Friends (Quakers) and the Bible

Oct 1, 1998 - © Bill Samuel

Key Points

The historical position of Friends (Quakers) regarding the Bible can be summarized in a few brief points:

The primary authority is the Spirit of God rather than anything written.
The Bible is a faithful declaration of the Spirit containing all the chief doctrines of Christianity, and thus can be relied upon as a secondary authority and a check as to whether claimed revelations of the Spirit are true revelations.
The Bible can only be truly understood when we are in that Spirit which is its source.
Jesus Christ is the true Word of God (John 1:14), but the Bible can be considered the words of God.

As a noncreedal, noncentralized faith, different groups of Friends have gone in different directions on this matter of faith as well as others. Some have gone more towards the standard evangelical approach, and may have greater emphasis on the authority of the Bible and less on the primacy of the Spirit. Others have gone in the opposite direction, being less clear that the Bible is a fully reliable authority. However, I think the traditional understanding is still close to the center of Quakerism today.

Web Sources

Here are some sources on the Web for more light into Friends and the Bible:

17th century documents

"Of the rule and guide of Christians, and of the Scriptures" by Robert Barclay - Chapter Two of At Catechism and Confession of Faith
Letter to the Governor of Barbadoes attributed to George Fox and other Quakers, 1671 - see fourth paragraph
A Key by William Penn - see "Perversion 6"
The Fifteen Propositions from Robert Barclay's Apology for the True Christian Divinity (1675)

19th century documents

On the Holy Scriptures by John Wilbur (Wilbur is a key figure in one of the "branches" or divisions of Friends)
Declaration of Faith Issued by the Richmond Conference in 1887 section on The Holy Scriptures (faith statement of the Orthodox branch of Friends, officially accepted by many Friends' bodies today)

20th century documents

"Scriptures and Other Spiritual Writings" - Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting - from the official Discipline of this Hicksite (more liberal branch) Friends body
Our Beliefs: An Affirmation of Faith - Charles Mylander - statement representing Friends Church Southwest, of the Evangelical branch of Friends

Other Languages:

The copyright of the article Friends (Quakers) and the Bible in Quakerism is owned by Bill Samuel. Permission to republish Friends (Quakers) and the Bible in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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