Our attempt to treat all other persons with respect, integrity, and love informs our practice and concerns in all our lives, from close interpersonal relationships to the conduct of meetings for business, to the search for international peace. It may be that we shall find unity in Jesus's simple admonition to "Love one another as I have loved you" (John 13.34 KJV).
EQUALITY
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There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is
neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female:
for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
--Galatians 3.28 (KJV) |
The history of Friends as a persecuted movement ought to make us sensitive to the feelings of those who suffer from prejudice. Anti-Semitism, racism, the denial of rights to those who espouse unpopular causes and to groups who have alternative manners of living, and any other insult to human dignity demand that we speak out and work for a society that is just.
Much misunderstanding, fear, and hatred throughout the world stem from a common tendency to stereotype people and speak of groups as solid blocs and to lose sight of the varied and precious individuals who compose them. Friends are committed to accept individuals as God's creatures and to look for the working of the divine Spirit in their lives.
The Holy Spirit, which we all share, makes us equal. We differ in our class backgrounds, intelligence, manners, experiences, talents, skin color, language, gender, sexuality, and customs; these differences can serve to remind us of the infinite number of ways the Spirit presents itself. But our differences can also