2022/10/18

Rhiannon Grant | Brigid, Fox, and Buddha: a personal homepage and blog

Rhiannon Grant | Brigid, Fox, and Buddha: a personal homepage and blog

Rhiannon Grant
Brigid, Fox, and Buddha: a personal homepage and blog

so you found Quakers on the internet…
Posted on September 25, 2022 | Leave a comment

You’ve seen a Tweet, TikTok, or other social media post about Quakers, and they sound great. Or you’ve read a Wikipedia article or a blog post or you’re just curious… you want to know more about Quakers. Where can you go?

In this blog post, I’ll run through three basic options for finding out more, depending what you want to know. In short, these are: the practical method, where you meet Quakers and try out Quaker worship; the more information method, where you learn more about Quakers in theory; and the historical approach, where you explore Quakers as they have been in the past. Of course, you don’t have to pick just one.

Practical. If you want to try out Quaker worship, what can you do? You can start on your own, right now, by looking for ways to be calm and quiet, and listen for an inner voice that helps you to understand things better and make good choices. Most Quakers find that our method works better in company, and you have options for that as well. Since you’ve found Quakers on the internet, you might want to try a Quaker meeting for worship online. There are some which are public, and you can just turn up: Woodbrooke and Ben Lomond Quaker Centre, for example. Many Quaker communities which meet in person also have an online element – to get the details for these, you usually need to contact the specific community you want to join. A selection are listed by the Friends World Committee for Consultation. And you can find an in person meeting by searching online: Friends Around the World is a good starting place, or there may be a more local database such as Britain Yearly Meeting’s Find a Meeting.

Theoretical. If you want to know more about Quakers in theory, you have lots of choices depending how you’d like to get your information. There are probably the widest range of choices for people who like to read: free leaflets to download, websites to explore, and books such as my Quakers Do What! Why?. If you’d like to see videos, QuakerSpeak is the big one, and check out srekauq on YouTube. For shorter bites, you could explore the TikTok channels run by Makenzie Morgan, Rory Kennison, and me. There are also some Quaker podcasts if you prefer to listen: you could start with A Quaker Take and Quaker Faith & Podcast. Lots more resources for this approach are linked from Wess Daniels’ Quakerism 101 page.

Historical. Perhaps you’ve interested in Quakers because you have Quaker family or ancestors, or because they’ve come up in relation to another area of history you’re interested in – the founding of America and especially Pennsylvania; the Civil War and Commonwealth in 17th Century England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland; or lots of other times and places. Finding out about Quakers today, through either of the methods above, might not answer your questions. In fact, because Quakers have changed a lot in some ways, it might just leave you more confused – if you want to know about Quakerplain dress, and you visit a Quaker meeting today, you’re unlikely to come away much clearer, because very few Quakers wear plain dress now. For a very quick starting point (5 minutes), this video by Young Friends in Richmond is good. You could also try the free three-week course from FutureLearn, Radical Spirituality or Pink Dandelion’s book An Introduction to Quakerism. If you want to dive deeper, you could start with this research guide from the TriCollege libraries, or contact the Library of the Society of Friends or the Friends Historical Library. To search for an individual, the family history website Ancestry has lots of Quaker records digitised and the Quaker Family History Society may be able to help.

What do you want to learn about Quakers? What resources have helped you? Please comment below with questions and suggestions.

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Tagged education, exploring, history, learning, Meeting for Worship, practical, prayer, Quakerism, Quakers, queer theory, religion, research, resources

Why worry about spoken ministry?
Posted on August 25, 2022 | 1 comment

The other day I was teaching a Woodbrooke Where You Are session about Quaker worship and spoken ministry, and someone asked an excellent question which I think is worth exploring further. We were talking about reasons why Quaker meetings introduce a practice like afterwords, in which there is a space at the end of the unprogrammed worship when people are encouraged to share things they were considering during meeting – things which weren’t quite ministry but might be usefully shared, or which didn’t quite get spoken but might have been ministry. When I was researching this, one of the reasons meetings gave for introducing afterwords was to try and increase the amount of spoken ministry given during worship, by building up people’s confidence that what they have to share is valuable, is real ministry, and can rightly be shared with the whole community. But in my session someone asked: why would we want to do that? Why are we worried if there’s no spoken ministry? Can’t we just let things be and accept what spoken ministry we are given – or not given?

