Blog readers (I hope using the plural form is not too presumptuous) may note that I have been writing mostly about Quakers and our peculiar notions. There is a good chance that I will continue doing this for a while longer because, quite honestly, it feels good to give voice to thoughts and feelings that have been part of me for so long. But it is also time to introduce one of the values that has made Quakerism, for me, so disarmingly familiar, so sticky and so coherent. I'm going to revert to the first person and not try to speak for all Quakers with this next idea. For me, being a Quaker does not raise you up in God's eye. Quakers do not have a special covenant or exclusive relationship unavailable to others (who may or may not belong to a faith community). We are not saved because of our beliefs and others are not condemned for not participating in (let alone not knowing about) what our small group thinks or does. The Light is way too bright to be only in our Meeting Houses (or only in our schools for that matter), or only available to our small Society of Friends (the legal name for Quakers, thus Friends Schools). Maybe this is why so many of my friends have said to me: "if I weren't (fill in the blank - Episcopalian, Catholic, Jewish, Hindu, etc.), I would be Quaker." When I hear that, it always makes me feel the bond, the ardor of their faith, and I want to say back, "if I weren't a Quaker, I would love to have been brought up in your faith."
