Download or read book Life Lessons from a Bad Quaker written by J. Brent Bill and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2015-12-15 with total page 147 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On quick observation, the Quaker lifestyle boasts peace, solitude, and simplicity—qualities that are attractive to any believer of any denomination or religion. Yet living a life of faith is not as simple as it may look. In fact, it’s often characterized more by the stumbles than the grace. “When someone asks me what kind of Christian I am,” says Quaker author J. Brent Bill, “I say I’m a bad one. I’ve got the belief part down pretty well, I think. It’s in the practice of my belief in everyday life where I often miss the mark.” In Life Lessons from a Bad Quaker, a self-professed non-expert on faith invites readers on a joyful exploration of the faith journey—perfection not required. With whimsy, humor, and wisdom, Bill shows readers how to put faith into practice to achieve a life that is soulfully still yet active, simple yet satisfying, peaceful yet strong. For anyone who is bad at being good, this is an invitation to a pilgrimage toward a more meaningful and satisfying life . . . one step—or stumble—at a time.
Download or read book A Quaker Book of Wisdom written by Robert Lawrence Smith and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2013-05-21 with total page 101 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The most valuable aspect of religion," writes Robert Lawrence Smith, "is that it provides us with a framework for living. I have always felt that the beauty and power of Quakerism is that it exhorts us to live more simply, more truthfully, more charitably." Taking his inspiration from the teaching of the first Quaker, George Fox, and from his own nine generations of Quaker forebears, Smith speaks to all of us who are seeking a way to make our lives simpler, more meaningful, and more useful. Beginning with the Quaker belief that "There is that of God in every person," Smith explores the ways in which we can harness the inner light of God that dwells in each of us to guide the personal choices and challenges we face every day. How to live and speak truthfully. How to listen for, trust, and act on our conscience. How to make our work an expression of the best that is in us. Using vivid examples from his own life, Smith writes eloquently of Quaker Meeting, his decision to fight in World War II, and later to oppose the Vietnam War. From his work as an educator and headmaster to his role as a husband and father, Smith quietly convinces that the lofty ideals of Quakerism offer all of us practical tools for leading a more meaningful life. His book culminates with a moving letter to his grandchildren which imparts ten lessons for "letting your life speak."
Download or read book Quaker Writings written by Thomas D. Hamm and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2011-01-25 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An illuminating collection of work by members of the Religious Society of Friends. Covering nearly three centuries of religious development, this comprehensive anthology brings together writings from prominent Friends that illustrate the development of Quakerism, show the nature of Quaker spiritual life, discuss Quaker contributions to European and American civilization, and introduce the diverse community of Friends, some of whom are little remembered even among Quakers today. It gives a balanced overview of Quaker history, spanning the globe from its origins to missionary work, and explores daily life, beliefs, perspectives, movements within the community, and activism throughout the world. It is an exceptional contribution to contemporary understanding of religious thought. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Download or read book Imagination Spirit written by J. Brent Bill and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A collection of essays, fiction, devotional works, and other writings by Quaker authors from the second half of the 20th century.
Download or read book Under a Desert Sky written by Lynne Hartke and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2017-05-02 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There comes a time in life when we find ourselves in the desert place of burning questions. Why? Why me? But even as we shake our fist heavenward, the heart whispers another question. Who? Who are you, God? It is a question of relationship, a question we all murmur in the hardest places. Against the backdrop of the Sonoran Desert, Lynne Hartke asks her own hard questions as cancer arrives like a thief with one goal: to take it all. Hair. The contents of a stomach. A marriage. A life. As her days become a blur of doctors' appointments, treatments, and surgeries, she wrestles with a tumble of tangled emotions, a shaken faith, and self-doubt. Cancer is now not only threatening her own life, but, in a surprising twist, the lives of both her parents as well. Through her raw, lyrical words, Hartke invites fellow sojourners to discover that in life's hardest places, they are not alone in their fear, they are not foolish to hope, and they are never forgotten by a loving, pursuing God. Never.