On the one hand, there’s a lot to be said for not worrying about spoken ministry. An hour’s silence can be a deep and rich experience of unprogrammed worship. Trying to encourage spoken ministry can also lead to practices like preparing or semi-preparing ministry – which changes our tradition of spoken ministry in a different way and can lead to trying to take too much control rather than trusting our unprogrammed method. Furthermore, our tradition has changed in the past and it can change again. If speaking during worship went the way of shaking and crying out in worship, as things once done but no longer part of our tradition, perhaps that would simply be where we are now being led to go.

On the other hand, spoken ministry given in worship is an important part of our tradition. There are reasons why we expect it to happen at least sometimes. I think it’s right for meetings where it’s becoming less common or almost unknown to at least ask why, and to consider whether they are led to do anything about it.

To put this in context, we could start by asking some questions about previous changes.

Why are Quakers no longer led to go around ‘naked for a sign’, wearing only their underwear in the marketplace? Perhaps because it’s no longer an effective way of getting our message across – modern equivalents might include behaviour like holding meeting for worship outside a military base or blocking roads during a climate protest, both things which are outside the range of ‘normal’ behaviour in today’s society but can be read as sending a message to the wider community.

Why do we no longer shake and cry out during unprogrammed worship? Perhaps because we want to be seen as calm and respectable; perhaps because our religious feelings are no longer so intense; perhaps because we express our emotions in other ways; perhaps because we have lost touch with our bodies and over-intellectualised our worship. This gives a good example of the way in which, depending why we think something has changed, we might want to revisit it. At least some Quakers now think that a deeper embodiment might enrich our worship, and things like Meeting for Worship for Dance are bringing some of this back.

So, if a meeting has little or no spoken ministry, over a matter of months, what questions arise?

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Do the people attending meeting for worship know that offering ministry in words as well as silence is an option? Is everyone present clear that what’s happening is meeting for worship rather than, for example, a silent meditation session? (Too many spoken messages can raise a similar but opposite question: does everyone present understand what it means to say that this is a meeting for worship rather than, for example, a discussion?)

Is someone who is being led to give ministry not following that leading, at all or in the right way, for some reason? Quaker faith & practice gives some examples of this, and we can think of lots of possibilities – not feeling confident to speak, not feeling adequate to the message, not knowing whether it will be welcome, knowing that it is unconventional in content or delivery method and worrying about the response… Just as it would be wrong to try and get someone to offer spoken ministry without a true leading to do so, it seems wrong to me to fail to support someone who has a leading but struggles to follow it for whatever reason.

Are we truly not being given ministry to share in words, or are we not really listening? In my own life I know that I can be distracted, even during meeting for worship, and not focus on the Light. The movement of the Spirit can be subtle; what if we are missing it? This isn’t something I would want to judge in others, but I think it’s a question worth asking ourselves if meeting for worship is changing dramatically. For a long time, God’s words have come to Quaker communities through individuals who offered spoken ministry. If that isn’t happening for some of us now, that could be God changing Their approach to us – or it could be us.

Are we being given a rich ministry which arrives in some other form? If we each go from meeting for worship as we came to it and are no better for our coming (as Anne Wilson said to Samuel Bownas in spoken ministry), are we at least being changed outside the worship? If a community has a strong tradition of sharing spiritual experience and insight in discussion, there might be less need of spoken ministry; if the ministry arrives as dance or movement or knitting, the question of speaking might be unimportant.

If all these many questions point in a single direction, it’s to a need for radical openness to different leadings. A leading to entirely silent worship, a leading to offer ministry in worship through screaming rather than speaking, and a leading to offer ministry over coffee instead of during worship should all be tested in the same way – has this come from me and my wishes or wants, or through me from Love? – and taken equally seriously.

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Tagged afterwords, language, leadings, Meeting for Worship, prayer, Quakerism, religion, spoken ministry, theology, worship

Rhiannon Grant. The Quaker Vocabulary of Tomorrow - Friends Journal

The Quaker Vocabulary of Tomorrow - Friends Journal

The Quaker Vocabulary of Tomorrow

December 1, 2021

By Rhiannon Grant

Illustrations by jozefmicic.

Four Trends Changing Our Language

What changes might we see in Quaker language in the future? It’s impossible to know, of course, but I’ve been thinking about the trends we have seen in recent decades, and after a quick look into my crystal ball, I’m willing to make some predictions. I will discuss four specific trends and where I think they might be going, and then share some thoughts on how and when changes might take place.

