophet Ezekiel was a Quaker! The Lord commanded
him to eat his bread with quaking and drink his water with trembling as a sign
to the people of Israel (Ezekiel 12:18-19). Through the prophet, the people
were commanded to tremble with fear for the Lord (Ezekiel 38:20).
The prophet Daniel was a Quaker! He trembled,
became breathless and lost all his strength when the angel spoke to him (Daniel
10:10-17).
Habakkuk
was a Quaker! When he heard the voice of God his belly trembled, his lips
quivered and he shook all over (Habakkuk 3:16).
Solomon
says that, at the Day of the Lord, those who watch over the house will tremble
and the strong men will bow down. Everyone must experience this quaking in the
power of the Lord if they are to enter the kingdom of heaven (Ecclesiastes 12:3).
Isaac was a Quaker! He trembled
violently and he was a faithful servant of the Lord (Genesis 27:33).
Moses was a Quaker! He quaked in fear when God
spoke to him in the burning bush and when he pleaded to the Lord on behalf of
his people (Deuteronomy 9:19/Hebrews 12:21).
The
people of Moab trembled in the face of God’s chosen people (Exodus 15:15/Acts
7:32). Those who disobey the Lord will shake like a leaf and lose all their
power (2 Samuel 22:7-8). Therefore no-one should criticise those who quake in
the power of the Lord.
King
David was a Quaker! In the psalm he said that, when God heard his cry, the
earth trembled and quaked (Psalm 18:6-7) and he stated that the heavens and the
earth shake in the presence of God (Psalm 97:3-5). David also proclaimed that
his flesh trembled in fear and awe of the Lord (Psalm 119:120). David was a
Quaker who loved the testimony of God in his heart. Eventually everyone must
come to this experience even if they don’t know it yet.
Isaiah
tells us that God looks favourably upon those who are humble, who recognise
their wrong-doing and who tremble at the word of the Lord (Isaiah 66:2 &
5). So, the lord looks favourably on all humble and contrite Quakers!
In the
Book of Job we are told that Eliphaz the Temanite trembled and his hair stood
on end when God spoke to him (Job 4:14-15). And Job himself
states that in the power of the Lord the pillars of the earth tremble (Job
9:5-6). Are we not all called to be Quakers? Those who are wicked and scoff at
us for Quaking will come to realise this.
Christ is far stronger than the strongest men (Matthew
12:29). He has come to overcome the darkness and evil within people. If you
want to enter the kingdom of heaven, you must allow Christ to overcome the
strong man in you. In this process you will have an experience of quaking as
your salvation is worked out in fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). When
this happens you will no longer despise Quakers. Instead, you will become one
of them. When God raises us up in glory, those who scoff will be proven wrong.
“But the Lord is the true God; he is the
living God, and an everlasting king. At his wrath the earth shall tremble, and
the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation” (Jeremiah 10:10). Those
of you who mock the Quakers, are you willing to face God’s judgement? Your
resistance and disobedience will be overcome by the Lord (Jeremiah 4:24, 26). All
those who quake in the power of the Lord are God’s people. Everyone who resists
God and his people will be defeated.
If you would like to read the original tract,
use this link to the Earlham School of Religion Digital Collection:
8. References
Barbour,
Hugh (1964) The Quakers in Puritan England (Yale
University Press)
Damrosch,
L (1996) The Sorrows of the Quaker Jesus: James
Nayler and the Puritan
crackdown on the free spirit (Harvard University Press)
Dobbs,
Jack (2006) Authority and the Early Quakers (Martin Hartog)
Fox, George (1975) The
Works of George Fox, eight volumes (AMS Press)
Gwyn,
Douglas (2006) The Covenant Crucified: Quakers and the Rise
of Capitalism
(Quaker Books)
Moore,
Rosemary (2000) The Light in their Consciences: Faith, Practices, and Personalities
in Early British Quakerism, 1646 -1666 (Pennsylvania State
University Press)
Spencer,
Carole. (2007) Holiness:
The Soul of Quakerism (Paternoster Press)
Wilcox,
Catherine (1995) Theology
and Women’s Ministry in Seventeenth Century English
Quakerism (Edwin Mellen Press)
Amen. The staid WASP middle class sense of decorum which afflicts much of Quakerism in the Western world is not true to the original spirit of Quakerism. It is a pale shadow of it. The period I spend attending a charismatic church opened me up to the breadth of ways the move of the Holy Spirit can be reflected in worship. And the pastor of the church I attended had written a book (Floods upon a Dry Ground by Charles Schmidt) about charismatic movements through Christian history, and included early Friends in the book.
