2019/07/17

알라딘: 깨달음과 역사 - 개정증보판

알라딘: 깨달음과 역사 - 개정증보판

현응 (지은이)불광출판사2016-08-12



























































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책소개

<깨달음과 역사> 개정증보판. 개정증보판에서는 '깨달음 논쟁'을 촉발시킨 <깨달음과 역사, 그 이후>를 비롯해, <'깨달음과 역사, 그 이후' 반론에 대한 답변>, <기본불교와 대승불교> 원고를 새롭게 추가했다. 또한 표지 디자인에 획기적인 변화를 주어, 불교의 원형질을 이루는 유전자인 무상, 무아, 연기, 공, 자비를 변화와 관계성의 이미지로 추상화하여 현대적으로 형상화했다.



이 책의 중심 내용은 불교를 구체적인 우리의 삶과 역사에 접목시키기 위한 노력이지만, 또 다른 중요한 가치는 불교는 어렵고 난해하다는 인식을 바꿔주는 데 있다. 특히 1장 '사제에게 보내는 열두 번의 편지'에서는 어렵게만 느껴지던 불교 용어와 교리를 쉽고 진솔하게 풀어주고 있어 불교입문서 역할을 톡톡히 해준다. 깨달음, 연기, 공, 윤회, 대승과 소승 등 애매하고 모호하게 다가왔던 개념들이 명확한 실체로 다가온다.





목차





서문 『깨달음과 역사』를 다시 펴내며



1장 사제(師弟)에게 보내는 열두 번의 편지

1월_ 대승과 소승

2월_ 무심시도(無心是道)

3월_ 확연무성(廓然無聖)

4월_ 윤회와 해탈

5월_ 색즉시공 공즉시색

6월_ 공(空)의 이중적 구조

7월_ 대도무문(大道無門)

8월_ 깨달음과 역사

9월_ 돈오점수설, 돈오돈수설에 대해

10월_ 마음·부처·중생

11월_ 보살만행(菩薩卍行)

12월_ 불국정토(佛國淨土)



2장 각(覺) - 깨달음



3장 깨달음을 위한 산책



4장 돈오점수, 돈오돈수설 비판



5장 역사에 다가가는 불교

불교와 사회

불교의 사회적 실천

민중불교운동의 대승적 전개를 위하여



6장 기본불교와 대승불교



7장 깨달음과 역사, 그 이후

깨달음과 역사, 그 이후

‘깨달음과 역사, 그 이후’ 반론에 대한 답변

접기





책속에서



이 책에 수록된 내용들은 일관된 문제의식과 주제를 포함하고 있다. 그것은 바로 ‘깨달음(Bodhi, 연기적 관점)’과 ‘역사(Sattva, 인생과 세상)’에 대한 것이다. 따라서 이 책에서 말하는 깨달음은 ‘역사를 연기적으로 파악하는 시각’을 말하며, 역사란 ‘깨달음의 시각으로 비춰보고 실현하는 현실적 삶’을 뜻한다.

이러... 더보기

P. 20 나는 불교만큼 오해를 받는 가르침도 드물다고 생각합니다. 부처님의 중요한 가르침은 거의 모두 곡해되고 굴절되어 이해되고 있습니다. 그 가운데 대표적인 것 하나가 바로 불교는 무심한 종교라는 것입니다. 모든 시비분별을 떠난 초연한 은자로서의 태도는 불교인의 독특한 성격처럼 되어버렸습니다. 조는 듯 잠자는 듯한 침묵과 웃을 듯 말 듯 달관한 듯한 무관심이 적멸과 열반의 경지로 받아들여지고 있습니다. 접기

P. 34 사제님도 동의할 줄 압니다만, 나는 윤회라는 것을 비단 어떤 사람이 칠십 년쯤 살고는 죽고 그리고 다시 태어나고 하는 식의, 심지어는 개로도 태어나고 새로도 태어나는, 그런 계속되는 생명의 쳇바퀴 현상으로만 보지 않습니다. 염불 구절에도 나오는 바, “일일일야 만사만생(一日一夜 萬死萬生)”이니 하루에도 수만 번 나고 죽는 일을 계속 하는 것이 바로 윤회의 실상이 아니겠습니까? 곧 윤회란 변화를 뜻하는 말이며 그 내용은 끊임없는 생성과 소멸의 과정을 말합니다. 접기

P. 191 깨달은 사람이 깨달음의 영역에 자족하지 않고 왜 역사의 길에 나서게 되는가? 존재에 대한 사랑[慈]과 연민[悲] 때문이다. 자비야말로 역사적 행위의 원동력으로서 깨달음과 역사를 묶어 내는 고리이다. 이 자비가 구체적으로 표출된 모습이 방편(方便), 원(願), 역(力)이라 부르는 불교적 행동양식이다. 원(願)이란 역사에 대한 어떤 목표 설정에 해당되며, 역(力)이란 원(願)을 최종적으로 성취하게 하는 불굴의 신념을 뜻하며, 방편이란 원(願)을 성취하는 구체적 방법론과 실천을 말한다. 따라서 원력과 방편은 자비의 역사적 표출에 다름 아니다. 깨달음만 있는 사람은 아라한(Arhan)이라 부른다. 깨달음에다 자비와 원력을 덧붙인 사람은 보살(Bhodhisattva)이라 부른다. 아라한이란 ‘깨달음’이라는 단일 언어로 이루어져 있고, 보살이란 ‘깨달음(보디)’과 ‘역사(사트바)’의 복합 언어로 이루어져 있다. 아라한은 소승의 삶이라 불리고 보살은 대승의 삶이라 불린다. 접기

P. 315 부처님은 깨달음을 고도로 수련된 높은 정신세계를 이루는 것이라 하지 않았다. 깨달음은 ‘잘 이해하는 것’이라고 하셨다. 깨달음이란 ‘잘 이해하는 것(understanding)’이라 말하면 수준이 떨어지는가? 깨달음을 ‘~에 대한 이해’로 볼 것인가, 그렇지 않으면 ‘몸과 마음의 완성된 그 어떤 경지’로 볼 것인가에 따라 깨달음을 이루고자 하는 방법도 크게 달라질 것이다. 깨달음을 얻는 데 소요되는 시간이나 기간은 말할 것 없이 크게 차이날 것이다. 만일 깨달음을 ‘올바른 이해’라고 한다면 그러한 깨달음을 얻는 데는 그리 오래 걸리지 않을 것이다. 부처님 자신도 고행을 통해서도 아니요 선정을 통해서도 아닌, 논리적인 사유와 성찰을 통해서 깨달음을 얻었다. 부처님이 녹야원의 첫 설법에서 다섯 수행자에게 당신의 깨달음의 세계를 설명하고 납득시키는 데 걸린 시간은 불과 며칠이 걸렸을 뿐이다. 그리고 ‘납득시킨다’는 말을 썼듯이 깨달음은 이해의 영역이라는 것이다. 납득시키는 방법도 선정삼매를 통한 것이 아니라 밤낮 없는 대화와 토론이었다. 접기





저자 및 역자소개

현응 (지은이)

저자파일

최고의 작품 투표

신간알림 신청



1955년 경남 창원에서 태어났다. 불교에 인연이 있어 1971년 해인사로 출가해 종성(宗性) 화상을 은사로 수계했다. 해인사승가대학을 졸업하고 봉암사, 해인사 등 제방 선원에서 정진하기도 했다. 해인사승가대학에서 강의를 하였으며, 대승불교승가회, 선우도량 등 불교 단체를 결성하여 활동했다. 대한불교조계종 총무원 기획실장, 중앙종회의원, 불교신문사 사장, 해인사 주지 등을 역임했고, 현재 대한불교조계종 교육원장으로 재임중이다.