1. More Nontheist Language

It’s easy to predict that Quaker language for discussing the Divine will change, because Quakers have been coining new terms and bringing new life to old images all along. It’s harder to predict which direction this will go. However, this is my guess: Liberal Quaker communities will continue to see an increase in ways of talking about spiritual experience and what happens in worship that do not assume that God is “out there,” or an external, all-powerful, or all-knowing deity. I expect that will include new ways of using old words, even “Spirit” and “God,” but there will be a need to find other images and create new metaphors. Possibilities include “heart,” “body-soul” (like “body-mind,” rejecting dualist approaches that split the human being into bits), and a revitalization of terms for “God within,” like “seed.” Hopefully, there are nontheist Quaker poets and prophets out there coining other beautiful and moving ways to express their perspectives.

I don’t think this trend toward nontheist possibilities will ever result in a complete loss of explicitly monotheistic language from our collective texts. We have already seen moves away from problematic language about God: “the Light,” “Love,” or whatever you call it have reduced the use of masculine and power-based terms but not entirely removed them. “Lord” and “Father” may not be the modern preference in new writing (especially corporate work), but they still appear regularly, used by some individuals and in much-loved quotations from earlier writers. One way in which Quakers handle this diversity is a list of terms: “God, Love, Light, Spirit, Mother, Father, Parent, Child, Beloved, Allah, Heart, Comforter, Buddha-nature” with space left to add your own. If that trend continues, we may see both more and longer lists, and a change of the most common terms that appear there. (I explored lists of words for the Divine in my book Telling the Truth about God.)

2. Social Justice

Again, it’s easy to say that Quakers will continue to try to develop language that treats everyone as equals, and much harder to say what that will actually look like in the future. Sometimes our surrounding cultures get to this ahead of us, or by a different route (like using “you” rather than the early Quaker preference for “thou” for one person). It can also look different and proceed at different speeds in different places. Readers in the United States, where many Quaker communities dropped the word “overseer” in recent decades because of its association with the enslavement of people, may rightly be puzzled by the situation in Britain Yearly Meeting, where we are now in the middle of discussing what alternatives we might use. So I think Quakers everywhere will eventually stop using “overseer” and “elder,” and after a proliferation of other terms—ministry and counsel committee, pastoral care team, community development, etc.—we will eventually return to our biblical and Greek roots and call all these roles in our community “episcopal.” I’m joking about that bit, mostly. It’s more likely that the flowering of many terms will continue, with new phrases emerging as the sharing of responsibility changes in different communities, and that those of us who travel between Quaker groups, physically or online, will accept and often enjoy a process of constant learning.

As other issues come to the fore over time, our traditional language and widely used phrases can incorporate prejudices and social assumptions that are not true. There are many areas in which we still need to improve. The social implications of focusing on “Light” in a society that still privileges people with White skin and oppresses Black people and others with darker skin have been raised but not yet worked through in the Quaker community. The image of the “Inward Light” also draws on the experience of sighted people; it can be productive to work through metaphors that relate to other senses. Historically, Quakers have spoken about hearing, but thinking about how our spiritual lives involve touch, taste, proprioception (kinaesthesia), and other senses may provide interesting new ways of speaking. Similarly, we will need to think about how word choices and style of speaking and writing in Quaker contexts can be marked by social class, educational background, assumptions of monolingualism, and many other factors which contribute to social inequality.

3. Internationalization

Some Quakers have always communicated and traveled internationally. In recent years, the rise of Internet access (and most recently, the need to move more activities online because of the pandemic) has meant that contact with Quakers in other countries has become quicker and cheaper for many people. Quaker Facebook groups and Twitter hashtags are international, books of faith and practice and other documents from around the world can be found through a quick search, and visiting a meeting thousands of miles away is dramatically easier on Zoom. Not everyone chooses to engage in these ways, but the possibility is there for many more people, without needing to ask a meeting for help with funds or find time off work, etc. Internet tools help people find Quakers but aren’t necessarily geographically specific. Do you remember that Beliefnet quiz that told you what religion you should join? Quakers are actually my second result, below Unitarian Universalist, but although we have Unitarians in the UK, they are not identical to the Unitarian Universalists in the United States. This increases the potential for confusion when we have different terminology. It also increases opportunities for words or phrases commonly used in one community to be shared with another. For example, the phrase “way opens” is becoming more common among British Quakers due to increased contact with North American Quakers.

The worldwide Quaker family is more diverse than members of a particular yearly meeting sometimes realize, and first impressions (“They’re so different! Are they really Quakers?”) can be challenging and hurtful. Knowing more about another tradition brings disagreements to the fore, as well as increasing opportunities to share. Some words or phrases may not transfer well between cultures. Whatever direction this process moves in, however, increasing international contact online will likely shape changes in Quaker language in the next few decades.

