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We need symbols to communicate our experience of God, but let us not confuse the
description with the reality, or assume that everyone has
the same angle of vision. Rather let us say, THIS
I KNOW EXPERIMENTALLY, and then ask, WHAT CANST THOU SAY?
--Elizabeth Watson,
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The Hebrew prophets, our Society's founders, and dissidents in all times often found themselves in conflict with others for speaking from inward-directed truth. This habit is a source of controversy today, even amongst ourselves, when our experiences and the ways in which we communicate them do not fit others' perceptions or convictions. We encourage Friends to express, listen to, and welcome disagreements as new ways to understand the truth.
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I am fully persuaded that if there was less tattling and scribbling and more praying, there
would be happiness among us. The spirit of bitterness
and malignity is like the whirlwind, that threatens
to carry us away in the tempest.
--Edward Hicks, Journal, 1825 |
Do our words tend towards the harmony, love, and truth that glorify God? To speak the truth is important, and sometimes truth will necessarily cause pain in the process of healing, but we would do well before we speak to consider that our words may hurt others or stir up ill feeling or partisanship. Backbiting, talebearing, and complaints about others are to be avoided. Our communication, as spoken deeds, helps build or destroy what Jesus called the Kingdom of Heaven. We urge Friends to avoid speaking or acting in ways that divide insiders from outsiders.
The best of Friends' humor has come from the forthright wit of our witness to truth and from the joy with which we behold the presence of God around us. But we caution against the use of sarcasm at the expense of others; the cooling, uniting presence