TOP 1000 REVIEWERon March 26, 2010
THE QUAKERS: A Very Short Introduction by Pink Dandelion is a pretty substantial presentation of Quaker life and belief in 160 pages. Dandelion divides the book into the chapters History, Worship, Belief, Theology and language, Ecumenism and finally The future of Quakerism.
I grew up in a Philadelphia suburb founded by Quakers, but I could never really get a handle on what the religion was all about. Dandelion delineates three clear strains of Quakerism today, from the Evangelicals who have structured services to the Conservatives who balance Scripture and the "inner light" and finally the Liberal Quakers who are not longer explicitly Christian and don't necessary acknowledge the existance of a God. In the final chapter, the author speaks of the probable developments in Quaker demographics, with the first two denominations surviving in the Global South, and the third declining just like other postmodern Christian denominations.
The author notes that Quakers are most visible in protests against war or injustice. The only failing of the book I see is that she does not talk more about the organizations involved and how they are viewed by various Quaker denominations, or how they respond to Cold War allegations that they are Communist fronts. That for me would have made this a perfect introduction.
I grew up in a Philadelphia suburb founded by Quakers, but I could never really get a handle on what the religion was all about. Dandelion delineates three clear strains of Quakerism today, from the Evangelicals who have structured services to the Conservatives who balance Scripture and the "inner light" and finally the Liberal Quakers who are not longer explicitly Christian and don't necessary acknowledge the existance of a God. In the final chapter, the author speaks of the probable developments in Quaker demographics, with the first two denominations surviving in the Global South, and the third declining just like other postmodern Christian denominations.
The author notes that Quakers are most visible in protests against war or injustice. The only failing of the book I see is that she does not talk more about the organizations involved and how they are viewed by various Quaker denominations, or how they respond to Cold War allegations that they are Communist fronts. That for me would have made this a perfect introduction.
on July 13, 2012
In many ways, "The Quakers: a Very Short Introduction" is a quite a well-built and desirable guide to Quakerism, both literally and figuratively speaking. (Its small size, good typography, modest price, and high-quality paper clearly add to its enjoyability.) Given that it's generally clear, well-researched, and wide-ranging, I concur that this is a great book for a serious student of the faith -- but only when read in conjunction with other viewpoints. Because frequent Quaker schisms over the past two centuries have led to so much complexity in the varieties of Quaker experience today, the book's ability to survey them all is a remarkable accomplishment.
But I would like to spend the rest of my space on some difficulties I encountered while reading it. Let's start with the fundamentals. The core chapters cover history, worship, belief, theology, and ecumenism. The potential for redundancy ought to be apparent from the mere list. All of these chapters compare and contrast various aspects of theology and polity across the flavors of Quakerdom, and -- given the strict size restrictions imposed by the series format -- do so in a redundant way, chewing up extremely valuable real estate that should have been devoted to three other crucial aspects of a religion -- namely: praxis, sociology, and impact.
There may be some faith traditions in which one or more of these facets might not be of the utmost importance, but Quakerism is clearly not one of them. I would go so far as to suggest that if you do not understand how Quakers put their faith into practice in a wounded world (both individually and corporately); how Quakerism historically organized a unique, very powerful transatlantic cultural and economic network; and what kind of historical impact Quakers have made in the fields of peace-work, human rights, and so on, you have really missed the whole point. This serious defect is only partially addressed by a timeline at the end. The work of Alice Paul in securing suffrage in 1920 isn't mentioned; nor the influence of Quakerism on Ralph Waldo Emerson or Walt Whitman; nor of Thomas Paine on American democracy; nor of Bayard Rustin on civil rights; nor the Quaker role in the rise of New York shipping or Massachusetts whaling. References to the accomplishments of the American Friends Service Committee are only fleeting. The fact that the book is relatively Anglo-centric (which in many respects can actually be a plus for the American reader) doesn't excuse this lack of historical perspective.
Even the book's central concern -- the historical evolution of the sect's many liberal-conservative schisms -- left me with a few nagging questions. I am still at a loss to reconcile Dandelion's terse account of George Fox's fateful encounter with the Seekers with Catherine Alabanese's placement, in her acclaimed "A Republic of Mind and Spirit," of the Quaker origin-story within the influence of metaphysical religion (the Hermetic tradition, The Familists, and Jacob Boehme). An equally perplexing problem is understanding how some Evangelical Quakers can justify their irresistible urge to inject Quakerism with the sacraments so firmly rejected when Quakerism was established.
