tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15715889.post5044660468798795571..comments2023-07-23T00:49:12.363-07:00Comments on Tables, Chairs & Oaken Chests: Trees of RighteousnessChris M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11651283601238351902noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15715889.post-88770409682527795472008-05-22T19:05:00.000-07:002008-05-22T19:05:00.000-07:00I too feel touched by those Quaker "trees"and appr...I too feel touched by those Quaker "trees"and appreciate them,their inspiration, and this post. Made me reflect on the " cloud of witnesses" that came before ,exists now, and goes forward. I see alot I would have enjoyed at this Quarterly, but couldn't make it (sigh), so thanks for the views and observations. Patrick RuthPatrick Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07526719850191169897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15715889.post-19202989014645513762008-05-21T22:44:00.000-07:002008-05-21T22:44:00.000-07:00Liz: Thanks, and yes I am.Heather: Thank you, and ...Liz: Thanks, and yes I am.<BR/><BR/>Heather: Thank you, and yes, that would be fine.<BR/><BR/>Forrest: Yes, I think you would have liked the discussion(s). Keep us honest, yes, and also provide us with models, tropes, metaphors, and figures to understand what's around us. <BR/><BR/>("Figures" is how Fox frequently described biblical stories and precedents, which Friends were to live out in their own lives. This is according to Doug Gwyn in _Apocalypse of the Word_, which I recently read. (Y'know, escape from Pharaoh, encounter God like Abraham, live out the crucifixion, go up past the flaming sword etc.)Chris M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05125825966802002625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15715889.post-27935596318864738832008-05-20T12:43:00.000-07:002008-05-20T12:43:00.000-07:00"Scripture as a guide for Friends." I think I woul..."Scripture as a guide for Friends." I think I would have been interested, if this had been anywhere nearby.<BR/><BR/>We've still got many Friends more than eager to chuck the Bible in the nearest potty, as well as Friends who so distrust the Spirit that they cling to the Bible as a sort of poor substitute.<BR/><BR/>If that Bible has "a message," I think it's: "There have been people who have known and learned from God." You find many people who want to stop at that, rather than go on to "And why not us?!" I joined the Quaker thing because I saw it as following the implications of that step all the way out, not basing Authority on some writing or on some interpretor but on the Source HeSheself. (But of course we find people with that insight in a great many traditions, these days.)<BR/><BR/>Scripture can help keep us honest, keep reminding us of those Poor whom Jacques Ellul called "God's question to us"--can remind us that that implicit question is too vital to just be dissipated with Clean&Safe patrols. But of course, scripture won't have much authority for anyone who's lost the underlying axiom, that there is a God with things to say to us!<BR/><BR/>Rodger Kamenetz's latest book, _The History of Last Night's Dream_, points out how the first three dreams in Genesis are straightforward messages from God. All the dreams past there get interpreted; some Authority puts his oar in and tries to say what the dream means for it--symptomatic of a distrust of our deep psyche that has been with us ever since.<BR/><BR/>Our dreams tend not to even make sense to us--not because some Evil Entity is trying to distort what they're saying, but because the first message we need to understand is what they're saying about who we are--which is hard for us to digest precisely because of our being that way! As if a note in plain sight said, "You need to be quiet and read this," while we kept talking instead of reading it...forresthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03214745625847174676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15715889.post-52587909482460968482008-05-20T10:14:00.000-07:002008-05-20T10:14:00.000-07:00I would like to agree with Liz's comment. Thank yo...I would like to agree with Liz's comment. Thank you for such an interesting report!<BR/><BR/>I have included you on the blogroll on my site www.heather-still-life.blogspot.com. I hope this is OK.<BR/><BR/>HeatherHeatherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18160971651020687637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15715889.post-74826690523149036172008-05-20T06:30:00.000-07:002008-05-20T06:30:00.000-07:00Thanks for the report, Chris. I sense a great dea...Thanks for the report, Chris. I sense a great deal of ministry and service that you are providing, both to children and to individual adult Friends. I hope you are feeling well used and appreciated.<BR/><BR/>Blessings,<BR/>Liz Opp, <A HREF="http://thegoodraisedup.blogspot.com" REL="nofollow">The Good Raised Up</A>Liz Opphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09802348848085930901noreply@blogger.com