The society of Friends

The society of the friend is known as several names such as friends' church, Quakers, a religious society of the friends, children of the light, friends, friends of the truth, saints, the seekers, friends of friends, and publishers of the truth. Traditionally, the Quakers were found by George Fox, a shoemaker.it came officially into being on September 27.1540. James Gilchrist Lawson writes, "perhaps no other small denomination of Christian has so influenced the world for good as have the Quakers or Friends."

2. History

George Fox (1624–1691). 

He was born in 1624 in England.6 He was the son of a weaver. He worked as a shoemaker. His wife’s name was Margaret Fell. He was carefully trained at home in the Puritan religion. He became a religious activist at the age of 19. In 1646, he started to preach freely and for the Over the next forty years, he spread his religious views by writing and itinerant preaching in England. He was imprisoned eight times for preaching views that annoyed the religious and political establishment of his time. Traditionally, he was the founder of the Quakers. He was dead on 1691The history of the Quakers was amazing. They were spread all over the world, but in between They faced lots of persecution. They were imprisoned and beaten in both the British Isles and the British colonies. They were banished on pain of death from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. History tells us that some Quakers were hanged in Boston Square for returning to preach their belief. William Penn founded the Quaker colony of Pennsylvania in 1682. This place was safe for Quakers to live and practise their faith. They grew steadily into a strong and united society intion of persecution. In the history of the Quakers, we can see the division among them. 

3. Quakers’ teaching

The Quaker’s teaching is based on the inner light, or inward light, meaning the apprehension of God, who is within everyone, Fox claimed that true believers could engage with the risen Lord directly by the Holy Spirit without ministers, priests, or following any sacraments or creeds. All are capable of experiencing the promise of Christ, enabling all to live in Christ’s love. They teach against giving tithes and taking oaths. They don’t want to be involved in the war Because they believed that the war was totally againstGod’s will and taught about pacifism,They are committed to causes including women’s suffrage, the abolition of slavery, and prison reform.Quakers are pioneers in bringing equality between men and women. 

4. The practise and belief 

4.1. Beliefs and Ideas 

There are two fundamental aspects to the Quaker faith. The first one is that they believe that all people are capable of directly experiencing the divine nature of God. They said there was no need for any mediator, like a priest, or for any kind of spiritual intercessor. There is no need to perform any kind of ritual work. They don’t believe in creeds and sacraments; they believe in the inner light, which means everyone has God within them. The second one is that they believe in direct revelation. They said that God never stops talking to his people. It is said that a Quaker is someone who seeks to be faithful to the deepest truth that we can encounter and is guided to that truth by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. by the presence of God in our lives and by the understanding that this is a real experience that we can encounter. Their ideas include ending the slave trade, anti-racism, human rights, women's rights, reducing poverty, and prison reform. They are active in many charities.

4.2. Worship

Quaker worship is designed to let God teach and transform the worshipers. Quaker worship is very different from the worship in most Christian churches because it doesn’t follow a sect's liturgy or code of rules, which means a service has no structure and no one leads it. Methodis There are two types of worship among the Quakers: unprogrammed and programed. The unprogrammed worship is more traditional, but the programmed worship is more modern. In unprogrammed worship, Quakers worship without a liturgy because they believe that worship happens when two or three people come together to worship. This statement is supported by Jesus’ statement in Matthew 18:20, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them." Nothing more is needed. There is another way of worship for the Quakers that is known as "meeting for worship" rather than "services" or "church." A group of people sit in a room in silence for an hour in a meeting for worship. They sit in silence for an hour; they don’t play any instruments or sing any hymns. They wait for the voice of their inner light; if they get something, they stand and share it among themselves; if they don’t find anything, they meet for worship.ends without speaking any words. In programmed worship, people use hymns for worship and read from the scripture. It is like Baptist and Methodist.

4.3. Holy books and days

Quakers do not regard any book as being the actual word of God as other religions do, for example, the Christian regards the Bible, the Muslim regards the Quran, and the Buddhist regards the Tri-Pitka or Pali, but 

they don’t have anything like this. Most of the Quakers regard the Bible as a very great inspirational book, but they don’t see it as the only one because they read other books that can guide their lives. They follow their inner light, which means God is within everyone. There are no holy days for the Quakers. They don’t celebrate any special days as Christians celebrate Christmas and Easter. 

4.4. Sacraments and creeds

Sacraments refer to the baptism and Lord's Supper from the Christian perspective. The Quakers neither practise baptism nor the Lord's Supper, or Eucharist. They tried to carry the sacred into every part of their lives. They said that baptism should not be a single act of initiation but a continuing growth in the Holy Spirit and a commitment that must be continually renewed. The creeds refer to the statement of the belief. For example, in Christianity, many of us follow the Nicene Creed. But the Quakers do not follow the creed.They do agree on certain principles that guide their society. "There is God inside all people," which means"inner light." "Divine truth can’t be confined by creed. "Faith should be evident in daily action." God’s creation must be respected and preserved, and we are stewards of the earth. 

4.5. Plainness and mysticism

Mysticism is the belief that there is a hidden meaning in life or that each human being can unite with God. They live a simple life. They wear simple dresses. They treat men and women equally. The researcher said that they don’t like to use "your majesty," "sir and "madam" to address each other because these things show them inequality between them. They used this word only for God. These groups are called "friends" because they are treated equally. 

4.6. Marriages 

Quakers’ marriage is very peculiar in comparison with others. When a couple decides to get married, they go to meet the clarity committee of Quakers, who help them be sure of their decision. They make a commitment to each other in the presence of God, their family, and friends. There is no priest or pastor to lead the couple as they make their vows. They believe that it is only God who can join a couple in matrimony, not humans. They see marriage as more than a legal contract; it is a religious commitment. They said that the right joining in marriage is the work of the Lord only, not the pastors, for it is God’s ordinance and not man's. 

4.7. Funerals

According to the research, the quakers’ funeral has two particular aims: First is this: they give to thank God for the life that has been lived on the earth. Second, they help the mourners feel a deep sense of God’s presence. The body of a Quaker who dies can be buried or cremated.

5. Quakers' Ethics

The ethics talk about what is right and what is wrong. There are several ethical topics like abortion, divorce and remarriage, homosexuality, personal integrity, alcohol and gambling, and gender issues. Quaker’s ethics talks about them also, but there is not as much restriction on doing all those things as the Bible does. Quakers do divorce, remarriage, and abortion if they want. 

6. Quakerism and Christianity

Some people say that the movement of the Quakers is one of the Christian denominations. All the Quakers are not considered Christians. Some regard themselves as members of a universal religion that has many Christian elements. Traditionally, Quakers believed that Christ was the word of God in place of the Bible, but evangelical Quakers believe that the Bible is authoritative because it is the word of God inspired by God’s Spirit. They said that if personal leading is truly from God’s Spirit, then it will not contradict what the Spirit has already said in the Bible.

The society of the Friends is known as Quakers, and it arose in England in the mid-17th century. This Christian protestant movement began with radical English puritans called seekers who rejected the Anglican Church and other existing Protestant sects. They took their faith from itinerant preachers such as George Fox, who emphasised the inner light as the source of faith. A Quaker meeting is characterised by the patient silence in which members wait for aspiration to speak. The movement grew rapidly after 1650, but its members were often persecuted and imprisoned for rejecting that state church and refusing to pay tithes and swear oaths. Some emigrated to America, where they were persecuted in the Massachusetts Bay Colony but found toleration in Rhode Island and in the Quaker Colony of Pennsylvaniais founded by William Pennyedo these people emphasise philanthropy, such as helping refugees and famine victims.