최근작 : <Enlightenment and History : Theory and Praxis in Contemporary Buddhism>,<깨달음과 역사>,<깨달음과 역사> … 총 6종 (모두보기)







출판사 제공 책소개

이미 고전의 반열에 오른, 최초의 불교역사철학 에세이!



조계종 교육원장 현응 스님의 『깨달음과 역사』 초판은 26년 전인 1990년 해인사출판부에서 출판됐다. 민주화의 열기가 봇물처럼 넘쳐나던 1980년대 중후반에 쓴 원고를 모아 엮은 것으로, “불교의 인식론과 존재론을 깨달음(보디)의 영역으로, 현실과 실천의 범주를 역사(사트바)의 영역으로 거두어들인 최초의 불교역사철학 에세이. 완전히 새롭게 불교해석을 함으로써 불교도에게 세상을 보고 역사를 인식하는 안목을 열어주고, 보살행 실천의 지침을 제공해 주는 역작.”이라는 찬사와 함께 한국불교계에 큰 반향을 일으켰다.

세월이 흘러 출판사 사정으로 절판된 뒤로는 복사본을 만들어 돌려보는 등 독자들의 한결같은 성원에 힘입어, 2009년 20년 만에 불광출판사에서 새롭게 개정판으로 나왔다. 개정판은 4쇄를 찍으며 여전히 독자들로부터 큰 호응을 이끌어냈다. 이후 2015년 9월 열린 『깨달음과 역사』 발간 25주년 기념 학술세미나 ‘깨달음과 역사, 그 이후’를 계기로, 불교계에 신선한 충격과 함께 스님들과 불교학자들 중심으로 깨달음에 대한 뜨거운 논쟁을 불러일으켰다. 이러한 ‘깨달음 논쟁’은 “오랜만에 추문이나 논란이 아닌 본질에 대한 논쟁이 벌어지고 있다.”는 긍정적인 반응 속에서 1년 가까이 지난 현재까지 활발히 진행중이다.

이번에 출간된 『깨달음과 역사』 개정증보판은 ‘깨달음 논쟁’을 촉발시킨 <깨달음과 역사, 그 이후>를 비롯해, <‘깨달음과 역사, 그 이후’ 반론에 대한 답변>, <기본불교와 대승불교> 원고를 새롭게 추가했다. 또한 표지 디자인에 획기적인 변화를 주어, 불교의 원형질을 이루는 유전자인 무상, 무아, 연기, 공, 자비를 변화와 관계성의 이미지로 추상화하여 현대적으로 형상화했다.

아직까지 『깨달음과 역사』를 접하지 못했다면, 일독을 권해본다. 지금까지 자신이 알고 있던 불교에 대한 고정관념이 하나하나 벗겨지는 놀라운 체험과 더불어 고전이 주는 묵직한 감동을 온전히 느낄 수 있을 것이다.



현응 스님이 깊은 인문학적 소양으로 갈파한

대승불교의 이상적인 인간상, 보살(Bodhisattva)



『깨달음과 역사』는 현응 스님의 독서와 사색, 수행, 실천행의 결정체이다. 현재 조계종 교육원장으로서 시대에 부응하는 승가교육개혁을 진두지휘하고 있는 스님은 일찍이 1994년 조계종 개혁회의 기획조정실장으로 현 종헌 종법의 기틀을 마련하였다. 또 종단의 굵직굵직한 중책을 맡아 탁월한 능력을 발휘, ‘조계종의 재사(才士)’라는 별명을 얻었다. 책을 손에서 놓지 않는 스님은 동서양 고전을 섭렵한 것은 물론, 최신 인문학 서적들을 챙겨 읽으면서 세상과 소통한다. “명석한 두뇌에 경학을 깊이 공부하고, 자기 사상과 입지가 분명한 사람”, “마음 씀이 부드러우나 일을 함에 굳은 신념을 가지고 추진하는 외유내강한 사람”으로 정평이 나있다.

한국불교는 대승불교를 지향한다. 대승불교의 이상형은 보디사트바(보살)이다. 스님은 이 책에서 보디와 사트바를 새로운 관점에서 해석하고 의미 부여를 하였다. 『깨달음과 역사』라는 제목처럼 이 책에 일관되게 흐르고 있는 주제는 ‘깨달음(Bodhi, 연기적 관점)’과 ‘역사(Sattva, 인생과 세상)’이다. 현응 스님은 깨달음은 ‘모든 번뇌를 끊고 고매한 인격을 이룬 높은 경지’가 아니라 ‘세상을 연기(緣起)의 관점으로 바르게 이해하는 것’이라고 강조한다. 깨달음이란 변화와 관계성의 법칙을 깨닫는 것, 다시 말해 삼라만상이 서로 연기적으로 존재하는 것임을 깨닫는 일임을 역설한다.



“보디사트바(보살)란 ‘깨달음(보디)’과 ‘역사(사트바)’의 합성어가 되는 것입니다. 통속적인 표현으로 ‘깨달음의 역사화’, ‘역사의 깨달음화’라고 하고 싶습니다만, 이 보살의 삶에 있어서는 그의 깨달음에 기초하는 역사로부터의 자유로움만 만끽하는 것은 아닙니다. 한 걸음 더 나아가 역사와 교섭하도록 적극 참여하여 그 자신을 투사시킨다고나 할까요. 표현은 뭐 합니다만, 저는 이것을 ‘역사로부터의 자유(freedom from being and history)’와 ‘역사에로의 자유(freedom to being and history)’를 겸한 삶이라고 말하곤 합니다.”



현응 스님은 깨달은 사람이 깨달음의 영역에 자족하지 않고 역사의 길에 나서는 것은 존재에 대한 사랑[慈]과 연민[悲] 때문이며, 자비야말로 역사적 행위의 원동력으로서 깨달음과 역사를 묶어내는 고리임을 거듭 강조한다. 깨달음과 역사가 따로 존재하지 않고 결합되었을 때, 비로소 우리 삶에 희망이 솟아나는 것이다.

그동안 우리가 알고 추구하던 불교는 너무도 ‘가난한 불교’였다. 맹목적으로 깨달음만 추구하며, 삶과 역사에 대한 이해와 관심이 부족했다. 깨달음은 신비롭거나 높디높은 경지가 아니다. 우리의 존재를 비롯한 모든 삼라만상을 변화와 관계성의 연기적 관점으로 올바르게 이해하는 데 있다. 이러한 깨달음이 역사의 현장에서 깊이 실천될 때 불교는 나와 세상을 두루 구제할 수 있다.