Download or read book The Quakers in America written by Thomas D. Hamm and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Quakers in America is a multifaceted history of the Religious Society of Friends and a fascinating study of its culture and controversies today. Lively vignettes of Conservative, Evangelical, Friends General Conference, and Friends United meetings illuminate basic Quaker theology and reflect the group's diversity while also highlighting the fundamental unity within the religion. Quaker culture encompasses a rich tradition of practice even as believers continue to debate whether Quakerism is necessarily Christian, where religious authority should reside, how one transmits faith to children, and how gender and sexuality shape religious belief and behavior. Praised for its rich insight and wide-ranging perspective, The Quakers in America is a penetrating account of an influential, vibrant, and often misunderstood religious sect. Known best for their long-standing commitment to social activism, pacifism, fair treatment for Native Americans, and equality for women, the Quakers have influenced American thought and society far out of proportion to their relatively small numbers. Whether in the foreign policy arena (the American Friends Service Committee), in education (the Friends schools), or in the arts (prominent Quakers profiled in this book include James Turrell, Bonnie Raitt, and James Michener), Quakers have left a lasting imprint on American life. This multifaceted book is a concise history of the Religious Society of Friends; an introduction to its beliefs and practices; and a vivid picture of the culture and controversies of the Friends today. The book opens with lively vignettes of Conservative, Evangelical, Friends General Conference, and Friends United meetings that illuminate basic Quaker concepts and theology and reflect the group's diversity in the wake of the sectarian splintering of the nineteenth century. Yet the book also examines commonalities among American Friends that demonstrate a fundamental unity within the religion: their commitments to worship, the ministry of all believers, decision making based on seeking spiritual consensus rather than voting, a simple lifestyle, and education. Thomas Hamm shows that Quaker culture encompasses a rich tradition of practice even as believers continue to debate a number of central questions: Is Quakerism necessarily Christian? Where should religious authority reside? Is the self sacred? How does one transmit faith to children? How do gender and sexuality shape religious belief and behavior? Hamm's analysis of these debates reveals a vital religion that prizes both unity and diversity.
Download or read book How the Quakers Invented America written by David Yount and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2007 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shows how the Quakers shaped the basic distinctive features of American life from the days of the founders and the colonies through the Revolution and up to the civil rights movement; also points out how Quaker values like freedom, equality, straightforwardness, and spirituality can be seen in modern day peace advocates.--From publisher description.
Download or read book The Barn at the End of the World written by Mary Rose O'Reilley and published by Milkweed Editions. This book was released on 2014-02-28 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “About the subtlest, most sane-making book on contemporary spirituality that I’ve read in years. It’s also the funniest.”—Joanna Macy, author of Active Hope Deciding that her life was insufficiently grounded in real-world experience, Mary Rose O’Reilley, a Quaker reared as a Catholic, embarked on a year of tending sheep. In this decidedly down-to-earth, often-hilarious book, O’Reilley describes her work in an agricultural barn and her extended visit to a Buddhist monastery in France, where she studied with Thich Nhat Hanh. She seeks, in both barn and monastery, a spirituality based not in “climbing out of the body” but rather in existing fully in the world. “O'Reilley has obviously mastered the craft of writing. Her rich, allusive prose draws on Catholicism, Quakerism, Buddhism, monastic tradition, Shakespeare and the Bible. Her short vignettes are luminous with faith matters, yet full of the earthy details of animal husbandry, resulting in a style that's a cross between Kathleen Norris and James Herriot.”—Publishers Weekly “This enjoyable book offers lingering pleasure.”—Library Journal
Download or read book Letters to a Fellow Seeker written by Steve Chase and published by Quakerpress of Fgc. This book was released on 2012 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In seven letters to a fictional correspondent, Steve Chase describes his spiritual journey among Quakers. The writer introduces the Quaker way to a newcomer in language that is personal and gentle, while offering powerful inspiration through stories.
Download or read book Theology from Listening Finding the Core of Liberal Quaker Theological Thought written by Rhiannon Grant and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2020-04-28 with total page 99 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Theology from Listening: Finding the Core of Liberal Quaker Theological Thought, Rhiannon Grant explores the changes and continuities in liberal Quaker theology over the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries in multiple English-speaking Quaker communities around the world. The work involves a close analysis of material produced by Quaker meetings through formal, corporate methods; of material produced by individuals and small groups within Quaker communities; and of writing by individuals and small groups working primarily within academic or ecumenical theological settings. It concludes that although liberal Quaker theology is diverse and flexible, it also possesses a core coherence and can meaningfully be discussed as a single tradition. At the centre of liberal Quaker theology is the belief that direct, unmediated contact with the Divine is possible and results in useful guidance.
