Draft Statement: Theological Diversity within Twin Cities Friends Meeting
Posted on Nov. 07, 2005 | Tagged as: Conversations
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Friends have traditionally rejected the use of creeds, largely from a conviction that no statement of belief can accurately describe or reflect divine reality. There is another compelling reason for us to reject creeds. Over time the spiritual and theological diversity among Friends has become far broader and deeper than early Friends could possibly have imagined. Twin Cities Friends Meeting has fully and joyfully embraced Friends from a great constellation of religious beliefs and traditions. Our community includes Christians, Jews, Buddhists, pagans, atheists, agnostics, and others, along with an even greater diversity of Friends who neither claim nor desire a label to describe their distinctive individual views of whatever is within and beyond us.Such is the diverse reality of our community. The purpose of this document is to express our gratitude for that diversity, and to explicitly affirm that differences along the full range of theological belief, including unbelief, are no barrier to membership, nor to full participation in our beloved religious community.
This is not to say that beliefs, theological or otherwise, are irrelevant to our community, or to the process of becoming a member. On the contrary, one of the great blessings of serving on a clearness committee for membership is the opportunity to better understand the deepest beliefs and spiritual passions of a potential member. What’s more, a discussion of such beliefs might in some cases reveal that an applicant does not feel sufficiently drawn to the ways of Friends, to become a member. The barrier in such cases is not belief per se, but affinity with our way of being together in religious community, while seeking along our own spiritual paths.
Sometimes in our discussions of spiritual and theological diversity, we are perhaps too quick to search for commonalities, for that which transcends the differences between us. This is a worthy effort, but it should not get in the way of our understanding what those differences are. To love genuinely is not to care for a person despite their individual peculiarities, nor to overlook those peculiarities, but to care for the person wholly, in full light of those blessed peculiarities. The beauty and richness of human community derives from difference as much as it does from similarity. What could we possibly learn from each other in a world where everyone had the same religious beliefs, political persuasions, family background, or ethnicity?
Similarly, it is not enough to be tolerant of our differences; we need to bring those differences to the surface, rising above our fear of offending or being offended. Speaking in meeting for worship requires discernment, to be sure, but this does not mean that we should withhold a message for fear that others might be made uncomfortable by our theology. We do not rightly discern a leading to speak by reflecting on how Friends might receive that message, but reflecting on the quality and power of the impulse to speak, and remaining faithful to spirit as we experience it. There are messages and ways of speaking that may be inappropriate in meeting for worship, but again, we do not make this distinction according to our agreement or disagreement with the message. It is one thing to deliver a message that expresses the light of our faith that we might kindle such a flame in others; it is quite another thing to proclaim ours as the only true light, or to berate others for being faithful to their own light. This means there is a place in our midst for evangelism in the best sense of that word– an evangelism that might be rooted in Jesus, Buddha, God or Goddess, nature, the hunger for scientific knowledge, or simple human love and compassion.
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The Friends listed below crafted and found unity in this statement as a group. This adult education forum is a step in our efforts to bring the statement, and the concerns it addresses, fully into the life of the meeting.
Elizabeth Barnard
Carol Bartoo
Rhoda Gilman
Ralph Hilgendorf
Don Irish
Kate Martinson
* Pat McGuire
** James Riemermann
Bob Schmitt
* Pat was unable to attend meetings, but has been following the group’s progress and supports the process.
**The process that produced the document had its genesis in a clearness/support committee James requested for discernment regarding an individual leading.
7 Comments »
on 11 Nov 2005 at 1:40 pm 1 Pam said …
I love this statement, and I think I can say that I find myself in unity with it as well.
I find myself troubled by the struggles we are currently undergoing around theological diversity.
I know that numerous attenders who consider themselves Christian have felt criticized or berated for their belief systems. And I don’t want that to happen.
I also know that some people find a deeper form of worship in a smaller, more theologically unified group.
I am not sure what to think of that. It makes sense in a way, and it feels like turning away from “that of God” in people who don’t agree with you about God, which saddens me.
On the other hand, I would love to worship more often in smaller groups, and/or with people who share my experience of God in nature. I haven’t found such a cohesive group as yet, so I don’t get to do it. Far be it for me to begrudge it to someone else.
Back to the statement. I find it accurate in terms of our meeting. A few years ago I would have hoped that it was true across the board of Quakers (that we know there is “that of God in everyone” even if it is expressed in a very different way from our bit of God) but I am realizing that is not true.
on 18 Nov 2005 at 1:41 pm 2 Phil Grove said …
I came to the same realization as Pam recently after leaving a comment on a Quaker blog recently that expressed a Universalist sentiment, and getting a response that criticized my lack of understanding of the writer’s need to have unity in the project of corporate discernment of God’s will through Scripture, or something like that. I was supposed to know what scripture the writer was talking about, I guess. In the same comment, the writer expressed frustration that her sentiments have not always been received with enthusiasam at TCFM.
