Henry starts out with a quick summary of the first six sessions. This includes: the fear of the Lord, the inward Kingdom of God, true repentance, and taking up the Inward Cross. This is followed by a reading from Robert Barclay's Apology for the True Christian Divinity, the Fifteenth Proposition which distinguishes certain aspects of Friends’ beliefs from those of other denominations.
Henry then explains plans for the next session(s) which will focus on a tract published by the Tract Association of Friends. The tract is an excerpt from a work of Thomas Evans. A Concise Account of the Religious Society of Friends, Commonly Called Quakers. Henry reads from this tract and then discusses it. It leads to an explanation of various words such as: holy, fear of God, belief, and doctrine.
The understanding of early Christians and early Friends was that one’s belief had to be carried out in the daily walk with God. It is not enough to simply agree to a belief or doctrine. One must exhibit the fruits of the Spirit and become “holy”. One can overcome the human tendency to fall short of God’s glory — with God’s help. This help is available in the form of the eternal Spirit, the Spirit of the Messiah, the seed of God which is within everyone. This required holiness was an expectation in early Christianity, but has been lost over the centuries before being rediscovered by Quakers.
Henry was asked about the meaning of “grace" in the context of becoming holy. Another question concerned the spirit’s agency: is it a gift, or does it only come with conscious acknowledgment? His answer involved the Christ, the Word, the enlightener as the Light that enlightens everyone that comes into the world. It is initially a seed with potentiality for growth in every human being.
A discussion ensued concerning the "day of visitation". Another question arose about the “long dark night of the Apostacy”. Finally, someone asks about the translations used by early Friends.
Visit us on our website at ohioyearlymeeting.org.
Any who might be interested in joining any of the Ohio Yearly Meeting Zoom online studies should check out the Online Study and Discussion Groups on our website. All are welcome!
We welcome feedback on this and any of our other podcast episodes. Contact us through our website, or email us at OYMConservative@gmail.com.