4. Collective Pronouns

Individual third-person pronouns have been the focus of much media attention lately, as discussions about the use of singular “they” for nonbinary people and the need to respect pronoun changes for trans people have been normalized among welcoming and affirming communities, and contested by others. Quakers have historically wanted to use second-person pronouns more equally, too, although society as a whole settled on “you” for everyone rather than “thou.” But the pronouns I have in mind here are the first-person singular “I” and the plural “we.” Quakers traditionally write minutes and epistles in the first-person plural: we, the meeting, heard this, did that, decided the other. It’s also a convenient way for an individual to write about a group to which they belong, and if you look back through this article, you’ll see that I’ve done that. At Britain Yearly Meeting this year, though, we struggled with that, especially when we wanted to talk about issues that divide our community.

As a community that is mainly White, our communal body contains many people who need to reckon with White privilege, but we as a whole Quaker group cannot say, “We need to reckon with White privilege” without excluding the Friends of Color in our community who absolutely do not need to deal with White privilege any more. As different groups within Quaker communities continue to wrestle with these issues, I predict that we will need different approaches to gathering and to naming groups and subgroups in our records so that we can be honest and transparent about who we are, our collective failings and responsibilities, and the work we—as a whole or part of the community or as individuals—need to do.

When and how might these changes take place? In all of these areas, there is space for fresh and creative writing. Within specific Quaker communities, there is often a process of testing and gradually formalizing changes to language. We can see this by looking back a hundred years or so. I remember reading Rufus Jones for the first time, and not seeing anything special or different about his writing. But I was a century late to the conversation; things that were different and surprising when they were written had been taken up and made part of the canon. This happens in any community, but in a Quaker context in which a book of discipline or book of faith and practice is revised periodically, it is particularly apparent. So, as I’ve done in this article, we can look for clues for what is happening in individuals’ writing and in small groups, and guess what might happen in the future.

We may also want to take specific action. Language change can happen in such an organic way that it seems to be inevitable, and perhaps some of it is. It’s not clear to me that vowel shifts over time, for example, have a moral dimension. However, change in language can be deliberate, and many of the potential changes I’ve discussed do have moral aspects. Telling the truth (as we understand it) about ourselves and our spiritual experiences, creating a just society, learning from one another: how should we speak to these aims? Alongside other actions we need to take—for climate change, to end injustice, to build peace—we will need to explain our actions and reasons to people outside and inside our communities, and finding the words to do that is part of the process.

If you tell the whole truth about your experience of spirituality, of gender or race or disability, of being who you are in the world, what reactions do you get or fear you will get? Do you feel included in the Quaker “we” when your community, yearly meeting, or someone in Friends Journal writes in first-person plural? What could you learn from the way others speak, whether they are in another Quaker community or in the wider world? The social media practice of sharing or retweeting to amplify perspectives that might not otherwise be heard may be worth considering here. In Quaker decision-making processes, we aim to listen well enough not to need repetition, but in more general conversation, this sort of change to the way we communicate, as well as the language we use, could be the right move.

December 2021

Language of Faith

Features

Rhiannon Grant

Rhiannon Grant worships at Bournville Local Meeting in Central England Area Meeting. She teaches for Woodbrooke and writes about Quaker theology and practice. Her latest book is Hearing the Light: The Core of Quaker Theology. Please send examples of interesting changes in Quaker language to rhiannon.grant@woodbrooke.org.uk.

Quaker Quicks - The Guided Life by Craig Barnett - Ebook | Scribd

Quaker Quicks - The Guided Life by Craig Barnett - Ebook | Scribd

https://www.scribd.com/book/430276668/Quaker-Quicks-The-Guided-Life-Finding-Purpose-in-Troubled-Times

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Quaker Quicks - The Guided Life: Finding Purpose in Troubled TimesShow full title

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Quakers have made the cultivation of the guided life the focus of their spirituality for over three centuries. Generations of Quakers have developed practices for nurturing their connection to an inward source of guidance, meaning and purpose. This Inward Guide is present in all people, cultures and traditions. It goes by many names and is understood in many ways, but it is equally available to everyone who is willing to listen and respond. The Guided Life shares some of the spiritual practices that the Quaker tradition has developed to discover purpose and direction in daily life. These practices may be of use to anyone who is wrestling with the complex challenges and dilemmas of the modern world.
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LanguageEnglish
PublisherJohn Hunt Publishing
Release dateNov 29, 2019
ISBN9781785358975

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Craig Barnett

Craig Barnett is a Quaker from the north of England, where he works for a local refugee charity. He was one of the founders of the City of Sanctuary movement, and has also worked as Director of a Quaker rural training centre in Zimbabwe. A trained organic farmer, Craig's concern for sustainable agriculture is central to his exploration of Quaker spirituality. He lives in Sheffield, UK.

