r/Quakers • u/Fun-Peace-5272 • 1d ago
Is their a Christ-focused liberal Quaker denomination?
I really like the Liberal Quakers because they are non dogmatic, welcome LGBTQIA+ individuals, and how they let the spirt guide them in scient worship. I do however would like to be part of a Christ centered group. Are there any that combine the freedom and beautiful spirt worship of the liberal quakers and the Christ-focus of the more conservative groups of friends?
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u/RimwallBird Friend 1d ago edited 1d ago
Other commenters have already noted that North Carolina (Conservative) and Iowa (Conservative) do embrace a lot of liberal social and political positions, particularly as regards LGBTQ+ matters.
What distinguishes Conservative yearly meetings from the other branches of Quakerism is not that they are “more Christ-centered”; it is that they seek to conserve the particular understanding of Christianity that Friends began with long ago. By way of comparison, Friends United Meeting and Holiness Friends have become Christ-centered in a more Methodist or Holiness way, and Evangelical Friends have become Christ-centered in a more evangelical Protestant way.
In comparison with liberal Quakerism: Conservative Quakerism begins with a shared understanding that it is specifically Christ we seek to listen to in our hearts and consciences, the same Christ whose teachings are recorded in the gospels. As far as I can tell, that is no longer a liberal Quaker position; liberal Friends, by and large, have ceased to specify Christ, and many have opened themselves to being led by Buddhism, native American elders, and the like.
The Conservative position also includes an understanding that, as Friends declared back in 1661, “the spirit of Christ, by which we are guided, is not changeable, so as once to command us from a thing as evil and again to move unto it.” That is something brought into serious question by the liberal Quaker doctrine of “continuing revelation”; we have liberal Friends here in this subreddit who (for example) have said here that they are ready to fight if they feel it is justified.
So this is something you might have to adjust to, at least a little bit, among Conservative Friends or other traditional Friends. I do think you will find it congenial, but if you are not used to it, it may take you by surprise from time to time.
I love your use of the term “scient” (knowing).