The Lord showed me, so that I did see clearly, that he did not dwell in these temples which men had commanded and set up, but in people’s hearts… his people were his temple, and he dwelt in them. George Fox
It seems appropriate to begin iQuake with a quote from “the man who first set down this way,” George Fox. And while I do not intend to provide here a history of Quakerism or a biography of George Fox (I will provide links to those who can do this far better than I), suffice it to say George Fox is the founder of the Quaker Religion, even as this particular ”way” goes back to humanity’s experience of the Rabbi from Nazareth and even further to the very heart of Universal Religious Experience.
Religion can be, and very often is, a dangerous word. For the words and deeds of the very purveyors of religious truths are often strikingly at odds with the very elemental truths that one’s religion purvey. Yet, perhaps stubbornly, I refuse to abandon the word to those whose abuse of it seeks to destroy the potential power and beauty the word represents, perhaps in much the same way that George Fox refused to abandon faith despite the reality that the chief proponents of religion during his day had used religion to gain a temporal power that negated the beauty and simplicity of the gospel message, of religious truths.
It is my hope that the Quaker religion will continue to insist that the primary place of religion is, as the quote so beautifully articulates above, the very heart of a woman, man or child. For from there it will surely elevate the mind and, even more importantly, inspire holy hands to action.
My question is simple, “in what ways has Quakerism, or your own search for truth, taken residence in your heart and what sort of change has it effected in your life?”
Please take a moment to respond to the question in the comments section below so that others, having been illumined by God’s light within you, may find greater light within themselves and go on to illumine the lives of others.
Simply Seeking,
Quaker Boy
