Friends for 300 Years

by Howard H. Brinton

Introduction
To Wait Upon the Lord
The Light within as Experienced
The Light within as Thought About
The Meeting for Worship
Vocal Ministry
Reaching Decisions
The Meeting Community
The Meeting & the World
The Four Periods of Quaker History
Quaker Thought & the Present
Appendix: The Philadelphia Queries of 1946
Notes
Index

Genres: Religion, History, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Theology, Unfinished

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1952

About the author

Howard Haines Brinton was an author, professor and director whose work influenced the Religious Society of Friends movement for much of the 20th century. His books ranged from Quaker journal anthologies to philosophical and historical dissertations on the faith, establishing him as a prominent commentator on the Society of Friends.

(Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally entitled Friends for 300 Years, Brinton first wrote this book in 1952, but it has been revised for the 21st century. Brinton combines general historical movements of Quakerism with their beliefs and practices as an evolving Christian spiritual community/sect. Its amazing how often Quakers have been ahead of their time. Although small in membership numbers, Quakerism seems to be a model of spiritual community that will increasingly become more relevant for the seeking American soul. The following snippets are some of the most interesting parts to me:

"Mysticism exists in all religions; every great world religion has its mystical sect or groups. What the Quakers, as mystics, are to Christianity, the Zen (or Chan) sect is to Buddhism, the Yogis are to Hinduism, the Sufis to Mohammedanism, and the Taoists to the religion of China...Quakerism is peculiar in being a group mysticism, grounded in Christian concepts" pp. xix-xx.

"Quakerism represents a form of group mysticism which has persisted longer than any other instance in literate times" p. xxi.

"Friends have never required of their members assent to a religious or social creed, though not infrequently a body of Friends has issued a statement expressing their religious of social views at a particular time" p. 139.

Did you know...?

"The first protest in America against slavery was made by German Quakers in Germantown, Pennsylvania, in 1688...by 1776 there were no Quaker slaveholders..." p. 179.

"Many Friends abstained from the use of anything produced by slaves, such as sugar. They were mainly instrumental in developing 'The Free Produce Association,' a group which refused to buy products of slave labor" p. 179.

"Quaker schools were among the earliest, if not actually the first, to introduce science into the [educational] curriculum" p. 183.

"The Quaker peace principles can be best understood when viewed in a context considerably wider than the refusal to take part in war. Prison reform, renunciation of violence in the case of the mentally ill, contribution toward a democratic constitution for the United States, and the struggle for religious liberty are also evidences of the same fundamental doctrine that the best way to deal with men is 'to answer that of God' in them. Violence when applied to human beings reduces them and the user of violence to the level of the physical world where only force operates, but men who are open to the divine Light are most effectually moved by spiritual influences from within. By force men are degraded to a subhuman level; by friendship they are uplifted to the divine" p. 184.

"...[William] Penn's law to abolish imprisonment for debt was canceled at an early date. He did, however, succeed in reducing the number of crimes which could be punished by death from two hundred to two; namely, treason and murder" p. 185.

"In the eighteenth century and earlier the treatment of the insane was more inhuman than the treatment of criminals. They were imprisoned, chained, beaten, deprived of ordinary necessities of life, and made objects of ridicule by visitors who were free to torment them...The first institution expressly founded to carry out nonviolent ideas in the treatment of the insane was established by Quakers in York, England, in 1796...called The Retreat" p. 187.

"There can be no doubt that the Constitution of the United States written in Philadelphia, owed much to Penn's 'Holy Experiment'...Later the doctrines that government is based on the consent of the governed, that Church and State should be separated completely, and that the legislative and executive branches should be separate, as embodied in Penn's [Frame of Government], became the basis of Locke's political theory in the Second Treatise" p. 190.

"No pacifist claims that his method is always successful. Every method fails sometimes, including the method based on violence. If two persons or two nations resort to fighting, one is bound to lose, so the method of fighting cannot at the most be more than 50 per cent successful. The nonviolent method may, however, operate in such a way that both sides win. Together they may arrive at a decision which is better than that which either one of the parties desired in the first place" p. 193.

"In defending their pacifism the Quakers have seldom given as their reason the destruction of life and property caused by war. Loss of life and property is not in itself an evil. The loss of life might lead to a happier condition hereafter, and the loss of property is sometimes an actual benefit for a person who is too closely tied to his possessions. The evil results of war--hatred, brutality, callousness to suffering and deceit--are spiritual and moral rather than material" p. 199.

"The best type of religion is one in which the mystical, the evangelical, the rational and the social are so related that each exercises a restraint on the others. Too exclusive an emphasis on mysticism results in a religion which is individualistic, subjective and vague; too dominant an evangelicalism results in a religion which is authoritarian, creedal and external; too great an emphasis on rationalism results in a cold, intellectual religion which appeals only to the few; too engrossing a devotion to the social gospel results in a religion which, in improving the outer environment, ignores defects of the inner life which cause the outer disorder" p. 245.

[Antigone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book very quotable. It was not an easy read. Your ear needs to be tuned to a very different voice. But I appreciate this book for its guidance in the typical Quaker way.... telling/informing/witnessing, not preaching. The Lord and Any Adult will tell you that preaching is the best way to breed dissent! If you are interested in Quakerism, this book is a good read. But be prepared to invest some time and thought in it. I got my copy from Pendle Hill which has a great collection of books for the Quaker and just general seeker (like me).