불교를 제대로 공부하고 실천할 수 있는

가장 정교한 입문서이자 바른 길잡이



이 책의 중심 내용은 불교를 구체적인 우리의 삶과 역사에 접목시키기 위한 노력이지만, 또 다른 중요한 가치는 불교는 어렵고 난해하다는 인식을 바꿔주는 데 있다. 특히 1장 ‘사제(師弟)에게 보내는 열두 번의 편지’에서는 어렵게만 느껴지던 불교 용어와 교리를 쉽고 진솔하게 풀어주고 있어 불교입문서 역할을 톡톡히 해준다. 깨달음[覺], 연기(緣起), 공(空), 윤회, 대승과 소승 등 애매하고 모호하게 다가왔던 개념들이 명확한 실체로 다가온다.

그리고 더욱 중요한 것은 불교를 머리로만 이해하는 것이 아닌, 불교정신이 우리의 삶 속에서 어떠한 행위로서 구현되어야 하는지를 밝히며 직접적인 실천으로 이끈다. 깨달음에 대한 개념과 수행법, 깨달은 사람의 삶의 모습, 보살이 역사의 현장에서 구체적으로 어떻게 살아가야 할지를 분명하게 제시하며 안내한다.

『깨달음과 역사』가 출간된 지 26년이 지난 지금, 과거보다 더욱 활발한 논의를 만들고 있는 것은 주목해 볼 만한 현상이다. 현응 스님이 이 책에서 설파하고 주장하는 내용이 누군가에게는 낯설고 불편할 수도 있다. 한국불교가 그동안 전통적 교리와 신행 방법만 고수하며 시대의 변화를 외면하지는 않았는지, 개인의 삶과 사회에 어떠한 역할을 했는지 반성이 필요한 지점이다. 불교정신과 사상이 역사현실 속에서 적극적으로 작동해야 한다는 현응 스님의 문제의식이 그동안 암묵적 침묵에 가려져 왔다면, 지금의 ‘깨달음 논쟁’은 여간 반가운 일이 아닐 수 없다. 그런 의미에서 이 책은 새로 출발하는 불교를 제안하고 있으며, 기존 불교의 재정립을 촉구하고 있다. 접기





    





그동안의 강의내용을 정리해서 모아놓은책. 이 시대에 불교인이 나아가야할 점에 대해 생각해보게 만드는 책이다. 대승과 소승, 돈오와 점수, 깨달음이란 무엇인가 하는 기본적이지만 사실은 자세히 얘기하길 꺼려왔던 문제에 대해서도 정리해놔서 소장가치가 있다고 봄.  

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Thanks to



    



[마이리뷰] 깨달음과 역사  





그동안 불자로 지내면서 어색했던 부분들을 일소해 쓸어버리는 듯 강렬한 인상을 준 책이다.

2500년 전의 가르침이 지금도 이어진다는 거야 고전을 읽는 사람들에게 익숙한 이야기겠지만, 나는 그 가르침 자체보다 그것이 전수되는 방식이 늘 같기는 커녕 더 어려워지는 듯 하여 어색했었다. 때로는 그간의 문화, 문명, 지식수준의 변화를 간과할 수 있는가 의문을 갖기도 했다.



쉽게 말해서 지금 사람들이 2500년 전 사람들보다 훨씬지식도 뛰어나고 이해력도 좋고, 배경 환경도 비교안될 정도로 좋은데, 그 부처님의 가르침을 이해하는 건 왜 더 오래걸리느냐의 문제였다.



현응스님은 이런 문제에 대해 답할 뿐만아니라 대승불교의 진정한 의미까지..

내가 생각하고 대충 그러려니.. 하는 문제들까지 싹 정리해서 문제제기를 하고 있다.

이 책이 왜 논란이 됐는지 알만했다.



밑줄치기를 중단했다. 모든 페이지에 밑줄을 쳐야할 것만 같아서다. 두고두고 읽어봐야겠다.



아, 현응스님의 답이 궁금한가?

부처님의 가르침, 즉 깨달음은 연기에 대한 이해를 통해 습득할 수 있는 것이라고 한다. 왕조시대고 책도 많이 없던 부처님 당시로서는 놀라운 이야기지만 지금은 그다니 혁명적인 이야긴 아닐 것이다.



그렇다면 우리가 할 일은? 우리의 수행은 끝인가?

그리고 그간 열심히 공부하며 수행하는 사람들은 헛수고인가?

그렇게 이분법적으로 볼 일이 아니다.

이 책이 놀라운 점은 이런 걸 융합한다는 데에 있다.

두고두고 봐야하는 이유다.

- 접기

모닥불 2018-01-01 공감(2) 댓글(0)


2019/07/16

Statement Regarding Historic Vote in Congress Supporting an End to the Korean War - Korea Peace Now!

Statement Regarding Historic Vote in Congress Supporting an End to the Korean War - Korea Peace Now!



Statement Regarding Historic Vote in Congress Supporting an End to the Korean War

The four core partners of the global campaign Korea Peace Now! Women Mobilizing to End the War applaud the recent historic vote in U.S. Congress calling for an end to the Korean War. As part of the National Defense Authorization Act, the U.S. House of Representatives approved an amendment by Rep. Ro Khanna declaring that diplomacy is essential with North Korea and calling for an end to the Korean War. 
“This vote is a game changer,” said Christine Ahn, executive director of Women Cross DMZ. “It’s a clear sign that the American people want an end to the oldest U.S. conflict, and that ending decades of hostilities with a peace agreement is the only way to resolve the nuclear crisis.”
“While this vote was largely symbolic, it reflects the growing momentum and political space for peace,” said Liz Bernstein, executive director of Nobel Women’s Initiative. “Now we must build on this momentum by including women in the peace process.”
“On behalf of the citizens of South Korea, I want to thank U.S. lawmakers for taking their courageous stand for the peace and security of millions of people on the Korean Peninsula,” said Youngmi Cho, executive director of the Korean Women’s Movement for Peace. “Ending the war will help North and South Korea improve relations and allow more inter-economic cooperation.”
“Now President Trump should follow through and take steps to build trust,” said YouKyoung Ko, a consultant for Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. “It’s time to formally declare an end to the Korean War and work toward a peace agreement.”
Read the Korean version of this statement here.
###

10 James Baldwin Books to Read Right Now - James Baldwin Book List



10 James Baldwin Books to Read Right Now - James Baldwin Book List




10 James Baldwin Books to Read in Your Lifetime


More from the literary legend behind If Beale Street Could Talk.

By McKenzie Jean-PhilippeJan 26, 2019

ULF ANDERSENGETTY IMAGES


James Baldwin is an iconic author for our time, a writer who gave the world countless poignant essays, shorts stories, novels, plays, and poems during his 63 years.

As a gay Black man coming to terms with his identity in the 1950s, '60s, and '70s, Baldwin—who died on December 1, 1987—used his distinct perspective and lyrical writing to shed light on issues of race, homosexuality, and religion in a way that placed him ahead of his time when it came to social commentary.
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From Go Tell It on the Mountain to Giovanni's Room and the newly-adapted for the big screen If Beale Street Could Talk, we've gathered some of Baldwin's most popular texts, all of which are still essential reading today. And don't worry: we've included a complete list of his life's work, too—because they're all worthy of praise.

