This week I finished reading If the Church Were Christian: Rediscovering the Values of Jesus, by Philip Gulley. The cover of the book is unremarkable, so I will share the table of contents below, as it was the content of this book that really blew my mind.
Philip Gulley is a Quaker pastor and writer who I discovered when I was specifically looking to learn more about the Quaker faith. Now buckle up for the delightfully random and convoluted reason I have become interested in the Quakers.
You may know I am a real fan of the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. This winter, I was reading the most recent tome, Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone (POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD). In it, our old friends Claire and Jamie Fraser are continuing in their homesteading, settler-colonizing lifestyle and they, along with the rest of the community of Fraser’s Ridge, begin to build a church building. Inspired by their Quaker friend Rachel, they intend to build one building for any faith group to use. In the course of the novel’s development, we get to learn from Rachel much more about the Quaker faith and style of worship, and this is what made me so fascinated and determined to learn more.
The Quakers are minimalists- they don’t put much emphasis on doctrine. Their worship gatherings consist of joining together, sitting in a circle, and enjoying silence together. Some attendees may choose to share thoughts, meditations, or music, as the Spirit leads them. They accept each person’s unique individuality. They seek peace-making above almost anything else. All of these tenets of faith truly spoke to me, and so I had to learn more.
Searching on my library’s catalogue and google, I quickly discovered Philip Gulley is probably the most prolific contemporary Quaker writer. Last month I read Living the Quaker Way: Timeless Wisdom for a Better Life Today (2013), also by Gulley, which is a concise overview of the Quaker faith.
Now we come to my most recent finish and, wow. I was SHOCKED this was published in 2010, as it enters the conversation of many current hot and scary topics, both in the news and in my life.
The following are some excerpts from the book that specifically grabbed my attention:
“I’ve often thought the most important job of the pastor is making sure those gentler voices are heard and heeded.”
“What if a theology of afterlife no longer dominated our spirituality and we became open to the possibility that living our present life well is a sufficient and proper goal?”
“When his disciples asked him {Jesus} how to pray, he told them to pray that God’s kingdom would come to earth. Now was the day of salvation. And what was that salvation? It was the day when all of humanity would be so imbued with God’s presence that we would hunger and thirst for righteousness. Salvation would be when heaven was in us, not when we were in heaven. It would happen when we stopped worrying about saving our own skin and cared more about saving and restoring the land and sea and sky and all who dwell therein.”
This book asks a lot of questions and doesn’t give very many answers, and that is what most inspired me while I was reading. Gulley doesn’t suggest that everything he writes or believes for himself is true for everyone. He paints an inspiring image of what the church could be:
“It would actively engage our leaders, urge gracious treatment for the poor and powerless, promote peace and reconciliation, challenge abusive religion, and provide a setting where people could reflect upon significant matters. The central task of this church would not be convincing us to believe doctrines about Jesus. Rather, it would help us live out the priorities of Jesus- human dignity, spiritual growth, moral evolution, and the ongoing search for truth and meaning.”
This image inspires me because I am a true idealist. I want us to all live in peace and harmony and get along all the time. Sadly, that is not the world we inhabit.
I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in theology or considers themselves a seeker, specifically if you have connections with the Christian faith. Some readers may find healing, some may be offended, but the true value of reading is that we can expand our minds by learning from other people.
Heaven is here on earth, within each of us, if we can be present and experience the presence of the divine in all things. Thanks Katie - sounds like a book I will read.
I like that kind of Kingdom theology as well. This is where every cup of water given in Jesus' name, builds the Kingdom more than a tome of theologies, unless those theologies help people engage the mission Christ left us with (as all good theology does). However, I expect from the Bible that this will be and both/and kind of thing. We live as instructed, ushering in the kingdom, making the world ready for the day when Christ returns and makes all things new and the dead are raised. We live with both feet in the present and both eyes on the future.