[Darcyw · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's helped me understand how different religions are all interpreting the same fundamental truths in ways their followers are comfortable discussing. And made me happy to have found such a no-frills honest way to express those feelings in myself. Kind of textbook dull at times, but also amazing how much original documentation is available.

[Nate · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating book which I believe achieves its purpose, without becoming simply a history of the Quaker religion. This is a profoundly spiritual book. I look forward to rereading this book in a few years, referencing my notes to see what spoke to me and what did not.
I want to include a few passages from the final chapter entitled “Quaker Thought and the Present” (present being 1965).

“In the twilight zone of reason, the human being is a divided self. He tries to satisfy his desires by the accumulation of material possessions. But the more possessions he acquires, the more he becomes possessed by them. His efforts to bring nature under his control make him a slave to nature. He constructs machines and then finds that his life is absorbed by serving them. The very science by which he controls nature reduces him to nature’s level.”

…

“Later, all his noblest emotions were interpreted in physical make-up and glandular secretions. His mind became reduced to a system of mechanical stimuli and conditioned responses.”

…

“Finally, he invented instruments of warfare so destructive that he is now in danger of destroying his own species. No wonder he is in despair.”

…

“He cannot return because he is no longer a child. He must go forward and seek a new home for his spirit now that he has learned to reason…”

[Sher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as part of in person book discussion group, and we discussed one chapter per month, so it took us almost a year to finish the book. Brinton provides a wonderful history of Quaker practice since the 17th C. The book ends in 1952. Key figures in Quakerism and the evolution of the faith -schisms, mysticism, evangelicalism, rationalism, and humanitarianism (Social Gospel) as it has applied to Quakers throughout the centuries is well covered.

[Rhiannon Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of those books in which historical figures have a curious tendency to agree with each other and the present author. I'm sure everything he reports here is true, and it certainly serves to illustrate his own religious thought, I just have doubts about whether this represents the whole truth.

[Mike Morrissey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent detailed writing about the history and practice of Quakers.

[Kaethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before I gave up on the idea of religion, I considered the Quakers, who really are the embodiment of "What's the least I can believe and still be a Christian?" Of course, once you start asking that question, you might as well give the whole thing up for a lost cause.

Anyway, the Society of Friends are particularly cool for their devotion to social justice and action. As a group, they are dedicated, and have always been.

Library copy.

[Jenny Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coming back to the Religious Society of Friends made this read like coming home.

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up while visiting San Francisco some years ago. Meeting some Quakers while at seminary and being impressed by them, I saw this as an opportunity to learn something more of their traditions.
As it happens, this book also presented some information about Quaker decision-making processes, a method I had previously been exposed to while working with the SPUSA. What is most memorable about this book, however, has little to do with its contents, much to do with something which happened while I was reading it.
It was a grey autumn day, but rainless, so I had gone over the hill to 'Marie's Love Garden' behind a cafe on Courtland in the city, the closest such place I knew of to where I was staying. Because of the cool weather I was alone on the back deck most of the day, but at one point an older woman sat at the table in front of me and started to read herself. This went on for a while, then something (needing a light perhaps?) came up which initiated conversation, the typical 'What are you reading?' business.
By this point I was rather tired of reading, Brinton's book hardly being a page-turner, so I welcomed conversation and followed the initial question with the 'And what do you do?'
'I make pornographic films," she said.
A pause. I am, after all, a Midwesterner and this woman reminded me of my grandmother.
'Ah, what do you do? Do you write them, film them, direct..."
'I direct them, sometimes write them.'
As it turned out she specialized in lesbian cinema, but would occasionally do a 'sexed' film for the money. She'd been doing it for years, all in the San Francisco area. She made it sound quite ordinary, like managing a theatre group or some other small business involving the coordination of various people. She made me feel quite parochial, probably thought my naivete amusing but was politely engaging until she had to go.
My memory of the rest of the Quaker book pales in comparison.

[Candy Wood]

The edition I read was first published in 1952, the 300th anniversary of Quakerism, and reprinted in 1969 with some minor updating. It has been revised more extensively since. When a friend advised me to skip the last three chapters of this edition, I assumed that they focused on the 1950s and am surprised to discover some of the account of earlier history there. Brinton emphasizes experience as the basis of Quaker religion, but the book is still extremely abstract and theoretical, including many quotations from books and journals written by early and more recent Friends. He identifies Quakerism as “one of the three main forms of Christianity,” distinct from both Catholicism and Protestantism. Though he describes the conflicts that produced separate branches of Friends in America, I’m still confused about what, besides the method of meeting for worship, actually separates them. Readers looking for an introduction are not well served by this edition.

[Amos Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure why there are no reviews for this book. It is extraordinary! In it Brinton writes about the three hundred year history of The Religious Society of Friends (The Quakers). And he poetically explains the thinking behind the Quaker Peace Testimony. He writes that "to be killed is a physical injury." "To kill another person is to suffer a spiritual injury." And it is better to suffer a physical injury than to suffer a spiritual one. Highly recommended!!
-Amos Smith (author of Healing The Divide: Recovering Christianity's Mystic Roots)

[Weavre]

The Goodreads publication info on this book is incorrect.
PYM Library: 289.69 Bri
Neither Luzerne nor Lackawanna has this.
Author: Howard Brinton
Publisher: Pendle Hill Publications (2000)
ASIN: B000L3Y09I

[Kevin Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chapter 10, Quaker Thought and the Present, feels remarkably timely and prescient, even 70 years later. Regardless of your religious views or beliefs, I highly recommend that chapter.