Go Tell It on the Mountain

SHOP NOWGo Tell It on the Mountain (1953)

In his first novel, Baldwin penned a semi-autobiographical story about a boy named John Grimes, a teen growing up in 1930s Harlem who struggles with self-identity as the stepson of a strict Pentecostal minister. The story mirrors the author's own life; Baldwin, too was raised by a stepfather who served as a Baptist pastor.

"Mountain is the book I had to write if I was ever going to write anything else,'' he told The New York Times is 1985. ''I had to deal with what hurt me most. I had to deal, above all, with my father."


Notes of a Native Son

SHOP NOWNotes of a Native Son (1955)

In this collection of essays, the writer captured the complexities of being Black in America during the first rumblings of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s. Throughout his observations, Baldwin both lamented the injustices in the African American community and showed empathy for the oppressor, establishing himself as a key voice in the movement.

In a 1958 New York Times review of Notes of a Native Son, African American poet Langston Hughes said this of Baldwin's words: "America and the world might as well have a major contemporary commentator."
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Giovanni's Room
amazon.com
SHOP NOWGiovanni's Room (1956)

A landmark novel in American literature, Giovanni's Room follows an American man living in Paris who struggles with understanding his sexuality as he deals with the societal pressures of masculinity—all as he begins an affair with an Italian bartender named Giovanni.

The book, which is widely considered essential reading in the LGBTQ community, was a finalist for the National Book Awards' fiction category in 1957.



Nobody Knows My Name

SHOP NOWNobody Knows My Name: More Notes From a Native Son (1961)

In another collection of 23 culturally reflective essays, Baldwin highlights the complexity of discriminatory tensions in our society with words that are still just as poignant and relevant today. A selection of Baldwin's new and revised works, many of the titles originally appeared in publications like Esquire and The New York Times Magazine.

The essays earned him another spot as a finalist in the National Book Awards in 1962—this time in the nonfiction category.



Another Country

SHOP NOWAnother Country (1962)

Set in New York City's Greenwich Village in the 1950s, Another Country explores themes of mental health, interracial relationships, love, and bisexuality as the story follows the lives of a group of friends in the wake of a suicide.

After its release, many critics had mixed responses, with Paul Goodman for the New York Times writing that while the story was "personal, sinuous yet definite" it was also "strained [and] sometimes journalistic or noisy." He did, however, acknowledge that his harsher review was as a result of Baldwin's previous work, which caused for a higher standard of criticism.
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The Fire Next Time

SHOP NOWThe Fire Next Time (1963)

Comprised of two essays that were originally published in The New Yorker—"My Dungeon Shook: Letter to my Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of Emancipation" and "Down At The Cross: Letter from a Region of My Mind"—in The Fire Next Time, Baldwin explains the place of both race and racism in society, while also examining and criticizing Christianity's role in American beliefs.

At the time, critics saw this collection as a way for white Americans to (finally) get a look inside life was like as a Black citizen in this country.


Going to Meet the Man: Stories

SHOP NOWGoing to Meet the Man (1965)

A collection of eight short stories, this book delves into yet another set of cultural themes through its varied characters: a struggling jazz musician, an angry father, and a racist cop to name a few. Popular titles included are Sonny's Blues; This Morning, This Evening, So Soon; and The Man Child.



Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone

SHOP NOWTell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone (1968)

In this Baldwin novel, a fictional noted actor Leo Proudhammer nearly dies after suffering from a heart attack on stage. Throughout the rest of the novel, he reflects on the events of his life—both those that led him to fame, and those that revealed his weaknesses.


If Beale Street Could Talk

SHOP NOWIf Beale Street Could Talk(1974)

Now a Golden Globe-nominated film directed by Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk follows young couple Fonny and Tish as they deal with the trial and jailing of Fonny, who is falsely accused of rape. In the big screen version, the title characters are played by up-and-comers Stephan James and Kiki Layne.

When speaking to The Atlantic about what lead him to take the story to the big screen, Jenkins said, "Baldwin had a few voices that he wrote in, and one of those voices was just deeply sensual, innately in touch with human emotions... I think this book is the perfect fusion of the more essayistic protest novel and somebody who deeply believed in sensuality and love."

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I Am Not Your Negro

SHOP NOWI Am Not Your Negro (2017)

In the years before his death, Baldwin envisioned a book about his friends Martin Luther King, Malcom X, and Medgar Evers—but never finished it. By combining an unpublished manuscript called Remember This House and varied excerpts from Baldwin's book, notes, interviews, and letters, Raul Peck edited and published the story that the literary great never got to see come to life. Peck also directed the 2017 Oscar-nominated documentary of the same name.
A Complete List of James Baldwin Works

Essays
A Talk to Teachers
Nobody Knows My Name: More Notes of a Native Son
No Name in the Street
Notes of a Native Son
The Cross of Redemption: Uncollected Writings
The Devil Finds Work
The Evidence of Things Not Found
The Price of the Ticket


Novels
Another Country
Giovanni's Room
Go Tell It on the Mountain
If Beale Street Could Talk
Just Above My Head
Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone



RELATED STORIES

7 Moving Maya Angelou Quotes About Love

Read an Exclusive Excerpt by Tayari Jones

8 Ways You Can Read More Books in 2019





Plays
Blues for Mister Charlie
The Amen Corner

Poems
Jimmy's Blues and Other Poems

Short Stories
Come Out the Wilderness
Going to Meet the Man
Previous Condition
Sonny's Blues
This Morning, This Evening, So Soon
The Man Child
The Outing
The Rockpile

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2019/07/15

Origins: 5 Things That Led to Development of Quaker Protestant Christian Denomination | Newsmax.com



Origins: 5 Things That Led to Development of Quaker Protestant Christian Denomination | Newsmax.com

Quaker Origins: 5 Things That Led to Development of Protestant Christian Denomination

By Karen Ridder | Tuesday, 03 February 2015 02:17 PM


The Quaker Protestant denomination came out of a tumultuous time in the history of the English Church. The church formally known as the Religious Society of Friends was founded in the middle of the 17th century and is marked by a lack of hierarchical structure.

Here are five things that led to the development of the Quaker Protestant Christian denomination in the country today:

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1. The ideas of George Fox - George Fox believed that the faithful could have contact directly with the Holy Spirit and did not need the intercession of a priest or church leader. This was a radical idea for the English environment in which he lived, that had been vacillating between the authorities of the Catholic Church in Rome and the Church of England.

2. Becoming outlaws in England - In England, religious practices of Quakers and other small Christian sects were outlawed by Parliament. Quakers were persecuted for not participating in the Church of England.

3. Freedoms available in North America - Many Quakers left England and headed to North America to escape attacks on their faith. The first arrived as early as 1656. They still found persecution in the colonies, most notably Massachusetts.

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4. The founding of Pennsylvania - The British Colony of Pennsylvania was founded as a safe haven for Quakers by William Penn. Penn had acquired a land grant from King Charles II. He set up a colony in 1681 with the land that guaranteed religious freedom and safety for all, including Native Americans.


