Steven Davison asked what the testimony of community even meant or whether it was spelt out anywhere. No one could answer but no ine wanted to omit it.
I suspect a process may be at work similar to the one that has made “that of God in everyone” the putative foundation of all our testimonies: an unselfconscious thought-drift in a culture increasingly impatient with intellectual/theological rigor, or even attention of any serious kind, not to mention care for the testimony of integrity. These ideas arise somehow, somewhere, and then get picked up and disseminated because they sound nice, they meet some need, and they don’t demand much. They apparently don’t require discernment, anyway.
William Penn’s introduction to George Fox’s Journal (1691) speaks to something very like community.:
“Besides these general doctrines, as the larger branches, there sprang forthseveral particular doctrines, that did exemplify and farther explain the truth and efficacy of the general doctrine before observed, in theirlives and examples: as,
1. Communion and loving one another. This is anoted mark in the mouth of all sorts of people concerning them: Theywill meet, they will help and stick one to another. Whence it is common
to hear some say: Look how the Quakers love and take care of oneanother. Others, less moderate, will say: The Quakers live none butthemselves: and if loving one another. and having an intimate communionin religion, and constant care to meet to worship God, and help one
another, be any mark of primitive Christianity, they had it, blessed bethe Lord in ample manner.”