In American Christian Programmed Quaker Ecclesiology, Derek Brown argues that American Christian Programmed Quakerism has inherited a practical and pragmatic ecclesiology at the expense of an ontological understanding of the church. Inspired by the work of Gerben Heitink, Brown proposes a normative, deductive, ontological ecclesiology based on the biblical concept of koinonia, which would act as a 'foundational' model for future confessional, empirical, and practical efforts. To help form the proposed ecclesiology, Brown explores the ecclesiological views of George Fox and Robert Barclay, the adoption of the pastoral system, and the emergence of the Evangelical Friends Church. The ecclesiological writings of Miroslav Volf, Wolfhart Pannenberg, Hans Küng, Jennifer Buck, and C. Wess Daniels are also surveyed.
In American Christian Programmed Quaker Ecclesiology, Derek Brown argues that American Christian Programmed Quakerism has inherited a practical and pragmatic ecclesiology at the expense of an ontological understanding of the church. Inspired by the work of Gerben Heitink, Brown proposes a normative, deductive, ontological ecclesiology based on the biblical concept of koinonia, which would act as a 'foundational' model for future confessional, empirical, and practical efforts. To help form the proposed ecclesiology, Brown explores the ecclesiological views of George Fox and Robert Barclay, the adoption of the pastoral system, and the emergence of the Evangelical Friends Church. The ecclesiological writings of Miroslav Volf, Wolfhart Pannenberg, Hans Küng, Jennifer Buck, and C. Wess Daniels are also surveyed.
"As the Oracles of God" examines how Quakers in colonial America sought to control both the written and spoken word in their religious communities. It looks at the ways in which American Friends set up committees to censor texts deemed heterodox, as well as the ways Quakers sought to moderate the words of believers through encouraging self-censorship as a way to access personal revelation, while also paying particular attention to the experiences of those who ran afoul of Friends' rules in these regards, either by publishing works without the consent of their meetings or speaking in un-Quakerly fashion. Debates over freedom of speech, the work asserts, defined early modern religious communities just as much as it did more formal legal institutions.
"As the Oracles of God" examines how Quakers in colonial America sought to control both the written and spoken word in their religious communities. It looks at the ways in which American Friends set up committees to censor texts deemed heterodox, as well as the ways Quakers sought to moderate the words of believers through encouraging self-censorship as a way to access personal revelation, while also paying particular attention to the experiences of those who ran afoul of Friends' rules in these regards, either by publishing works without the consent of their meetings or speaking in un-Quakerly fashion. Debates over freedom of speech, the work asserts, defined early modern religious communities just as much as it did more formal legal institutions.