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Evelina | AvalinahsBooks

Feb 06, 2021Evelina | AvalinahsBooks rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arcs-or-review-copies, books-of-2021, lucidity, non-fiction, short-reads

How I read this: Free ebook copy received from the publisher

Quakers are one religious community I've always had tremendous respect for. So it was incredibly interesting to be given an opportunity to get to know their philosophy better. This book is a short description of the values, virtues and methods contemporary Quakers use in their spiritual practices, and they are approachable regardless of religion.

In fact, a lot of the philosophies and methods reminded me of Buddhism, of meditation and everyday mindfulness. A lot of values matched up as well. It's always interesting to see how similar kinds of spiritual traditions and virtues spring up on the opposite sides of the globe. I am also very glad to know that there IS a Western meditative tradition, because I've always felt that it was lacking on this side of the world, and we've always had to "borrow" Eastern traditions to be able to harness a clarity of mind that should be accessible to all human beings.

The book describes some interesting practices used by the Quakers, such as their conflict resolution strategies. You would think that peaceful philosophies like that would tend to avoid conflict in general, but it's not like that - it's just a different way to approach it and solve it. I found it very interesting. It also gives some info on how Quaker communities function, how they meet and worship, how they solve personal and community problems, and in general it's about their philosophy and way of life (contemporary life - it's not meant to give any history background.) There is also a guide on a Quaker meditation at the end, which was cool as well. It was a quick read, and I enjoyed it.

I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.

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Mark

Feb 28, 2022Mark rated it really liked it

Shelves: quaker-spirituality

A clear and compact guide to Quaker spirituality. I found chapters 3 and 4, on 'Life in Community' and 'The Broken' particularly helpful. The challenges and difficulties of Quaker spirituality are honestly and movingly shared. This is both a good book for newcomers to Quakerism, and a rich resource for study in Quaker groups. (less)

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Rhiannon Grant

Feb 10, 2020Rhiannon Grant rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: quakerism, theology-and-philosophy

A short and clear reflection on what it means, from a Quaker perspective, to live a life guided by the Inward Light. The chapter on The Broken Life, about the role of suffering, struggle, and failure in a full spiritual life, is particularly useful.

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Mary Foxe

Apr 20, 2021Mary Foxe rated it liked it

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Quaker Quicks - Hearing the Light by Rhiannon Grant - Ebook | Scribd

Quaker Quicks - Hearing the Light: The Core Of Quaker Theology

By Rhiannon Grant
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Quaker Quicks - Hearing the Light begins with the foundations of Quaker theology, which is based in the Quaker method of unprogrammed, silent worship. This act of gathering as a community to wait and listen to God is at the heart of Quakerism and essential to understanding Quaker theology, which is embedded in the practice as well as explained by it. Rhiannon Grant shows how Central Quaker theological claims, such as that everyone has that of God within them, that God offers support and guidance to all who choose to listen, and that Quakers as a community are led by God to treat everyone equally, resist war, and live simply, can be understood through a consideration of this distinctive worship practice. Rhiannon Grant also explores what it means to say that this form of theology is liberal - although many Quakers are politically liberal, they have also been called "conservative radicals" (Kenneth Boulding), and the liberalism involved is not mainly political but an attitude towards diversity of thought, opinion, and especially religious belief. While united by the practice of unprogrammed worship, Quakers have no written creed and no specific beliefs are required of members. Instead, there is a prevailing attitude of continued searching, an acceptance that new evidence may appear, and a willingness to learn from others, including members of other faith communities. At a time of great religious and political division, this radical approach to faith and learning that Grant sheds light upon, has never been more prescient.

Religion & Spirituality
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PublisherJohn Hunt Publishing
Release dateSep 24, 2021
ISBN9781789045055

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Rhiannon Grant

Rhiannon Grant is tutor of Quaker Roles at Woodbrooke Quaker study centre and is the Deputy Programmes Leader for the Centre for Research in Quaker Studies, where she teaches on Modern Quaker Thought. Her research includes work on Quaker uses of religious language and changing Quaker practices. Rhiannon lives in Birmingham, UK.