ReplyDeleteThank you Bill I agree. My main caveat is that, unlike many Pentecostal/Charismatic Christians, I do not believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are primarily a marker of personal salvation. Rather, the Spirit's transformative power leads us to the way of Jesus. This must include a rejection of violence, a concern for the powerless and outcast and a commitment to building God's kingdom on earth. Shalom, Stuart.
ReplyDeletePS - Bill, thanks for the reference. I have just ordered a book called 'Ecstatic Prophecy' by Stacey and Wesley Campbell. This also has a chapter on Quakers.
ReplyDeleteThere are other pentecostal experiences of men and women both in the Hebrew Scriptures and other faiths traditions of people who too were filled with God's presence.The quickening of God presence in the life of Moses and the Prophets allowed these men and women to be God’s spokespersons.The Prophet Jeremiah predicted, “ ‘The time is coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts’ ” (Jeremiah 31:31,32).
ReplyDeleteJesus affirmed this convent is true, not of Judah exclusively, but of humanity universally. Matthew 8 we read,When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, 6 “Lord, my servant is lying paralysed at home, suffering terribly.” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go’, and he goes, and to another, ‘Come’, and he comes, and to my servant,[a] ‘Do this’, and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he marvelled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel[b] have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.
The Roman centurion was not jewish or christian. But mostly likely a pagan.Definitely not a pacifist.Like so many other folks( Samaritan woman at the well) Jesus saw something in this Roman centurion that others did not." Imago Dei" On my reading of Martin Luther he writes,Imago Dei, was the perfect existence of man and woman in the garden: all knowledge, wisdom and justice, and with peaceful and authoritative dominion over all created things in perpetuity. (This sounds strangely familiar to George Fox and early Quakers) Quickening of God presence of the Roman centurion made the gift of healing (charisma of the spirit) possible.
Thank you Paul, I agree!
DeleteNice post! Once more, I repeat Chris Newsom's penetrating query; "where is the quaking?" among contemporary Friends.
ReplyDeleteThank you Bill, it's a good question!
Delete"When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit." When we welcome the other in our lives the word of God within us will leap..We will be filled with spirit and quake.
ReplyDeleteI like that Paul!
ReplyDeleteFor the first Friends, the Holy Spirit was not central but instead was a helper and agent of God and Christ to draw people to Christ. Fox's testimony was that the Father drew him to the Son by his Spirit. Christ is the center, not the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit did not suffer, die, and rise on the third day, an example in history and a type and figure of our inward regeneration.
ReplyDeleteThe first Friends response to Christ was different from the Pentacostal response to the Holy Spirit. Friends were brought into corporate unity as a body who gathered to hear together, obey together, and suffer together for the righteous testimony to Christ. Their theological understanding about God and Christ was unified, and they they were commissioned to reach to that same witness of God in the unredeemed, to bring them into the same gospel power that had transformed themselves. Their church polity, their ministry, their mission, their fellowship, their worship all were responses to Christ among them, teaching them, admonishing them to keep within the daily cross.
You state, Stuart, that for the first Friends "the most important dimension of the experience of baptism in the Spirit was that it led to a regenerated life." In as subtle way, this statement is telling of the overall error of equating the faith of the early Friends with Pentacostalism. A regenerated life was a secondary and outward consequence of first Friends' transforming encounter with Christ, but it wasn't "the most important dimension." The most important dimension was inward: they now had a place to stand; they were established men and women who knew that Life was in the dialogic relationship with their Creator. They had come back into garden from whence they had been banished for disobedience. I can't help but feel that all the focus in Pentacostalism that is given to the ecstatic experience itself is a kind of willful determination to see oneself as "saved," coupled with an hysteric, cathartic forfeiture of reason and conscience. To equate this with the highly integrated and heroic pursuit of Truth that Friends of every century, but particularly the 17th, undertook, is to be misled by superficialities. Yes, they knew the ecstasy of divine encounter, but their aim was right relationship with Christ, not ecstatic experience.