I also found Dandelion's quirky account of theology in my own unprogrammed Quakerism too much of a straw man, an utter misrepresentation of "the status of speech" in silent worship: "words are not seen to be of practical use in expressing spirituality." (page 80). This is Nonsense of the First Kind: a proposition I find unjustified in either fact or common opinion.
In addition, we soon thereafter encounter Nonsense of the Second Kind: an assertion so patently contradictory that it literally is non-sense, a leap of illogic. In many places Dandelion documents greater or lesser amounts of Evangelical antipathy to gays and lesbians; but then he tells us that while "Liberal" (that is, "unprogrammed" in the USA) Friends are "exclusive," "Evangelical Quakerism is ultimately more inclusive. It both seeks and welcomes everyone" (page 112). Even leaving aside these "pelvic issues" on the conservative-liberal divide, the book has by this time redundantly documented Evangelical use of a credal litmus-test to exclude heretics for even minor deviations.
Moreover, "Short Introduction" resorts to quirky, confusing (if not indeed confused) terminology and concepts whenever Dandelion is wrestling with his attraction to/repulsion from "Liberal" Quakerism. He introduces an idiosyncratic use of the term "realism" as replacement for the perfectly-apt term "dogmatism." And then, he redefines the term "non-theism" to mean "militant atheism," which is a totally unacceptable misreading of the non-theist position; one that should have been disallowed. (page 110). (Indeed, on several occasions while reading the book, I wondered whether the series editor was just asleep at the wheel.)
Before closing, I want to address one matter which is only implied, though never explicitly stated: namely, that the greatest divide among Quakers is between those who "accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior" and those who do not. I don't think so; not when the practical fundamentals are carefully weighed. I think there is an even deeper divide between those who believe God responds to personal petitions and those who do not; but then, I think the same applies to every religion ever invented.
In short, it's a great, but greatly-flawed, introduction to The Quaker Way, and will serve you quite well in the context of reading another historical survey. I was fortunate enough to read it alongside Chuck Fager's quite complimentary "Without Apology: A Manifesto Of Liberal Quaker Theology."
But I would like to spend the rest of my space on some difficulties I encountered while reading it. Let's start with the fundamentals. The core chapters cover history, worship, belief, theology, and ecumenism. The potential for redundancy ought to be apparent from the mere list. All of these chapters compare and contrast various aspects of theology and polity across the flavors of Quakerdom, and -- given the strict size restrictions imposed by the series format -- do so in a redundant way, chewing up extremely valuable real estate that should have been devoted to three other crucial aspects of a religion -- namely: praxis, sociology, and impact.
There may be some faith traditions in which one or more of these facets might not be of the utmost importance, but Quakerism is clearly not one of them. I would go so far as to suggest that if you do not understand how Quakers put their faith into practice in a wounded world (both individually and corporately); how Quakerism historically organized a unique, very powerful transatlantic cultural and economic network; and what kind of historical impact Quakers have made in the fields of peace-work, human rights, and so on, you have really missed the whole point. This serious defect is only partially addressed by a timeline at the end. The work of Alice Paul in securing suffrage in 1920 isn't mentioned; nor the influence of Quakerism on Ralph Waldo Emerson or Walt Whitman; nor of Thomas Paine on American democracy; nor of Bayard Rustin on civil rights; nor the Quaker role in the rise of New York shipping or Massachusetts whaling. References to the accomplishments of the American Friends Service Committee are only fleeting. The fact that the book is relatively Anglo-centric (which in many respects can actually be a plus for the American reader) doesn't excuse this lack of historical perspective.
Even the book's central concern -- the historical evolution of the sect's many liberal-conservative schisms -- left me with a few nagging questions. I am still at a loss to reconcile Dandelion's terse account of George Fox's fateful encounter with the Seekers with Catherine Alabanese's placement, in her acclaimed "A Republic of Mind and Spirit," of the Quaker origin-story within the influence of metaphysical religion (the Hermetic tradition, The Familists, and Jacob Boehme). An equally perplexing problem is understanding how some Evangelical Quakers can justify their irresistible urge to inject Quakerism with the sacraments so firmly rejected when Quakerism was established.