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Mark

Jan 22, 2022Mark rated it really liked it

Shelves: theology, quaker

A wonderfully clear explanation of what unites liberal Quakers today.
It was exciting to read a book that begins with such a confident explanation of what Quakers know.
I particularly appreciated the opening chapters which deal with some big philosophical questions in a rigorous and lucid way.
A highly recommended book for newcomers to Quakers, and a perfect text for a Quaker study group.

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M S Hazel

5.0 out of 5 stars very thorough

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 9, 2022

Verified Purchase

This is a well written book - thorough research, covers many areas succinctly.

It felt like having someone talk to me. Very glad I bought it.

Hard to judge how it would appeal to someone who wasn't a Quaker because I am a Q, but I suspect it would do a good job of speaking to non-Quakers and Quakers alike

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Reader Reviews

This is a valuable and lucid introduction to the core of Quaker theology in terms of what and how they know through deep listening and tuning in to the Light within. This Light is available to us all and offers us Love and guidance if we are prepared to listen, as the title suggests. It is written for nonQuakers, although Quakers will also find the articulation insightful. Silence is of the essence, out of which guidance arises. The author draws on different geographical locations to illustrate more general points and the application of ‘the spiritual force of righteousness, lovingkindness and trust’ to social issues. She also counters potential objections to Quaker claims, noting that these have to be tested experientially rather than experimentally – which is something we can all undertake. ~ David Lorimer, Paradigm Explorer

'HEARING THE LIGHT comes alive with Rhiannon Grant's love of language and her passion for Quakerism. These blend together in an unusual and delightful introduction to Quaker practice. The reader is taken on a rapid tour of the different meaning of key words to address the inward knowing of Friends. Her sense of humor (such as a reminder that a piece of God is not the same as a piece of

pie) helps explain this inward dimension for those without a mystical bent. Noting that the world is a messy place and that Quakers don't always live up to their convictions, she lists several objections the reader might have to the Quaker way. She invites us to test out what she says knowing that the

simplest test is to be still and listen.' ~ Margery Post Abbott, author of To Be Broken and Tender: A Quaker Theology for Today, Historical Dictionary of the Friends, and Walk Humbly, Serve Bold

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Rhiannon Grant. Quaker Quicks - Telling the Truth About God by Rhiannon Grant - Ebook | Scribd

Quaker Quicks - Telling the Truth About God by Rhiannon Grant - Ebook | Scribd

Quaker Quicks - Telling the Truth About God: Quaker Approaches to Theology
By Rhiannon Grant

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Telling the truth about God without excluding anyone is a challenge to the Quaker community. Drawing on the author’s academic research into Quaker uses of religious language and her teaching to Quaker and academic groups, Rhiannon Grant aims to make accessible some key theological and philosophical insights. She explains that Quakers might sound vague but are actually making clear and creative theological claims. Theology isn't just for wordy people or intellectuals, it's for everyone. And that's important because our religious language is related to, not separate from, our religious experience. It also becomes clear that denying other people's claims often leads to making your own and that even apparently negative positions can also be making positive statements. How do Quakers tell the truth about God? This book explores this key theological process through fourteen short chapters. As Quakers, we say that we know some things, but not very much, about God, and that we are in a constant process of trying to improve our ways of saying what we do know.
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Rhiannon Grant

Rhiannon Grant is tutor of Quaker Roles at Woodbrooke Quaker study centre and is the Deputy Programmes Leader for the Centre for Research in Quaker Studies, where she teaches on Modern Quaker Thought. Her research includes work on Quaker uses of religious language and changing Quaker practices. Rhiannon lives in Birmingham, UK.
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From other countries

Disappointing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 11, 2019

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A well written, if brief, discussion about the problems, and possible solutions, to the differing uses of language to describe God in a group context. Given the title, Telling The Truth About God, I was disappointed that the author focused merely on linguistics and a few already well worn theological concepts, rather than elucidating on what Quakers actually experience during Meeting for Worship. I sensed the author views gathering for worship as an exercise in communal ‘message gathering’ so that decisions may be arrived at in order to act or campaign in the world. No mysticism, no personal accounts of experiencing the Divine, nothing. I think modern liberal Quakerism is well on the road to being a slightly ‘religious’ political/reform group and as far from mysticism as you can get without discarding the religious or spiritual entirely.

2 people found this helpful

Tas Cooper

A wonderful short summary of Quaker theology

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 31, 2019

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A clear, accessible, well-researched, concise and honest look at Quaker views on and experiences of God in all their diversity and complicated beauty. I would recommend this to interested newcomers to the Quaker way, as long as they are willing to cope with a degree of uncertainty and open questions in their theology – this is not quite a book that hands you answers on a plate – and it is certainly also an interesting read for experienced Quakers.