I have no problem if TCFM members, in addition to participating in our corporate worship, seek other spiritual experiences in smaller groups with which they feel that have greater unity in thought or belief. But when they come to TCFM, they need to be tolerant of the belief or non-belief of others, because that is part of the essence of what we are about. We can tolerate a certain amount of intolerance among our members as long as all recognize that worship at TCFM is intended to be an exercise in tolerance.
If there is a group at TCFM that has undertaken the project of establishing unity within the meeting around any kind of theist or Christian creed, their project should be vigorously opposed. There are plenty of other communities that would welcome their chauvinism.
However, I have also heard complaints from Christians within our meeting who feel that that Christian expression is not valued. That is most regrettable. Those of us who are not Christian need to listen to those complaints and examine our own behavior for intolerance. We should search for ways to make everyone comfortable with their own spiritual language, expression, and beliefs. However, I must admit I am somewhat skeptical about those complaints from Christians, because my perception is that the individuals who wish that the entire meeting could achieve unity around the specific beliefs they happen to hold are Christian. It may be that sometimes the resistance they sense is resistance not to Christian expression per se, but to Christian intolerance. In my view, it is right to oppose and criticize any appearance of Christian intolerance in our meeting. Or anyone else’s intolerance.
I have never had the feeling that anyone’s Christian, theist, or other belief system, however expressed, detracted from my experience of worship and community at TCFM. I have often benefited from authentic spiritual expression of Christian or other belief. I have little trouble seeing and benefiting from the spiritual depth of Christian or other theist expression. But unfortunately, there appear to be some within our meeting who feel that my participation in worship detracts from their experience, simply because I am nontheist. In all candor, I find that threatening. I am fearful that they will try to eliminate me from the community or marginalize me in some fashion.
I feel in unity with the group’s statement on theological diversity, but I fear that some within our meeting do not. Perhaps we will hear from some of them.
Phil Grove
on 21 Nov 2005 at 1:41 pm 3 James Riemermann said …
Thanks, Phil & Pam. I, too, would love to hear more from those who have concerns with this statement. I would also hope such Friends would try to engage with what the statement actually says, setting aside for the moment fears and anxieties about what they think the statement represents. When we feel something important to us is at risk, it is easy to respond to our own fears and anxieties rather than respond to what is actually being expressed. I have seen that in Friends who support this statement, and Friends who might be troubled by this statement. I have made this error myself, many times.
I really don’t think there is any group in TCFM with “the project of establishing unity within the meeting around any kind of theist or Christian creed,” though there are some individual Friends for whom our lack of (theological) unity is considered a failing. This saddens me, but it is does not equate to an effort to change TCFM into a less diverse place. Also, I can attest that some of those who seek a specifically Christian or theist unity in smaller groups, nonetheless greatly value the tolerance and diversity that TCFM represents. Which strongly suggests that, where you have two people, you have theological diversity, whether it is outwardly acknowledged or not.
Rather than vigorous opposition, my hope is that we can continue to hold up the model of theological diversity by our example–by being present, by not hiding what makes us diverse, by engaging gently and honestly with those who see things differently, even those who are having a hard time with our difference.
on 03 Dec 2005 at 1:42 pm 4 seebs said …
Hi! (If you don’t know me, you don’t attend enough Wednesday night meetings.) This thread caught my eye because it’s an issue I’ve given some thought to in other contexts. I spend a lot of time advocating tolerance between different belief systems. I have been asked by indignant atheists whether it’s reasonable of me to ask tolerance of them, because after all, my church would never tolerate atheists. I have made great strides towards responding to such allegations charitably rather than just bursting out laughing.
As a member who is a fairly orthodox Christian, I have to say, I can’t see any basis for excluding people who don’t share my position. I would hate to feel unwelcome due to my beliefs, but thus far I haven’t, so I guess that’s not a problem for me.
on 06 Dec 2005 at 4:48 pm 5 James Riemermann said …
Hi, Seebs! I’ve only been to Wednesday night meeting a couple times in my 15 years at TCFM. It’s good to hear from you.
As a Quaker who doesn’t believe in God, I can appreciate your frustration with indignant atheists. It does seem like the ones most likely to publicly describe themselves as such, are the ones most likely to toss indiscriminate brickbats at even the most tolerant believers.
At the same time, there are a much larger number of unbelievers who are reluctantant to say so out loud because of the fairly commonly expressed view that we are morally bankrupt by definition.
So, it’s certainly unfair for these public atheists to be intolerant toward you, but in many cases this might reflect an understandable defensiveness resulting from a very real and common prejudice.
Anyway, thanks for not bursting out laughing.
on 07 Dec 2005 at 1:42 pm 6 seebs said …
It seems to me that, if atheists cannot be moral and good, then Christianity’s claim that there is an objective system of morality is wrong.
on 03 Jan 2006 at 1:42 pm 7 Joe Landsberger said …
here’s a quote from my website http://www.studygs.net
“Religious values motivate love, compassion, humility, justice and liberty for all people;
religious beliefs and practices motivate hatred, cruelty, division, arrogance, injustice and oppression of others.”
Reverend Kenneth Carder, United Methodist Bishop, State of Mississippi
Currently director of Duke University Divinity School’s Center of Excellence in Ministry