Quakerspeak
common metaphor for an individual's experiential connection with the divine
What is Inner Light?
originally a description of a person experiencing the trembling sometimes resulting from spiritual experience
Who is a Quaker?
considered to be the founder of Quakerism
Who is George Fox?
The belief that there is one God
What is monotheism?
The belief that there are many gods
What is polytheism?
public statement or lived witness based on inward beliefs and experiences
What are testimonies?
a written record of a group's discernment
What is a minute?
a Quaker meeting that proceeds in silence, with no order of service and no individual leadership
What is unprogrammed?
The view that there is not conclusive evidence to decide whether a supreme being(s) exists or not
What is agnosticism?
The conviction that there is no supreme being(s)
What is atheism?
provocative questions designed to elicit deep reflection and spiritual engagement
knowledge of the Truth achieved by careful listening to the group considering the matter and to the Spirit
What is discernment?
a meeting for worship, usually conducted by a pastor, including music, an offering, a sermon, and periods of silence and waiting
What is a programmed meeting?
The idea of an external designer God who created the world, but is not immanent within it
What is deism?
Belief in the existence of God/gods (in the sense of personal, creative, sustaining, all-powerful and knowing spirits)
What is theism?
referring to the body of a Friends' meeting or a gathered group
What is corporate?
a secular term used to describe an agreement that is reached by a group without a vote and based on considering an issue together
What is consensus?
a Quaker meeting that draws mainly on unprogrammed silence, but may be designed around a particular theme or query
A supreme being(s) may also be affirmed as being infinitely present within everything
What is immanence?
The affirmation of the supreme force as being beyond any concept, language, and experience -- not able to be limited or contained -- may be described as
What is transcendence?
gently admonishing in love the ways, habits or thoughts of a Friend or attender after prayerful consideration and often after consultation with respected members of the meeting
What is eldering?
an agreement in a gathered group by all or most of those present, based on their understanding of Truth in the matter at hand.
What is sense of the meeting?
in Quaker process, a person charged with identifying, naming, testing, and recording the discernment of a gathered body.
Who is a clerk?
The belief that everything is ultimately one, and that there are no divisions between the creator and what is created
What is monism?
term derived from the Latin word for spirit that has been used to describe the pre-rational, experiential dimension of awe in religions
What is the numinous?