3 people found this helpful

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Sofia Lemons

Apr 20, 2019Sofia Lemons rated it it was amazing

In Quaker Quicks: Telling the Truth About God, Rhiannon Grant presents a case that Quakers must talk more clearly and openly about God and theology, and encourages us to see the ways that we already do. The book gives a clear view of what (liberal) Quakers often do and don’t say about God, as well as what things could be added to the conversation to find unity in our diversity of beliefs. It could serve readers well who are looking for an entry point into Quaker theology, and it has many worthwhile insights for more experienced Quakers, as well.

The book explores the unique theology that Quakers express by pointing out some ways our values show up in conversations about God: value in negation, value in silence, and value in listing possibilities. Grant turns some of the standard Quaker tropes and jokes on their heads as she draws out the theology that we express with statements like “I wouldn’t say that” or “consider that you may be mistaken.” At the same time, she cautions that we may actually have an over-reliance on some of these less explicit conversational tools which can be detrimental to our community and shared story. She also shows sympathy to Quakers who feel hesitant to use more traditional Christian expressions and those who feel that doing so is vital to their religious practice, and presents some methods for bridging these conversational divides.

One thing which I deeply appreciated about this book was the way that it demonstrated how clear talk about theology in Quaker circles can push back on the hyper-individualistic tendencies of our culture. Grant points to ways that we express our openness to individual experience and leading, but reminds us that the essence of Quaker faith is to value and process those experiences in community. She highlights several ways that our universalist tendencies can be life-giving and acknowledges ways which they can be condescending to or exclusive of those who hold more focused beliefs in one definition of God.

This book is an excellent resource for Quakers looking for advice on how to work within the tension that exists in our broad faith community, as well as a tool for clarifying to newer Quakers what all our odd expressions and vague-sounding statements mean. Grant shows a way that we can value silence and be open to many experiences of God, but that we can hold our community together and grow stronger by living out our value of honesty in the ways we speak to each other about those experiences. (less)

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Taz Cooper

Mar 29, 2019Taz Cooper rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A wonderful short summary of Quaker theology

A well-researched, clear and concise guide to Quaker views on and experiences of God in all their diversity. I would recommend this to interested newcomers (as long as one is willing to cope with a degree of uncertainty and open questions in one's theology) and experienced Quakers alike. (less)

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Fred Langridge

Jul 18, 2019Fred Langridge rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction, quaker, religion

A very accessible look at Quakers and theology - how we think and talk about God-or-whatever in day-to-day practice rather than in textbooks. Lots more content than I had expected from 75 pages!

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Lin SINGH-BARRINGTON

Jul 01, 2019Lin SINGH-BARRINGTON rated it really liked it

I agree with J. Brent Bill, (as per front cover), in that this book is, in my view, "wide-ranging, warm, wise, and witty."

The author addresses aspects of religious community life which are often not stated and yet, represent how many people of faith can feel when confronted with dogmas and challenging experiences within faith-based settings .

Possibly the next Karen Armstrong, Grant has much to contribute to 21st century inter-faith dialogue within Friends and beyond. (less)

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Taz

Mar 29, 2019Taz rated it it was amazing

A clear, accessible and honest look at Quaker theology in all its complicated beauty. I think it would be a good guide for interested enquirers as long as they are willing to grapple with not finding easy answers - and it is certainly an interesting read even for "seasoned" Quakers! (less)

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Mark

Nov 02, 2019Mark rated it it was amazing

Shelves: theology, quaker

In the space of 75 pages, Grant gives a sharply insightful account of the nature of God-talk amongst British Quakers, and offers a constructive way forward for British Quakers to improve their theologising and thereby strengthen their community. All this is done with clarity, readability and warmth. I particularly liked the description of 'a spiral of denials', giving a positive interpretation of the ways British Quakers describe themselves by what they *don't* believe. This is an important book for British Quakers, and anyone who wants an accurate and helpful account of how British Quakers talk about their beliefs. (less)

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Pip Usmar

Sep 10, 2021Pip Usmar rated it really liked it

Shelves: quaker-theology

A clear and accessible short book on the nature of discussing truth within U.K. liberal Quakerism.