Dear Pat, thank you so much for your comment.
DeleteMy intention was not to equate early Friends with Pentecostal in general terms but rather to highlight a 'family resemblance' between the early Quaker movement and modern Pentecostal/charismatic traditions, much as there is a family resemblance between Anabaptism and Quakerism. The resemblance (or 'aspects' which I think indicates limits to the commonality) does not imply that there are no significant differences. There clearly are (however, as with the case of Anabaptism and Quakerism, the differences between Quakerism and Pentecostalism were probably less clear-cut at the beginning of each movement than later on).
I do not agree that first Friends regarded the Holy Spirit merely as a helper. I believe that their great emphasis on the fulfilment of Joel's prophecy (and the proclamation that 'all flesh, really did mean ALL flesh) as the final stage of creating the new covenant, undermines such a position. Although they were opposed to the 'notional' doctrine of the Trinity, they were Trinitarian in practical terms in that they accepted that God was Father, Son and Spirit. I believe that they were reacting against the down-playing of the Holy Spirit in the Western Christian tradition and in particular in the Calvinism that they were rejecting so vigorously in their time (in this sense they are closer to the Eastern Orthodox view of the Holy Spirit).
I accept your point that for these Friends ecstatic experience was merely an outward manifestation of something far more important (as you say, that was coming into right relationship with Christ). I do not accept that the inward was more important than the outward. The inward encounter and regeneration had to come first (so in this sense it had priority) but this led to a regenerated outward life which in turn led to the transformation of the whole creation. The Spirit indwells the carnal and transforms it. They were apocalyptic, expecting the coming of God's kingdom. I think James Nayler explains this well in his tract 'The Lamb's War Against the Man of Sin':
“The Lamb's quarrel is not against the creation, for then should his weapons be carnal, as the weapons of the worldly spirits are: "For we war not with flesh and blood," nor against the creation of God; that we love; but we fight against the spiritual powers of wickedness, which wars against God in the creation, and captivates the creation into the lust which wars against the soul, and that the creature may be delivered into its liberty prepared for the sons of God. And this is not against love, nor everlasting peace, but that without which can be no true love nor lasting peace”
So, in summary, I agree with the points of difference you highlight between Quakerism and Pentecostalism but still assert that there is an intersting family resemblance between the two movements.
Shalom,
Stuart.
Let me try to explain by way of analogy why I think that superficial similarities do not provide an adequate basis for the claim that original Quaker faith and Pentacostalism bear resemblance to one another.
ReplyDeleteTo many Liberal Friends today there is a strong resemblance between the origins of our faith in the 17th century and Calvinism or Puritanism, because each tradition professes to be Christian. At their root, however, these faiths are substantially different from one another, in spite of similar vocabularies and use of the Bible. The early Friends would find no similarity between these disparate faiths because they understood the distinction between the source (whether from heaven or not) of each as being significant for assessing similarity or difference.
In the same way, the Pharisees did not understand that their faith was different from Abraham's, as superficially they were of the culture that began with Abraham and claimed God as their father. Yet Jesus understood that there was no likeness between the faith of the Pharisees and that of Abraham, in spite of the Pharisees' claim. One could make a case that because of outward similarities of vocabulary, shared Scriptures, etc. there was a resemblance or likeness between these disparate faiths, but it is where the substance lies that determines whether they are like one another or not. The substance of early Quaker faith and the substance of Pentacostalism are different from one another at their root; only in superficialities are there some similarities, which says to me that this eliminates the possibility of claiming any substantial connection.
As for the inward being no more important than the outward, I think the evaluation depends on one's perspective. For the minister who sees the human tendency to focus on the outward in place of the inward, the emphasis must be on the inward transformation, as is shown in the following paragraph from Crisp's sermon, "The Kingdom of God Within." For the theorist who presents an overview of providential design, it would be appropriate to give no more weight to one over the other. We are told to Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all else will be given, which command directs us inward and underscores its importance. From Crisp is the following:
First, inwardly; there is a great inclination in the minds of people, to look more at the operation of God's power in this great work outwardly, that to look at it inwardly, but unto that there must be a daily cross taken up, and it is my business at this time to tell you in the name of the Lord, that your duty and mine is to turn our minds to the working of the power of God in ourselves, and to see that other kingdom of the man of sin weakened and brought down within us; then there is no fear but he will carry on his work outwardly, and we shall see as much of that work as belongs to our generation; but the great matter and chief government of you and me, is to see the kingdom of God set up within us, which stands in holiness and righteousness: Our business is to walk till we see the righteousness of this kingdom set up within us, in our hearts and souls, and to have a real change made.
