tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25987874.post1960457935488771550..comments2023-10-05T06:20:40.173-04:00Comments on Quaker Pagan Reflections: What Do You Mean, Quaker Pagan?Cat C-B (and/or Peter B)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10002916434676859262noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25987874.post-63810411685760573092012-11-17T09:28:11.127-05:002012-11-17T09:28:11.127-05:00:-) Glad to have found your blog.:-) Glad to have found your blog.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25987874.post-33638351250538014422012-03-21T21:27:29.591-04:002012-03-21T21:27:29.591-04:00I too just happened across this today and love it....I too just happened across this today and love it.<br /><br />As a Pagan who thinks Jesus was a real cool dude (but has little time for the churches) I don't think I've ever encountered a better description of Paganism. I'm now planning to put a link to it on my 'witchy' blog, Cronewyze.<br /><br />I often think, if I wasn't Pagan I'd probably be Buddhist - largely because of the focus on peace. I am actually happy to remain just Pagan, but I do understand your attraction to Quakerism too.<br /><br />My husband identifies as Pagan, and wouldn't consider himself Cristo-Pagan, but he does hold Jesus as his Patron Deity. I myself, as an energy healer, was once told that Jesus is my 'Master of Healing' and can accept the truth of this.Rosemary Nissen-Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05913841031559499568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25987874.post-21224817131348524922011-07-16T20:26:52.788-04:002011-07-16T20:26:52.788-04:00i know this is an old post but somehow, i happened...i know this is an old post but somehow, i happened upon it today and i LOVE THIS POST!Shellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09191346224560795810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25987874.post-75508482415479911292011-07-11T10:56:29.324-04:002011-07-11T10:56:29.324-04:00Pleased to help, Morning Star...
If you are inter...Pleased to help, Morning Star...<br /><br />If you are interested in meeting more people with some of the various leanings, Quaker and Pagan, that go to make up the Quaker Pagan, Pagan Quaker, Quagan or however termed agglomeration of us, you might want to check out the resources section in the right hand column of the page, or visit the <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/QuakerPagans/" rel="nofollow">Yahoo group for Quaker Pagans</a>, where there's a pretty active listserve community you can join.<br /><br />Many blessings!Cat C-B (and/or Peter B)https://www.blogger.com/profile/10002916434676859262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25987874.post-67395896307611786682011-07-10T17:10:13.716-04:002011-07-10T17:10:13.716-04:00I think you just saved my sanity. I've been a ...I think you just saved my sanity. I've been a practising Pagan for 13 years, and over the past few months have been called (if not dragged) to anything I can find involving Quakers. Strangely enough it all started with the call to begin "head covering", which I've yet to find a "reason" for...it's not because of that much touted scripture in Corinthians. I've been having a bit of a Spiritual Crisis over this call to The Friends. So thank you, from the deepest wells of my heart and soul for this.The Morning Starhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01427449792162278821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25987874.post-32995730836145244502010-12-11T16:59:08.685-05:002010-12-11T16:59:08.685-05:00Well, thanks, Shawn; I'll look forward to hear...Well, thanks, Shawn; I'll look forward to hearing more from you, perhaps.<br /><br />And I hope that whatever opening of your Conservative Quaker box you do only brings you closer to Spirit--to God.<br /><br />I'm sure that is what She wants for us. *smile*Cat C-B (and/or Peter B)https://www.blogger.com/profile/10002916434676859262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25987874.post-3669583558283411712010-12-06T15:19:25.868-05:002010-12-06T15:19:25.868-05:00Cat,
thank you for your response. I am going to d...Cat, <br />thank you for your response. I am going to do a little study on panentheism. Thank you for the link. I know that when I go for walks in nature I sense and feelthe presence of God through his creation (nature). I don't believe that nature is God, but that it is part of his work. By looking at nature, I can get a better understanding of who God is, what his character is like. <br />I enjoy this conversation with you, and am thankful you are allowing me to come into your space. I am learning to open up my little conservative Quaker box, and I suppose this is part of that process. Thank you, I'll try to get back to you. ShawnShawnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25987874.post-40786619844749697212010-12-05T12:36:26.283-05:002010-12-05T12:36:26.283-05:00@ Falkenna: Thank you for stopping by. I will be v...@ Falkenna: Thank you for stopping by. I will be very pleased if what we've written here is helpful to your sister--and I'm glad to meet another "both/and" Quaker, as well.