Comments on: QuaCarol: You Don’t Want to Be Ranters Anymore

By: QuaCarol

QuaCarol — Wed, 16 Mar 2005 08:56:45 +0000

And by the way, I don’t want to be a Ranter any more either.
My use of the word “you” reflects my newness to this community, my observations as a non-blogging outsider coming in.
I hope to get over that shortly. Bear with me.

By: QuaCarol

QuaCarol — Tue, 15 Mar 2005 08:58:27 +0000

“… that the religious milieu in its congregations/meetings depend on the cultural melieu of different generations of its members.”
Thanks, James, for that very astute comment. That gives me a lot to ponder.
Of course, in our pastoral meetings, the milieu will be defined by the pastor. The problem there is that there aren’t enough Quaker pastors now, so Friends’ churches are calling Baptists and
Disciples of Christ, among others, and Quakerism is getting lost as these meetings turn into community churches.

By: James

James — Mon, 14 Mar 2005 21:32:49 +0000

This is the problem a small faith community that doesn’t hedge itself well constantly have to face: that the religious milieu in its congregations/meetings depend on the cultural melieu of different generations of its members.
This is less true with larger denominations, with much more diverse bodies of believers. They are very difficult to be hijacked by a single generation of Ranters who joined them in fluxes (Just think about whether it is possible at all for the Catholic Church to be hijacked by, say, a band of abortion-doctor-shooters.)
This is also less true with better hedged faith communities. Is it possible at all for anti-Vietnam protestors to infiltrate the Amish communities in Lancaster or the Hutterites in Saskatchewan?

By: Liz Opp

Liz Opp — Mon, 14 Mar 2005 10:58:46 +0000

Martin, I want to tell you how much I appreciate the gift and ministry you have in sharing other Friends’ posts, so that more of us can have greater access to one another’s perspectives, concerns, and ideas. In this way, I feel as though we are “lifting one another up by a tender hand,” to paraphrase Isaac Penington.
Blessings,
Liz