I also found Dandelion's quirky account of theology in my own unprogrammed Quakerism too much of a straw man, an utter misrepresentation of "the status of speech" in silent worship: "words are not seen to be of practical use in expressing spirituality." (page 80). This is Nonsense of the First Kind: a proposition I find unjustified in either fact or common opinion.
In addition, we soon thereafter encounter Nonsense of the Second Kind: an assertion so patently contradictory that it literally is non-sense, a leap of illogic. In many places Dandelion documents greater or lesser amounts of Evangelical antipathy to gays and lesbians; but then he tells us that while "Liberal" (that is, "unprogrammed" in the USA) Friends are "exclusive," "Evangelical Quakerism is ultimately more inclusive. It both seeks and welcomes everyone" (page 112). Even leaving aside these "pelvic issues" on the conservative-liberal divide, the book has by this time redundantly documented Evangelical use of a credal litmus-test to exclude heretics for even minor deviations.
Moreover, "Short Introduction" resorts to quirky, confusing (if not indeed confused) terminology and concepts whenever Dandelion is wrestling with his attraction to/repulsion from "Liberal" Quakerism. He introduces an idiosyncratic use of the term "realism" as replacement for the perfectly-apt term "dogmatism." And then, he redefines the term "non-theism" to mean "militant atheism," which is a totally unacceptable misreading of the non-theist position; one that should have been disallowed. (page 110). (Indeed, on several occasions while reading the book, I wondered whether the series editor was just asleep at the wheel.)
Before closing, I want to address one matter which is only implied, though never explicitly stated: namely, that the greatest divide among Quakers is between those who "accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior" and those who do not. I don't think so; not when the practical fundamentals are carefully weighed. I think there is an even deeper divide between those who believe God responds to personal petitions and those who do not; but then, I think the same applies to every religion ever invented.
In short, it's a great, but greatly-flawed, introduction to The Quaker Way, and will serve you quite well in the context of reading another historical survey. I was fortunate enough to read it alongside Chuck Fager's quite complimentary "Without Apology: A Manifesto Of Liberal Quaker Theology."
on June 10, 2008
The Quakers: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)
I bought the book with the hope of clarifing & focusing my answers when I am asked about the Friends. It is a great help, easy to read, concise, and to the point. I would recommend it to newcomers, who are begining to gather information, as a starting point.
I bought the book with the hope of clarifing & focusing my answers when I am asked about the Friends. It is a great help, easy to read, concise, and to the point. I would recommend it to newcomers, who are begining to gather information, as a starting point.
on August 20, 2011
The subject is, to me, fascinating. The Quakers started as a group in 1652 - by 1947 it has won a Nobel Prize in Peace and by now it has 340,000 members worldwide. Their use of silence in gaining spiritual insights and of consensus in making decisions are both famous and distinct.
In the past three centuries, it has evolved. The perennial issues the affect Christianity as a whole also affect the Quakers. These issues are:
- How much emphasis should be put on spiritual experience, and how much on scripture?
- How traditional doctrines should remain? Is progressivism true?
- How congregational should the organization be? Should worship be programmed?
- Can one have a "Christian" stance on controversial subjects like abortion and sexuality?
Like other forms of Christianity, its membership is still burgeoning, particularly so in Africa. Likewise, the spirit of ecumenism is also flourishing, to a certain degree.
This introduction is brief and succinct; and highly readable. Four stars.
In the past three centuries, it has evolved. The perennial issues the affect Christianity as a whole also affect the Quakers. These issues are:
- How much emphasis should be put on spiritual experience, and how much on scripture?
- How traditional doctrines should remain? Is progressivism true?
- How congregational should the organization be? Should worship be programmed?
- Can one have a "Christian" stance on controversial subjects like abortion and sexuality?
Like other forms of Christianity, its membership is still burgeoning, particularly so in Africa. Likewise, the spirit of ecumenism is also flourishing, to a certain degree.
This introduction is brief and succinct; and highly readable. Four stars.
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