I have many reasons to value the Quaker form of worship and practices and the opportunities for social action.  However, I have sometimes missed the theological clarity of my upbringing.  God was a being with a personality and a plan.  Although I reject that notion of God, I wondered if there is a definitive concept to replace it, a spirit of sorts that could energize us and help us to discern between good and bad that would lead to a better world.  If so, how does that notion match with the early Quakers and the Bible?  

In attempting to answer those questions, I stumbled upon the blog of George Amoss on The Postmodern Quaker. (https://postmodernquaker.wordpress.com/)  I was moved by his blog of April 8, 2013 on Quaker Theology in Brief.   He simplifies the core beliefs of Quakers while remaining faithful to the message of the early Quakers and the life of Jesus.  Amoss’ simple statement of Quaker Theology:

• “God” signifies “love” — in biblical Greek, agapē.  (1 John 4:8 “God is love”)
• “Love/agapē” signifies behavior, empathetic encounter with and response to the actual other in 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.

Even before reading Amoss’ blog, I realized that empathy must be a part of that notion of God.  Empathy is the ability to identify with another’s condition, to share another person’s experiences and emotions.  Love/agapē is the response to empathy, the powerful call to action on behalf of others.  Brain scan observations show that empathy is associated with activity in certain regions of the brain of all people to differing extents.  Could that phenomenon be “that of God in every one” as Fox observed?  Empathy is the core of non-violent communication (NVC) techniques such as contained in the simple NVC formula of Marshall Rosenberg.  Love/agapē, the response to empathy, is a force for unity and peace and is essential for the survival of the world.

If this simple theology is the heart of the message of Jesus and the early Quakers, why the violent reaction and persecution?  Amoss explains how the message of love/agapē conflicted with religion, both as “a scheme that allows evil (sin) to be rationalized” and a scheme “that rejected the power of changing behavior through love, the possibility of perfection.”  Perfection is not so much an attainment as a deep-seated change of orientation, a profound conversion to love as the criterion of right and wrong and the center of one's life.  For the early Quakers, to be perfect is to "have the mind of Christ,"[65]   a radical turning of the heart toward love.  Amoss also shows how this message conflicts with the current metanarratives of religion and society.  (See THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SALVATION: Recovering, Reframing, and Reclaiming the Early Quaker Experience by George Amoss Jr., MSW (http://www.qis.net/~daruma/psychsalv110108.html)

Alas, Amoss also describes the dark side of liberal Quakers – a real wakeup call for me.  See blogs: “Modern Liberal Quakerism” and “Reflections on the Dark Side of Liberal Quakerism”, links to both blogs are on this category page: https://postmodernquaker.wordpress.com/category/liberal-quakerism/

I ask myself, “am I ready to publicly proclaim the power of agapē-Love as a divinity needed for peace, justice and the survival of mankind?”  I can hear the criticisms, even ridicule.  If I ignore the message, I hear the warnings about the dark side of liberal Quakers.  Do I have the courage and perseverance? Do you?