5. The Great Separation - Beginning in a Philadelphia yearly meeting in the 1820's, the Quaker Protestant group was divided into two main groups: those who wanted to stick with an emphasis on the authority of the Bible and those who wanted to focus on the "inner light." Similar splits occurred in several other meetings.



Read Newsmax: Origins: 5 Things That Led to Development of Quaker Protestant Christian Denomination | Newsmax.com

Evolution: 6 Key Events for Quaker Protestant Christian Denomination Since It Began | Newsmax.com

Evolution: 6 Key Events for Quaker Protestant Christian Denomination Since It Began | Newsmax.com



Quaker Evolution: 6 Key Events for Protestant Christian Denomination Since It Began

By    |   Tuesday, 03 February 2015 02:46 PM
The Quaker Protestant denomination has about 350,000 supporters worldwide. The movement, which started during the strife of the 17th century English debates about Christianity and faith practices, is associated with the founding of Pennsylvania as a colony. The group focuses on pacifism, equality and the "light" within each person.

Here are 6 events that have shaped the denomination since it began:

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1. George Fox’s vision in 1652 - The Preacher George Fox had been teaching at Puritan meetings in England – telling followers to listen to the voice of Christ that is within every person. It was not until he had a vision at the top of Pendle Hill in 1652, where he believed God told him to proclaim Christ’s power over sin. That became known and the Quaker movement started.

2. The Clarendon Code - In 1662 and 1664, the Clarendon Code resulted in thousands of Quakers facing prison for "illegal assembly" and refusing to take oaths. A statue of Mary Dyer sits today in Boston Common as a testimony to this time. She was hanged during this time for her religious beliefs.

3. The Toleration Act of 1689 - After facing persecution in England and seeking refuge in the American colonies, the English parliament offered some freedoms to the Quakers alongside other dissenting Protestant denominations. The Toleration Act of 1689 allowed "nonconformists," like the Quakers, to openly practice their faith as long as they took a loyalty oath.

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4. The Great Awakening - In the 1700's, a movement of revival swept the American colonies affecting the Quaker movement. The Awakening polarized colonists and many turned to Quaker ideas as a more moderate alternative. The ideas also paved the way for a split in the Quaker Protestant movement.

5. The Great Separation - In the 1820's, the Quaker Protestant denomination experienced a split between those who wanted to maintain a connection with the more traditional denominational approach, recognizing biblical authority above all else and those who wanted to focus on the "inward light" which guides the conscience of the believer. The traditional group became known as "Orthodox." The other group became known as "Hicksite."

6. Disputes between Gurney and Wilbur - Joseph John Gurney was a minister from England in the 1800's who emphasized on Quaker teachings that focused on a more mainline view of the importance of the Bible and the acceptance of Jesus for salvation. He advocated total abstinence from alcohol and campaigned against slavery. Those who followed these conservative ideas became known as Gurneyite Quakers. John Wilbur was another minister in the Religious Society of Friends who taught Quakers to focus on the "new light" and was concerned about the changes he saw in early 1800's Quaker practices. He believed in the importance of the Bible, but said that the "inward light" took precedence over scriptural text.


Read Newsmax: Evolution: 6 Key Events for Quaker Protestant Christian Denomination Since It Began | Newsmax.com 

5 Beliefs That Set Quakers Apart From Other Protestant Christians

5 Beliefs That Set Quakers Apart From Other Protestant Christians | Newsmax.com



5 Beliefs That Set Quakers Apart From Other Protestant Christians | Newsmax.com

5 Beliefs That Set Quakers Apart From Other Protestant Christians
By Cindy Hicks | Wednesday, 01 April 2015 03:50 PM
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Of all of the Protestant Christian denominations, that of Quakers is probably set apart the most. "Friends," as they call themselves, believe in the Trinity of the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit like other Christians, but the roles that each person plays varies widely among Quakers.

Below are five beliefs that set Quakers apart from other Protestant Christians:

1. Meetings: Quaker meetings, or a meeting of friends, may differ considerably, based on whether the individual group is liberal or conservative. Because of this there are basically two types of Quaker meetings. Meetings of meditation are mostly silent, with expectant waiting for an answer of some sort from the Holy Spirit.

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Individuals may speak in these meetings if they feel led to do so. Pastoral meetings can be much like an evangelical Protestant worship service, with prayer, readings from the Bible, hymns, music, and a sermon. Some branches of Quakerism have pastors, others do not.

2. Personal Communication: In order to communicate with each other and with God, Quakers often sit in a circle or square. This allows people to see and be aware of each other, but no single person is raised in status above the others. Some Friends describe their faith as an "Alternative Christianity," which relies heavily on personal communion and revelation from God rather than adherence to a creed and doctrinal beliefs. Early Quakers called their buildings steeple-houses or meeting houses, not churches.

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3. Continuing Revelation: Most Friends believe in the religious belief that truth is continuously revealed to individuals directly from God. Quakers are taught that Christ comes to teach the people himself. Friends often focus on trying to hear God. Because of this, Quakers reject the idea of priests, believing in the priesthood of all believers.


4. Equality: From its beginning, the Religious Society of Friends taught equality of all persons, including women. Some conservative meetings are divided over the issue of homosexuality.

5. Sacraments: Most Quakers believe that how a person lives their life is a sacrament, and that formal observances are not necessary. Quakers hold that baptism is an inward, not outward, act. And when it comes to communion, instead of the Lord’s Supper, Friends subscribe to the theory of spiritual communion with God, experienced during silent meditation.

SPECIAL: Can Prayer Heal You? Dr. Crandall Discovered the Truth 

Related Stories:
Quaker Origins: 5 Things That Led to Development of Protestant Christian Denomination
Quaker Evolution: 6 Key Events for Protestant Christian Denominations Since It Began



Read Newsmax: 5 Beliefs That Set Quakers Apart From Other Protestant Christians | Newsmax.com

Quaker Theology in Brief | The Postmodern Quaker



Quaker Theology in Brief | The Postmodern Quaker

Quaker Theology in Brief
George Amoss Jr. / April 8, 2013


Owning Our Theology

“Quaker theology” is sometimes said to be an oxymoron. But the belief that we have no theology is naïve. At least in our cultural context, to be involved in religion or spirituality is to hold a theology. To insist that one doesn’t is, therefore, to convey an unwillingness to acknowledge one’s own belief system qua belief system. Implicit in that is resistance to examining one’s world-view contextually and critically; ironically, such resistance is reminiscent of the rigid religion we thought we’d left behind. And of course denial does not alter reality.

The reality is that, although we’re not all theologians, we all do theology: each of us, even if not a theist of any sort, has ideas about what the word “God” means. And we each know what we accept and reject with regard to theistic belief. To believe in1 a God — or “Spirit,” “Light,” “Source,” “Ultimate Reality,” “the Absolute,” “the Divine,” “the Infinite,” etc. — is to affirm that a particular set of mental formations accurately represents the nature of reality; not to believe is to doubt or deny that given concepts convey correct information. Those ideas and non/beliefs are our theo-logy, our God-reasoning.

