Sources of inspiration

Barney Smith reflects on owning our sources of inspiration

Quaker faith & practice has not had, at least in my memory, any quotes from the Bible in it except when they are embedded in a contribution that has been included. There have been good reasons for this, though I am not sure whether all or any of them have been explicitly given.

First: The book is a compilation of the writings of individual Quakers or groups of Quakers (though there is an embedded quotation from saint Francis de Sales, Quaker faith & practice 2.49). Widening it to other sources might make it unmanageable.

Second: There has been a bad tradition in the Christian church of using Bible quotations as ‘proof texts’ in disputes with other Christians. We wouldn’t want it to appear that we were doing that.

Third: We have, within our membership, those who bring faith traditions other than Christianity with them, or who may have had the Bible spoiled for them through past misuse. We would not want to discomfort them.

Fourth: The Bible is there, on our Meeting house tables, in our homes and in our childhood. We can, therefore, take it as read and do not need to quote it.

However, I would like to question these reasons which, though understandable, may no longer fully apply.

A few years ago, Tim Peat Ashworth and Alex Wildwood ‘travelled in the ministry’ under the banner ‘Rooted in Christianity, Open to New Light’. It is clear from the recent consultations around the need for a new version of Quaker faith & practice, and from the decision taken in Britain Yearly Meeting this year, that this image of the Religious Society of Friends is just what we want expressed, both to ourselves and to the outside world.

We know that there are among us those who feel threatened by the language of Christianity and others whose security depends on it. We are asking them both to learn to listen to and discern the spirit in those words that are not their own. We want to be inclusive of both, but we are not prepared to limit our faith by restricting ourselves to their comfort zones.

The current version of our Book of Discipline, in my opinion, gives the appearance that we are neither ‘Rooted in Christianity’ nor ‘Open to New Light’. It appears that way because only Quakers are quoted. It gives the impression that we exist within a bubble of our own experience. The truth is that originally Quakers derived their faith and practice from intensive knowledge of Bible scripture, developments in radical theology across Europe, and the practice of seekers and dissenters in this country.

Quakers then evolved, over the years, in response to the world around them. It was a world influenced by eighteenth century humanist enlightenment, nineteenth century evangelicalism, biblical research and natural science, twentieth century physical and social science, and encounters with other faiths.

While familiarity with the Bible may be common to those born in the first half of the last century it is much rarer now. What is now uncomfortably true is the lack of biblical knowledge amongst some Friends – British Friends, at least. For many years the Bible has not been studied in depth at either school or Sunday school. It is badly represented in the media by biblical literalists and fundamentalists, who seem to have an unerring ability to pick on the life-hating parts of it. The inclusion of some of the best bits might help bridge the gap and point to the inspiration to be found in the Bible over the years by Friends.

I think it would reflect the reality of the sources of inspiration for Quaker faith & practice today if our book were a bit more inclusive in selection and quotation. This could include biblical passages, as well as seminal quotes from figures such as Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King and the Dalai Lama, and from other faiths. They should not dominate, but could well appear at the start of some sections and illustrate we were not and are not a community with closed minds, but one rooted in the wisdom of the past and open to new inspiration.

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