Pamphlet 17: ‘The Place of Jesus in Quaker Universalism’, Jan Arriens, 1995

In this pamphlet Jan Arriens faces head on the fundamental difference between traditionalist Christian Quakers and Universalist Quakers, namely the status of Jesus. He acknowledges that although both groups can come together in their shared beliefs in the ‘inner Light’ and ‘that of God in everyone’ there is a vital difference in the way that the historical Jesus is understood, namely that although Quaker universalists revere Jesus for his life and teachings they do not consider him to be unique in his relationship to God and the world in the way that Christians do. He looks at how Jesus has been viewed within Quakerism in the past, and how this has changed, and argues that Quakerism needs to continue to change and adapt. Whilst urging greater tolerance between Christocentric and universalist Quakers he argues that Quakerism should be open to provide a home for all sincere seekers.

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