<br /><br />@ Flo: I suspect that Spirit cares much less for orthodoxy than it does for our faithful listening and seeking to live into the Truth we're all given. And I'm grateful that, among Friends, I've come to feel more care for that than for testing each other's theologies. *smile*<br /><br />@ Shawn: There are some significant differences between how liberal Quakers and Conservative and programmed Quakers see the world, as I'm sure you know. And I am very clear that there is no place within either programmed, Christ-centered Quaker meetings or Conservative meetings for me or for my theology.<br /><br />As for the split between immanence and transcendence, one term that is important to many Pagans--though not all--is the concept of <a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/panentheism/" rel="nofollow">panentheism</a>--the sense that the sacred is at one and the same time immanent and transcendent.<br /><br />If this idea strikes you as unthinkable or absurd, then I think that is a testimony to something you have said yourself: our experiences may simply be very different. This is the concept that best fits my lived experiences, both as a Pagan and a Quaker.Cat C-B (and/or Peter B)https://www.blogger.com/profile/10002916434676859262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25987874.post-11206853376720765062010-12-05T02:07:45.618-05:002010-12-05T02:07:45.618-05:00I have learned a lot from reading your essay. I pr...I have learned a lot from reading your essay. I pretty much don't agree with any of it, but we all are free to believe as we wish. I grew up in the Quaker Tradition, probably the exact opposite of you, I'm sure you understand. Conservative, Programmed, ect. <br />Although, I do believe there needs to be a balance with transcendence and immanence. Either extreme is unhealthy, although to go to one more than another is a human tendency. If we have to much immanence, then we start to worship the creation rather than the Creator. Cat, I hope the best for you, ShawnShawnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25987874.post-5691358647651398652010-11-29T13:50:47.399-05:002010-11-29T13:50:47.399-05:00"I have a sense that Whatever is out there fi..."I have a sense that Whatever is out there fits but badly into human language for it"<br />perfectly put<br />I suppose I follow christian teachings in some why but have no way to comprehand the resurrection, some would therefore say that i am not a christian. finally this weekend i think I have come to understand what th "christ" may be and that means i am easier in the company of those that use that kind of language.Quakers is where I belong but many would notice my pagan/pantheist leanings if they spent time with me. land speaks.Flo Fflachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00898824799522652609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25987874.post-83389412740862263342010-07-31T17:26:00.202-04:002010-07-31T17:26:00.202-04:00Thank you, Cat, for such an inspiring statement, a...Thank you, Cat, for such an inspiring statement, and an incredibly succinct yet accurate description of Paganism. My "slash" is Pagan/Taoist, but I am immediately going to send your link to my sister, who I think perhaps is working to find the clarity to tell herself that Quaker Pagan is what she is.Falkennanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25987874.post-59315257552346521042010-06-26T08:29:53.270-04:002010-06-26T08:29:53.270-04:00Denise, I'm so glad this post spoke to somethi...Denise, I'm so glad this post spoke to something in you that needed words. It's what I'm happiest about, as a writer, when it happens.<br /><br />And I know the deep relief of finding someone else's words really, finally, "speak to my condition" as the Quakers put it, too.<br /><br />I take it you found something resonant around Quakers? If so, don't forget that you can meet more of us via the <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/QuakerPagans/" rel="nofollow">Quaker Pagans group</a> on Yahoo... Or that being Quaker is "caught not taught"--so you'll want to find a Quaker meeting near you. Try <a href="http://quakerfinder.org/" rel="nofollow">Quaker Finder.org</a> to find a local meeting or two... and remember that Quaker groups, like Pagan groups, can vary quite a bit, so do feel free to shop around a little for the group that feels like home.<br /><br />Paganism is, and probably ought to remain, a small subset of Quakers even in the most liberal of meetings. But the importance of immanence rather than transcendence in our view of where to seek Spirit; the stress on the importance of immediate personal experience of Spirit; and the ability to read the Bible, where it <i>is</i> read, in very much the way Pagans read myths--evocatively and in relationship with Spirit, rather than literally and prescriptively--is at the heart of liberal Quakers as I have come to know them.<br /><br />Blessed be... and good luck in your search. *smile, hug*Cat C-B (and/or Peter B)https://www.blogger.com/profile/10002916434676859262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25987874.post-55166213378095315482010-06-25T10:23:14.478-04:002010-06-25T10:23:14.478-04:00Thank you thank you ..