In flight from owning our theology, we may seek refuge in what has been called experientialism, the belief that individuals may obtain meaningful but ineffable Truth directly through nonverbal, or “pure,” experience.2 But “Truth,” too, is a mental formation, and a capitalized, sacralized one at that: it is already an interpretive concept. Even if “pure experience” exists, it cannot remain pure, devoid of interpretation, if it is to have meaning. Consequently, as a future essay will argue in detail, the notion of religious/spiritual experience that is wholly beyond language appears to be absurd.3 Further, a doctrine that truth is a matter of purely subjective revelation ignores the influence of culture — of the other — on our psyches and is akin to solipsism if not psychosis.4We do better, with respect to honesty and clarity, to confess our “sin of theology”5 and commit to the work of enunciating and struggling with it. To that end, I will offer here a succinct theological foundation statement for present-day Quakerism, a statement that respects the nature and power of the faith of our founders while being informed by contemporary thought.

A Faithful Contemporary Foundation

Primitive Quakerism constituted a radical simplification of Christian religion; it was hyperfocused on the power for/of living righteously. To bring that vision into the 21st century requires no elaboration but, on the contrary, invites further simplification: mythic scriptural elements that carried the message can be (not discarded but) bracketed as we focus on the message’s existential core. Setting aside, too, the more modern, norm-limned self-caricature that produces “the testimony of simplicity” and other focal displacements,6 we find that Quakerism can be, so to speak, simplicity itself. A foundational Quaker theology for today needs but four brief points.
“God” signifies “love” — in biblical Greek, agapē.7
“Love/agapē” signifies behavior, empathetic encounter with and response to the actual otherin her actual need.8
Each of us has, here and now, a degree (“measure”) of the power of agapē.
That agapē-power will shape our lives if we allow it to do so — if, that is, we commit ourselves to it, discern how we are impeding it, and get out of its way.

The essential Quaker message is, then, not only simple but also practical: commit yourself to God/love as that which moves you to respond justly and generously to the other, even at cost to you, and then pay attention to that love’s movement in your heart and allow it to guide and empower you; anything else is distraction and therefore anti-religion, anti-spirituality. In keeping with that, the first Friends announced the end of religion-as-we-know-it, emphatically including the end of teachers, techniques, and speculations. Their theology, like the biblical exegesis supporting it, served their belief that God-who-is-love had come to guide his people himself: it was a sign directing human beings to the motive power of agapē within. In our contemporary distillation of their theology, we follow in that spirit.

Faith and Practice

Because Quaker theology points directly to the working of agapē in the heart, there should be no question of translating theory into action. As the apostle James reminds us, faith and practice cannot be separated. To be a believer, said George Fox, is to be — actually, not forensically — “passed from death [i.e., sinfulness, or living harmfully] to life [i.e., righteousness, or living justly].” The apostle John (recalling the story of Cain and Abel) says, “And we are aware that we have passed out of death into life because we love our brothers; whoever is not loving their brother is remaining in death.”9 In traditional terms, “believers,” those who put their faith in God-who-is-agapē‘s guidance and power, enter into the divine life of love, become “partakers of the divine nature,” as they are made just through that faith: love is their resurrection and their life.10 In contemporary terms, it is through faith, commitment to agapē as supreme value and trust in its continuing guidance, that we are saved from the darkness of destructive narcissism. A properly Quaker theology simply points to the possibility and nature of such faith.

Quaker theology is realized in the fidelity of individual Friends to the continuing influence of agapē, in the fidelity of the community gathered in that love, and in the responsive work of agapē in the world. Always, this faith-and-practice is one. And always, because of that oneness, it is simple, simplicity itself — as are our lives when we embrace it.

______________________________

NOTES for Quaker Theology in Brief

[1] “Believe” is polysemous, so the phrase “believe in” has multiple possible meanings. It can indicate that I accept the facticity of something; for example, that I believe in a god in the sense of accepting that the god exists. It can indicate trust, as in, “I know that you’ll come through for me; I believe in you.” It can indicate that I approve of something, as in, “I believe in the separation of church and state.” Tellingly, “believe” can also indicate uncertainty, as in, “I believe that her sister’s name is Mary, but I’ll have to check.” In this post, I am using the phrase “believe in” primarily in the first sense, but I recognize that multiple senses of “believe” may be present in a person’s thinking about God.

[2] Experientialism has become de facto doctrine in some liberal Quaker circles, supporting an individualistic religion which meshes well with the contemporary consumerist mindset, at least in the U.S.A. For an example of that approach, see the 2012 draft Faith and Practice of Baltimore Yearly Meeting, pp. 19-21: “Certainly, each of us is encouraged to follow our individual spiritual path. […] Your Truth informs my own, and I am not constrained to accept your Truth as my own, but I am encouraged to listen to your testimony, to discern the value of your approach and how it affects my own path.” (The capitalization is in the original.) Not surprisingly, the book offers an impoverished understanding of Quaker community and worship as a “safe … environment” for “individualistic search,” for speaking about our own experiences, and for patiently listening to others speak about theirs in hopes of getting something for ourselves (see p. 24) — a safe environment, one might fear, for self-indulgence and grasping under the guise of spirituality.

[3] Fuller discussion of ideas such as “pure experience” must await future essays. For now, I simply note that to feel that an experience is religious, spiritual, or mystical involves ascribing that quality or meaning to it. Such ascription, even if done subconsciously, is interpretation, shaped by culture and language. (Acknowledging those facts, by the way, we can stand aside from the seemingly endless debate over whether “pure experience” is even possible.) For an excellent introduction to critical thinking about, and application of attribution/ascription theory to, the idea of religious experience, see Religious Experience Reconsidered by Ann Taves.

[4] “Impairment of reality testing [– an ego function that enables one to differentiate between external reality and an inner imaginative world –] is indicative of a disturbance in ego functioning that may lead to psychosis,” which is is characterized by inability “to distinguish personal subjective experience from the reality of the external world.” (Source: articles on reality testing and psychosis at http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com).

[5] That felicitous phrase was recently used by a Friend when quitting, apparently in frustration at the group’s negativity, an online Quaker theology discussion group.

[6] When Quakerism is defined, as it sometimes is by liberal Friends, in terms of shared practices and values, then it has devolved — exaltation of subjective experience notwithstanding — into a religion of externals and of law. Becoming thereby the very opposite of what it was while claiming to be the same, it now qualifies for the epithet “Anti-Quakerism.”

[7] See the letters of John; e.g., 1 Jn. 4:8b: ho theos agapē estin. On love as the nature of God, see Isaac Penington’s “Concerning Love.” That doctrine is taught as well by traditional Christian writers such as Augustine of Hippo, who wrote in his On the Trinity that “Love … is of God and is God….”

[8] That divine love means beneficial action for the other, even the enemy, is amply documented in the Christian scriptures; see, for example, Matthew 5:38-48. Note that this is where traditional Quakerism — unlike the cult of the individual and his personal “Truth” — may break free of solipsism and linguistic regression as well: agapē is not simply an inner feeling or a linguistic signified which becomes yet another signifier in a circle; it is empathetic action in the world, arising responsively in interpersonal encounter.