I always appreciate your writings, Stuart, and usually find them solid. But this idea of resemblance between Quaker faith and Pentacostalism does not ring true, and it seems to me to be promoted now more frequently, perhaps as an attempt to jump-start a stalled Society with an emotional charge.
Dear Pat, maybe we will simply have to agree to disagree about this. I maintain that there is a family resemblance between early Friends through Wesleyan holiness to the early Pentecostal movement. All of these groups, as opposed to more or less all other Western Post-Reformation traditions, give a significant emphasis to the immediate and available power of the Holy Spirit to transform and regenerate people. With regard to the issue of the Holy Spirit, you might like to look at Wilmer Cooper's entry on this matter in the 'Historical Dictionary of Friends (Quakers)' and Stephen Angell's chapter on 'God, Christ and the Light' in the 'Oxford Handbook of Quaker Studies'.
ReplyDeleteI shall look at those pieces, Stuart. You may be interested in listening to a lecture by Lewis Benson titled "The Gospel by John Wesley: Echoes in Modern Evangelical Christianity," which traces the beginning of Pentacostalism to its source in 18th century evangelical Protestantism with its adherents' individualistic, pragmatic pre-occupation with their own souls.I anticipate the file will be posted at the NFF literature site by the end of the month: nffpublicationsusa.org.
ReplyDeleteThank you Pat. I have found Lewis Benson's work very helpful and would agree that the individualistic Protestant perspective dominant in much of the Wesleyan holiness/Pentecostal traditions is not consistent with the way of early Friends. I would argue that there are significant differences between these two strands of our Christian heritage but that there remain some important points of connection ('family resemblances). We cannot deny the significant influence that Wesleyan spirituality and theology has had on the majority of Friends in the world today, whatever our personal view about this might be..
ReplyDeleteTo avoid misunderstanding, I think that it is also worth noting that I am referring to the explicitly charismatic aspects of the Quaker way which were a feature of the first 10 years of the movement. After that, in the context of severe persecution and an increasing focus on campaigning for religious toleration, Friends began to distance themselves from this aspect of their beginnings. Some will argue that this was a loss of radicalism and spiritual fire, others will see it as a movement coming to maturity and a sense of corporate order. I think that it's fair to say that Benson's work on Fox and his vision focuses more on Restoration Quakerism than on the movment in its apocalyptic/charismatic phase (between 1647 and the early 1660s).
ReplyDeleteWhen Friends complain that Quakerism is dying and I want to tweak them, I mention John Wimber. Wimber came out of Friends. The charismatic Vineyard Ministry that he helped found is arguably one of the most significant developments in Christianity, at least in terms of numbers, in the last 40 years. I personally find Wimber interesting because of an experience of a friend I greatly respect. He was working at a venue where Wimber was speaking. Wimber gave a strange message out of the blue - "Someone needs to go immediately to a nearby mall. There's somebody there who needs to talk to you." My friend who was hardly paying attention and whom I would never characterize as charismatic, was convinced that the message was directed at him. He abandoned his job and went to a mall he was unfamiliar with and did indeed meet somebody he knew who desperately needed to talk to him and for whom nobody else could have taken his place.
ReplyDeleteDear Andy, thank you for your comment! I certainly think that Friends need to pay more attention to this aspect of their heritage. That said, as I have argued above, baptism in the Spirit should empower people to live the way of Jesus (particularly, the binding together of love of God and neighbour where neighbour means everyone, including enemies). Ecstaic experiences may be part of the process but they are not the end in themselves. Shalom, Stuart.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.quakerquaker.org/forum/topics/is-there-a-role-for-spirit-led-sound-in-quaker-practice
ReplyDelete(?)
Dear Friend Forrest, Thank you for the link. I appreciated your reflections.
DeleteShalom, Stuart.