Summary: Voltaire talks to a Quaker about the tenants and history of his faith.
Commentary: I grew up in an area with a lot of Quakers, but I don't think I ever knew any personally. I've been sort of interested in them for a while. Seems like a very egalitarian religion, tolerant and big on service. You hear a lot of good things about Quakers, and they don't seem to be prone to molesting children or lobbying to prevent abortion or anything. This reading makes them sound (at least 300 years ago) to be a lot more specific than we hear about them being today. Most of the modern readings I've seen make them same almost like Unitarian Universalists. There's (probably) a god (of some kind), and other than that it's up to you. The man Voltaire interviewed seems much more into a specific, if less hierarchal, form of Christianity. Curious if this is just a result of who he spoke with, a change in time, or still accurate and just not something emphasized as much today. Cynically, it'd make sense for Quakers to position themselves as these feel good deists to try and recruit, and then get stricter once you're in. Not everything has to be cynical though.
No comments:
Post a Comment