[9] On faith and works, see James 2. On what makes a “true believer,” see the Journal of George Fox, page 6 in the Penney edition. The quotation from John is 1 Jn. 3:14.

[10] “Partakers of the divine nature” is from 2 Peter 1:4. In the Quaker version of salvation by faith, when we trust in the Light, the guiding and empowering work of the spirit of Christ in the heart, we are incorporated into Christ here and now, “that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor. 5:21), for “now the justice/righteousness of God apart from the law has been made to appear … through Jesus Christ’s faith into all and upon all the ones having faith, for there is no distinction” (Romans 3:21-22). My final reference in the paragraph is to John 11:25, in which Christ the divine Logos, the visible form of God-who-is-love into whom believers are incorporated, says, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he were dead, shall live….”

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April 8, 2013 in Faith and Practice, Primitive Quakerism, Quaker convergence, Quakerism. Tags: God is love, Quaker theology, spirituality

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21 thoughts on “Quaker Theology in Brief”

Steven Davison
April 8, 2013 at 8:47 pm


George, you are right that we seem again to be moving on parallel tracks. I haven’t had a chance to read and respond to your comment on my blog on this topic, so this is just a comment on yours. As usual, I find your authoritative and somewhat technical tone both exhilarating and a bit off-putting—I feel a temptation to adopt a similar voice. But the substance of what you’re saying is exciting.

I want to share four essentials (plus one) that I’ve been carrying around since I attended a consultation in Richmond, Indiana, on “What do we hold in common as Quaker treasure?”—basically, what are the common Quaker essentials. I think they match up pretty well with yours. Here’s what happened:

Each participant was asked to write up answers to queries on what they felt were the Quaker essentials. Then in small groups we worked on creating a testimony that all of us in the group could affirm. On Saturday night in plenary, all the groups reported and then we all tried to arrive at a common sense of the meeting. This was the most gathered meeting of Friends I believe I ever attended (though I must add that I met a couple of Friends years later who had attended and who felt that the meeting had been possessed by Satan—literally; so there you are).

While the groups reported I kept a running list of “beliefs” and began connecting the common statements. In the end, I found four things that all groups had agreed upon:

That God calls each of us into a direct, unmediated relationship with God: “There is one, even Christ Jesus, who could speak to my condition.” “There is that of God in everyone.”

That the meeting as a worshipping community is collectively also called to a direct, unmediated relationship with God: “Christ has come to teach his people himself.” Quaker process.

Continuing revelation: passages from John 14 and 15, the origins of our name as the Religious Society of Friends, and from elsewhere in Christian scripture.

That we are called to live our outward lives as testimonies to the truth that has been inwardly revealed to us: “Let your lives speak.” The testimonies.

On Sunday morning, our clerk Jan Wood gave a sermon in our only programmed meeting for worship that unpacked how we had lived the commandment of love, and I added love (your agapē) to the original list of four essentials. Her message brought us back into the covered state we had enjoyed (most of us, anyway) the night before.
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George Amoss Jr.
April 8, 2013 at 10:24 pm


Steven, thanks for your comments. Tone is an individual matter, I think, and at least partially related to topic; I trust you to adopt whatever feels appropriate here. I hope that the tone of my comments on your blog doesn’t put you off, but, again, I trust that you’ll read and consider. If you find qualities such as disappointment and even impatience there, please consider those as efforts at communication as well.

I don’t know how I would feel about each of those points of agreement you’ve listed. For example, as the last section of this post indicates, I don’t find it useful to think in terms of putting principles into practice — but maybe that’s not what you have in mind when you mention testimonies. We’d need to go into detail about what each of the ideas seems to signify. Maybe we can do that sometime; I’m sure it would be helpful.
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Clem
April 10, 2013 at 5:30 am


Friend, what is the purpose of theology, as of love, if not putting particular principles(whether “agapē”, as opposed to other Greek/contemporary meanings for love, and “simplicity”) into practice? Augustine’s love and do what you will led to a lot of regretful( dare I say “un-Friend-ly”) associations in the 60’s while following your four principles(with or without Notes).
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George Amoss Jr.
April 10, 2013 at 7:58 am


The fact that Augustine recognized the Johannine theology of the nature of God does not mean that he understood love and discipleship as a Quaker might many centuries later. Augustine’s “love and do what you will” is a principle, and it produced some ugly results (such as support for physical punishment of heretics) when he put it into practice in his own life. But love as presented in this post is neither license nor ideology but the binding of wounds of the stranger.

I don’t know where you were in the ‘sixties, but where I was, we were quite explicit about rejecting the tradition of which Augustine was a most influential “father,” and those of us who knew of Augustine knew that he was no exponent of libertinism. But Augustine is a minor reference in an endnote here. Whether in the ‘sixties or now, no one could legitimately use this post’s definition of love, as empathetic addressing of the needs of the other, as a basis for a self-absorbed lifestyle. I wonder if you have been able to read the post without looking through lenses of worrisome associations. It may be helpful, too, to read previous posts on the topic (e.g., “Judged by Jesus”), in which the definition of love is more detailed: the current one is presented in that context.
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Robert F
April 13, 2013 at 9:33 pm


Regarding step 4: part of what you’re saying about getting out of the way sounds like the wu wei of Taoist teaching, and the other part involving commitment sounds like it involves a decision (once for all? repeated?) made by an act of will. How are the two elements, the commitment and the getting out of the way, balanced, and how would one know if balance has been attained? Or does one ever know?
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George Amoss Jr.
April 13, 2013 at 10:35 pm


I’ve learned to be quite cautious about attempts to syncretize traditions, Robert, but it’s an interesting question.

In the approach I describe, the Quaker makes a commitment to allowing agapē to work in her and then learns to discern when she is blocking, interfering in, its workings. In order to do that, she must learn to “stand still” from her “own thoughts, searching, seeking, desires, and imaginations” (G. Fox). By doing so, she gets out of love’s way, because her own thoughts, desires, etc. are naturally unloving: that’s the traditional view, on which I’ll elaborate a little below.

The Taoist notion of wu wei, or non-action, is a different animal, a child of a philosophy focused not on agapē but on Tao. In the Taoist doctrine, Tao is the way of nature. The human being, by what is called “non-acting,” acts in accord with it. If we want to add a Zen flavor, we might say that in wu wei the adept spontaneously acts according to his true nature. But in the Christian system (as we just saw in the first paragraph), agapē is not the way of nature: it is counter to the way of nature, which is the way of selfishness, of sin and death. Nor is agapē the true if hidden nature of the human being as such; as is noted in the post, it is the nature of God, into whom human beings may be reborn through the grace of faith. It is present in them, “unless they be reprobate,” but as something alien to their nature, as a seed which they, by nature, despise and crush. The Taoist may go with the flow, but the Quaker goes against it: she “stands still,” stopping the natural flow in order that agapē, rather than Tao, may move her.