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Alan Fricker

Feb 11, 2021Alan Fricker rated it it was amazing

Packs a lot in to such a short book. Great to get wider perspectives from beyond my quaker experience

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(Review) Quaker Quicks: Telling the Truth About God

Published on April 2, 2019 by snlemons

https://www.snlemons.com/?p=83

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Telling the Truth about God by Rhiannon Grant is written to help meetings deal with the animosity and individualism that can result when there is no common language or theological understanding. Grant resists “any proposal that Quakers should put a theological boundary around our community,” even the gentlest suggestion that “one ought to … be open to or accept the possibility of this or that.” When each Friend rejects different words and their associated theologies, the community is prevented from degenerating into individualism only if it is “united in the practice of unprogrammed worship.” She does not describe what is going on in this practice of mostly silent sitting; she does not address: What is worship? What is the object of the worship? How does it unite us? Grant explains that, since we need words for “discussion groups, leaflet writing, and outreach,” there are ways to use them constructively. Words can help a meeting community appreciate rather than despise or fear the theological differences that so often exist. What seems to be missing from this list is that words are the way we communicate our own deep spiritual experiences with one another thereby creating a spiritual community—although this becomes a little clearer later. Grant offers “three responses which seem to lead to positive outcomes.” The first suggestion is for each person to actively listen, especially when words for the Divine are used that you do not like. Acknowledge you are upset so that you can share your experience that led to this reaction. Consider carefully the context: are the words used in meeting for worship or a discussion? Is it the usual pattern for the speaker or a quotation? Then she suggests, “Active listening, and where appropriate speaking out using [y]our own preferred language, is a way to bring a balance to the community’s wider patterns of language use.” Grant’s second suggestion has to do with telling—and hearing—stories. These include the larger Christian and Quaker stories as well as our personal stories. When we know the historical and cultural context of words and of the Friends who used and use them, it becomes possible to hear

meanings that need to be expressed. The result for British (and Friends General Conference) Friends has been to favor ambiguity so a word can hold a wide variety of meanings and thereby be acceptable to most Quakers. An example is taking the early Quaker use of “the Spirit,” “Holy Spirit,” “Spirit of Christ,” and so on to become lowercase “spirit,” which can be interpreted to mean almost anything the listener feels is acceptable. For the many Liberal meetings struggling with covert or overt conflicts around language and the theologies those words are associated with, Grant’s book will be quite helpful. For those looking for simplified ways of describing what Liberal, unprogrammed Quakers are about, Durham’s book will be very useful. Together they offer good tools for accomplishing the “gateway” Quaker task. ~ Marty Grundy, https://www.friendsjournal.org/what-doquakers-believe-and-telling-the-truth-about-god/

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‘How nontheists view discernment is giving me a headache.’ I have just finished reading Rhiannon

Grant’s Telling the Truth About God (see review, 8 March). This humane, kind, thoughtful book makes

use of ‘ordinary theology’ and the bottom-up (rather than top-down) ideas of the later Ludwig

Wittgenstein to think about truth in religion. It takes further some thinking in recent publications

around theology, prior to the revision of Quaker faith & practice. With the suggestion ‘Don’t think, but

look!’, Ludwig Wittgenstein in his Philosophical Investigations (1953) developed the notion of ‘forms of

life’, and of ‘language games’ to describe ways of conceiving the world. These ideas were elaborated,

and made use of by others (such as DZ Phillips in Swansea) to develop a deeply engaged, passionate

but philosophically reformed frame for religious experience. How we talk together defines and

describes what we are talking about – and at the same time defines us in the way we speak. Much of

this way of talking would make sense to many Quakers. So far so good – and interesting, and well

described in the book. What really surprised me, however, was to learn that even nontheists in our

Society use the process of discernment: ‘As I learnt when I sat in on the AGM of the Nontheist

Friends Network’, says Rhiannon, in her chapter ‘Not God’. Now, discernment is a key Quaker spiritual

act (it is short for spiritual discernment, an act of spiritual listening, of becoming attuned spiritually).

At least that is my sense of it, my understanding of it. It is the way I speak, having listened. I

remember how, a few years ago, as a naive new attender at our Local Meeting, I was very glad to be

taught about discernment and what it meant. I learned how important and different it was to

‘deciding’ or ‘agreeing’. This personal introduction to discernment came from a direct descendent of

WC Braithwaite, the Quaker historian, who could therefore trace his Quakerism back to the

seventeenth century. This ‘showing’ to me – what the Greeks called an aletheia – was a literal

revelation to me (perhaps, in retrospect, a Revelation with a capital R!). Discernment, as a central

A very accessible

day-to-day practic

~ Fred Lan