I've been looking and...Thank you thank you .. <br /><br />I've been looking and soul searching .. <br />Baptist for most part of my life.. <br />Pagan/Heathen for the last 15 but not fitting n with quite right because my spiritual didn't fit in even Paganism.. <br />Its closer to Native American.. but still not right.. <br />Then I found your web site and this post.. and it's like " duh" <br />Lots to chew on .. more looking within.. but thank you for letting me know that I'm not nuts.. <br /><br />Denise in TNAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25987874.post-14769003553042504972010-02-14T16:07:30.602-05:002010-02-14T16:07:30.602-05:00Kevin, thank you! I'm really honored--and exc...Kevin, thank you! I'm really honored--and excited to read more about your retreat over on Green Quakers.<br /><br />Bright blessings! *smile*Cat C-B (and/or Peter B)https://www.blogger.com/profile/10002916434676859262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25987874.post-63421149419257531132010-02-13T07:55:13.450-05:002010-02-13T07:55:13.450-05:00Dear Cat,
That has to be the clearest ministry I ...Dear Cat,<br /><br />That has to be the clearest ministry I have ever heard about being a Quaker Pagan. Thank you so much for publishing such an articulate post. I want to link it to our own blog that has grown out of a pagan Quaker weekend we have just run at Woodbrooke Quaker Study centre:<br /><br />http://greenquakers.wordpress.com<br /><br />In friendship<br /><br />Kevin Redpathkevinredpathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02453723619444757079noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25987874.post-31248836814730304922009-11-30T17:28:59.899-05:002009-11-30T17:28:59.899-05:00Thanks for your comments, Christine.
I would defi...Thanks for your comments, Christine.<br /><br />I would definitely say that Christian beliefs and Pagan beliefs can co-exist; syncretism seems to be a natural human instinct.<br /><br />It's perhaps worth noting that, depending on what you mean by "Christian beliefs" I might or might not be accurately described as having both.<br /><br />But I take your word that you are. Blessed be. *smile*Cat C-B (and/or Peter B)https://www.blogger.com/profile/10002916434676859262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25987874.post-46064143620584448802009-11-30T11:19:02.569-05:002009-11-30T11:19:02.569-05:00This was beautifully stated! I am a Christian Wit...This was beautifully stated! I am a Christian Witch/Pagan and have come across many many many arguments against my beliefs... interestingly enough, more so from other Pagans than from christians. Telling me that I'm just trying to "hedge my bets" or "sitting on the fence", which of course is rediculous. It's nice to see that I"m not alone in trying to get people to see that Pagan & Christian beliefs can co-exists.christinehttp://www.paganwitch.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25987874.post-52130362349520704902009-10-31T17:16:42.550-04:002009-10-31T17:16:42.550-04:00Thank you for your kind words, John! Of course I ...Thank you for your kind words, John! Of course I do not mind in the least if you share my words, and I'm more than contented to know that something in them "spoke to your condition," as Quakers often say of something that speaks to what the Spirit is laboring to help them understand.<br /><br />I suspect that Jesus was an "out-of-the-box Christian," too, and I'm often codswallopped to learn how little some of the things that seem most important to me about how humans can learn humbly to learn to walk with and listen to God Christians already know.