Download or read book Sacred Compass written by J. Brent Bill and published by Paraclete Press. This book was released on 2008-04-01 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Brent Bill has written one of the finest books on discernment and divine guidance that I have seen in a very long time.” –Richard J. Foster How do you discover God’s will for your life – every day? Sacred Compass offers a fresh and deeper way of living a God-directed life. J. Brent Bill draws on the quiet beauty of the Quaker path to show how spiritual discernment is more about sensing God’s gracious presence than it is about making the right decisions. As you use this book to chart your own spiritual course, you will find yourself led to unexpected places, comforted by the knowledge that God uses all of our experiences to bring us close. “Sacred Compass is the perfect companion for those seeking to follow God in the way of Jesus in the midst of the realities of 21st century life. Brent Bill graciously and passionately opens the pathway of the spiritual practice of discernment for the novice and deepens the possibilities for the well experienced. This book will serve as a revelation for many and well could be the start of a revolution for a new generation Christians.” -- Doug Pagitt, Pastor of Solomon’s Porch and Author of A Christianity Worth Believing “Sacred Compass celebrates and reassures that on this engaging, glorious, bewildering human journey, we individually and communally carry with us an ever present divine source of navigation.” — Carrie Newcomer, Rounder recording artist, The Geography of Light
Download or read book Our Life Is Love written by Marcelle Martin and published by . This book was released on 2016-02-19 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Our Life is Love describes the transformational spiritual journey of the first Quakers, who turned to the Light of Christ within and allowed it to be their guide. Many Friends today use different language, but are still called to make the same journey. In our time people seeking deeper access to the profound teachings of Christianity want more than just beliefs, they want direct experience. Focusing on ten elements of the spiritual journey, this book is a guide to a Spirit-filled life that affects this world. Quakers in the seventeenth century and today provide examples of people and communities living in the midst of the world whose radical understanding of Christ's teachings led them to become powerful agents of social change. The book offers a simple, clear explanation of the spiritual journey that is suitable not only for Quakers, but for all Christians, and for seekers wanting to better understand our spiritual experience and the fullness of God's call to us. The book would make an excellent focus for study groups. Marcelle Martin has led workshops at retreat centers and Quaker meetings across the United States. She served for four years as the resident Quaker Studies teacher at Pendle Hill and was a core teacher in the School of the Spirit program, The Way of Ministry. She is the author of the Pendle Hill pamphlets Invitation to a Deeper Communion and Holding One Another in the Light. In 2013 she was the Mullen Writing Fellow at Earlham School of Religion while working on this book.
Download or read book Quaker Quicks Quakers Do What Why written by Rhiannon Grant and published by John Hunt Publishing. This book was released on 2020-07-31 with total page 85 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Structured around questions which non-Quakers often ask, this book explores Quaker practices, explaining them in the context of Quaker theology and present-day diversity. It describes how Quakers make decisions and why they have preferred this method, as well as looking at the Quaker rejection of common Christian practices like baptism. Each short chapter gives an answer, considers why that is so, describes some of the diversity within Quaker groups, and points to other resources which could be used to find out more.
Download or read book Quaking written by Kathryn Erskine and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2007 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a Pennsylvania town where anti-war sentiments are treated with contempt and violence, Matt, a fourteen-year-old girl living with a Quaker family, deals with the demons of her past as she battles bullies of the present, eventually learning to trust in others as well as herself.
Download or read book Albion s Seed written by David Hackett Fischer and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1991-03-14 with total page 981 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This fascinating book is the first volume in a projected cultural history of the United States, from the earliest English settlements to our own time. It is a history of American folkways as they have changed through time, and it argues a thesis about the importance for the United States of having been British in its cultural origins. While most people in the United States today have no British ancestors, they have assimilated regional cultures which were created by British colonists, even while preserving ethnic identities at the same time. In this sense, nearly all Americans are "Albion's Seed," no matter what their ethnicity may be. The concluding section of this remarkable book explores the ways that regional cultures have continued to dominate national politics from 1789 to 1988, and still help to shape attitudes toward education, government, gender, and violence, on which differences between American regions are greater than between European nations.
Download or read book Lunch is My Favorite Subject written by J. Brent Bill and published by Fleming H. Revell Company. This book was released on 1987 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discusses various aspects of the high school experience grade by grade and how to cope by relying on one's Christian faith.
Download or read book Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin written by Marguerite Henry and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-03-11 with total page 143 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Newbery Award–winning author Marguerite Henry’s beloved novel about a boy who would do anything to paint is now available in a collectible hardcover gift edition. Benjamin West was born with an extraordinary gift—the gift of creating paintings of people, animals, and landscapes so true to life they “took one’s breath away.” But Benjamin is part of a deeply religious Quaker family, and Quaker beliefs forbid the creation of images. Because Benjamin’s family didn’t approve of his art, he had to make his own painting supplies. The local Native Americans taught him how to mix paints from earth, clay, and plants. And his cat, Grimalkin, sacrificed hair from his tail for Ben’s brushes. This classic story from Newbery Award–winning author Marguerite Henry features the original text and illustrations in a gorgeous collectible hardcover edition.