So it seems to me that the Quaker’s “standing still in the light”, traditionally conceived, differs from the Taoist’s non-action. I can understand seeing some similarity in the mechanism, and, again, I think it’s an interesting perception. But I think that the two approaches differ fundamentally, even if technique may appear similar in some ways.

That probably obviates the question of balance, but to clarify: it is not the idea or ideal of agapē to which the Friend is committed, but the actuality, its working in the heart. So there shouldn’t be any conflict, or need for balancing, between the Quaker’s commitment to love and her standing still from her “natural” inclinations: the latter is an expression of the former.

I know that I haven’t been able to do justice to your question, but I hope that this offers a point of departure.
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Robert F
April 14, 2013 at 4:08 am


Then what makes for the difference in what the Quaker finds in getting out of the way from what the Taoist finds is the commitment each undertakes when they start? Their different ends then are shaped by their different intents and motivations? Given the fact that their getting out of the way does not land them in the same place, there must be a high level of importance to the difference of that with which they are filling their getting out of the way.
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George Amoss Jr.
April 14, 2013 at 7:27 am


That makes sense to me, Robert. By their fruits you shall know what motivates them. Tao and God are not the same.
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rengajim
April 17, 2013 at 4:50 pm


Good Afternoon George:

I’m not convinced that Quakers engage in theology in the manner that you describe, or that it is inherent in Quaker Discourse even when such discourse is not explicitly theologica. I tend to think that the relationship of theology to religious experience is similar to the relationship between music theory and listening to music. Lots of people sing songs while walking, driving to work, gardening,etc., without engaging in music theory. I would like to suggest that it similarly possible to be engaged with, to experience, God and not be engaged with theology.

Partly it depends on what one means by ‘theology’. I tend to gloss the word as ‘systematic theology’, like what one finds in Aquinas or Calvin. The only Quaker work I know of that falls into this kind of theology is Barclay’s ‘Apology’. On the other hand, if Journaling can be theology, then the concept broadens. I’d be interested in your take on the extent of the term as you are using it.

Finally, I’m not convinced as to your view that ‘pure experience’ is impossible. Again, it depends on what one means by pure experience. I think human beings have a lot of non-conceptual experiences, but those may still be mediated by non-conceptual habits and tendencies. But, on the other hand, I do think it is possible to enter into a realm of mind where conceptualization is absent in the sense of having meaning centered on the conceptual understanding of the experience. This is a subtle and difficult area to discuss and I look forward to what you might have to say on this in further posts.

Jim
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George Amoss Jr.
April 17, 2013 at 5:35 pm


Jim, the post considers theology in the very basic sense of what one thinks the word “God” means. When a Quaker uses the word “God” or a cognate, presumably the word has some meaning for her, points to some referent for her — otherwise, she is only pronouncing a nonsense syllable. To say that Quakers don’t engage in theology in that minimal but essential way is to assert, it seems to me, that when Quakers say “God” they don’t know what they mean — or they mean nothing. As fuzzy as Quaker thinking can be, I don’t think that’s the case.

When speaking of experience, the opposite of “pure” is not “conceptualized” but “interpreted.” Explicit conceptualization appears to be a final stage in the process of interpretation. Like William James, I strongly suspect that adult, fully functional humans are unable to have completely uninterpreted experience (try seeing the world “directly,” as your eyes see it, without interpretation by the brain: can’t be done), but that’s not the point that was made in the post. Whether such experience is possible or not is not at issue here: the argument is that uninterpreted experience has — by definition — no meaning, and that “spiritual” experience is, therefore, interpreted experience.

As always, thanks for your comments.
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Vail Palmer
April 8, 2017 at 11:22 pm


Bingo! As Whitehead wrote, “If you want a record of uninterpreted experience, you must ask a stone to record its autobiography.” I think we are very much headed the same direction.
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Robert F
April 19, 2013 at 9:00 pm


“Like James, I strongly suspect that adult, fully functional humans are unable to have completely uninterpreted experience…..” Yes; it would be the same as having no experience.
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Chris Attaway
May 22, 2013 at 2:14 pm


I find a lot of your sentiments echo pieces of my own, though I have been trying to think of what it means to love. I’ve found some success — though I have not written about it to any significant degree — in conceiving of love as somehow related to what I call “being-with-others,” as opposed to other existentialist notions like “being-for-others.” While still in rough formulation, the notion is that love is relating yourself to others in a way which promotes their being in general. I do not mean to say that it promotes their pleasure or diminishes their suffering; rather, I mean the promotion of their fundamental being (perhaps their “dasein,” though I don’t fully understand what Heidegger means by the term).
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Gerard Guiton
August 7, 2017 at 10:18 pm


George, Hi. What are your views on spiritual direction?–some, as you know, call it spiritual counselling. companionship.friendship.
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George Amoss Jr.
August 7, 2017 at 11:13 pm


Outside of my boyhood in the Catholic Church, Gerard, I have no experience with that. If it is restricted to what we sometimes refer to as taking people to the Inward Teacher and leaving them there (directing people to the Spirit’s direction, so to speak), then it would seem to be a good thing. If it goes beyond that, then I’d be wary. (I’m reminded of a cartoon in which Heraclitus laments that he directed people to listen not to him but to the Logos, but they didn’t listen to him:http://existentialcomics.com/comic/97)
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Gerard Guiton
September 6, 2017 at 7:54 am


The modern form is not directive as say in the 17th C; I’m thinking here of Isaac Penington but also of Francois de Sales, Jeanne de Chantal and the like. The modern form accompanies another person along their spiritual path, the aim being an ever closer relationship with God. The process is supposed to be theirs.
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Quaker Socialist Anarchist
April 25, 2018 at 3:02 pm


“’Love/agapē’ signifies behavior, empathetic encounter with and response to the actual other in her actual need”

Given this, how would you account for people with really bad ASPD (“sociopath”) and/or Psychopathy? I’m not trying to put you or your theology on the spot or anything, this is an issue I have been trying to address myself.
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Quaker Socialist Anarchist
April 25, 2018 at 3:03 pm


What I am concerned about is the ability of the psychopath to experience the Event in compassion.
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George Amoss Jr.
April 25, 2018 at 7:37 pm


It seems to me that if someone is not capable of compassion, then he or she cannot be expected to live in the light of Christ. But it also seems to me that the important question is not “what about certain other persons” but “what can you feel?”

Quaker theology does not need to assert that everyone is always capable of life in Christ. For earlier Friends, who lacked our understanding of psychological phenomena, such incapacity was likely deemed to be willful up to a point: if one remained incalcitrant past one’s “day of visitation,” God’s offer, so to speak, would be withdrawn. A saying of Paul that Fox liked to quote, “Christ is within except ye be reprobates,” seems to convey that. (I suspect, however, that there is more in Fox’s use of that than I have yet sussed.) From either perspective, the end result is the same: even if there was once hope of conversion of heart for that person, now there is none.
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Quaker Socialist Anarchist
May 8, 2018 at 11:11 am


What does this mean for “answering that of God within everyone”?
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George Amoss Jr.
May 8, 2018 at 1:11 pm


We do it in a manner that is appropriate for the unique individual with whom we’re interacting.

The first Quakers’ interactions with various people can be illuminating as examples.