<br /><br />The difficulty, I think, is that a certain fairly narrow sect of Christian has attempted to hijack that term and to use it to mean only men and women who fit their narrow understandings of the Spirit of God--much as a certain narrow-minded sort of American has attempted to kidnap the flag and other symbols of America, and make them mean only their form of xenophobia and boosterism. <br /><br />But the more I learn of Quaker Christians and other liberal Christians in the world today, the more I am coming to see that as a disservice to the religion Jesus himself seemed to be concerned with: one more focused on healing the sick and reaching out to the poor than with legalism. I'm coming to see that there is another Christianity I think he would be proud of, of men and women more concerned with spiritual hospitality than with self-righteousness.<br /><br />Whether you find Spirit speaking to you in the ways of Jesus or the Goddess, may you be filled with joy. Thanks for stopping by!Cat C-B (and/or Peter B)https://www.blogger.com/profile/10002916434676859262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25987874.post-1570069263534844152009-10-31T11:19:27.304-04:002009-10-31T11:19:27.304-04:00WOW! I loved your blog. I am a christian but in t...WOW! I loved your blog. I am a christian but in the last 2 years I would have to cal my self an out of the Box christian. 2 years ago I would have been the one that said you are just listening to deomons. Not anymore. Simply because you put it right when you said "Is a god we can completely understand, define, categorize, and pin down in human language really a god worth worshipping,"<br />The more I learn abouyt christ and God the more I see that there is so much I dont know and the more i learn from others and commune with others the more I see their beauty. Beauty that I can learn from. Spirit the we share. God created people different so we can learn from each other and so he can see different aspects of his face in each other. And so I call you sister and goddess. Made in the image of the divine. Thank You for your words. Hope you dont mind if I copy some of them to my face book page. :)Johnhttp://www.johnrichardsanchez.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25987874.post-67767013017641553772009-09-08T22:27:23.953-04:002009-09-08T22:27:23.953-04:00I just found your blog and found your perspective ...I just found your blog and found your perspective refreshing, as someone who practices the Episcopalian denominational type of Christianity--and was led to Christ through shamanic practice--and who finds both Christianity and Shamanism to be vital parts of her spiritual walk!Suehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16689391855366931022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25987874.post-3653910251093331552009-07-04T17:25:43.164-04:002009-07-04T17:25:43.164-04:00Melissa, thank you!
If you are specifically drawn...Melissa, thank you!<br /><br />If you are specifically drawn to that place where Quaker and Pagan meet, you may also want to explore the <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/QuakerPagans/" rel="nofollow">Quaker Pagans group</a> on Yahoo. <br /><br />There are links to a number of other Quaker Pagan bloggers on the right side of the blog, too. Two of my favorites are Hystery's <a href="http://hystery.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Plainly Pagan</a>, and the blogs <a href="http://walhydra.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Wallhydra's Porch</a> and <a href="http://emptypath.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow">The Empty Path</a>, both my Michael Shell.<br /><br />I am always glad to know when anything Peter or I have written here speaks to someone's condition!<br /><br />Blessed be.Cat C-B (and/or Peter B)https://www.blogger.com/profile/10002916434676859262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25987874.post-9301024410855266182009-07-04T12:27:44.083-04:002009-07-04T12:27:44.083-04:00So glad to find your blog! It's great to hear ...So glad to find your blog! It's great to hear someone speak a language that I understand when it comes to spirituality. I look forward to exploring the site :-)melissahttp://deyofthephoenix.comnoreply@blogger.com