About Richard B. Miller Expertise I am primarily interested in answering questions about Quakerism today. I can answer some historical questions but I am not a history expert.
Experience I have been active in North Carolina Yearly Meeting (conservative) for over twenty years. I have served the Yearly Meeting in a number of capacities and currently am the clerk of my small monthly meeting. I am also a recorded elder.
Expert: Richard B. Miller Date: 9/1/2007 Subject: Quaker Hauntings
Question Though there would be no Quaker testimony or consensus on the matter, what would you say is a typical Quaker outlook on ghosts, hauntings, and supernatural phenomenon aside from that of the Inner Light?
There must obviously be some belief in the supernatural if the main tenet of the non-credal Quaker faith is that of waiting on the divine spirit in each of us.
Can you give me perhaps a brief historical outlook on Quaker interpretations of otherworldly forces? Arguable, Catholicism is the branch of Christianity which has made the most effort to 'combat' and 'explain' such phenomena, but I'm curious about Friends.
I find your answers to be the best here, so I appreciate you taking the time reply. Thanks!
Answer The first issue here is what we mean by supernatural? You mention ghosts and there isn't much belief in ghosts in the Society. Within the liberal wing of Quakerism there are folks who would disavow any belief in anything supernatural. They basically accept materialism as a world view but hold on to the ethical teachings of Quakerism. My sense however is that such people are a pretty small minority even within the liberal FGC side of Friends. Seasoned Friends have been at this long enough to have gathered enough personal experience and heard enough stories of the workings of the Spirit to feel convinced of the reality of a world beyond mere matter. Spirit doesn't just manifest by delivering messages to us via the Inner Light. It is a force that is active in the world and being attentive we can see its doings. Less emphasis is given to the World as a spiritual force opposed to God but that's something Quakers have talked about as well. It isn't as if there were a spiritual world distinct from and existing somewhere different from the material world. It's more like the visible world is just the surface or skin of a world that is really spiritual. That's the way I would express it, but the seasoned Friends I know don't theorize about it very much. They are more interested in just living it.
