Inward light

For other uses, see The Inner Light (disambiguation).

William Holman Hunt's The Light of the World, 1851–1854
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Inward light, Light of God, Light of Christ, Christ within, That of God, Spirit of God within us, Light within, and inner light are related phrases commonly used within the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) as metaphors for Christ's light shining on or in them. It was propagated by the founder of the Quaker movement, George Fox, who "preached faith in and reliance on 'inward light' (the presence of Christ in the heart)".[1][2] The first Quakers were known to sit in silence and meditate on the words of the Bible until they felt the inward light of God shining upon them and the Holy Spirit speaking.[3] The concept was highly important to early Quakers, who taught: "God reveals Himself within each individual's conscience and consciousness by the Holy Spirit, Christ Himself being the Light to illuminate man's sinfulness and lead in the way of truth and righteousness. ... this light is in all men by the grace of God to lead them to Christ, and that the same light will give daily guidance to the Christian."[4][5]

The Key to the Faith and Practice of the Religious Society of Friends states that the Inward Light is "both the historical, living Jesus, and as the Grace of God extended to people that simultaneously makes us conscious of our sins, forgives them, and gives us the strength and the will to overcome them" and "teaches us the difference between right and wrong, truth and falseness, good and evil".[6][7] As such, the word light is commonly used by Christians (including Quakers) as a metaphor for Christ, derived from many Biblical passages including John 8:12,[8] which states:

I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

Quakers take this idea of walking in the Light of Christ to refer to God's presence within a person, and to a direct and personal experience of God, although this varies to some extent between Quakers in different yearly meetings. Quakers believe not only that individuals can be guided by this light, but that Friends might meet together and receive collective guidance from God by sharing the concerns and leadings that he gives to individuals.[6][9] This is often done in meeting for worship; Pierre Lacout, a Swiss Quaker, describes a "silence which is active" causing the Inner Light to "glow", in his book God is silence.[10] In a Friends meeting it is usually called "ministry" when a person shares aloud what the Inward Light is saying to him or her, which is revealed "by the direct prompting of Christ through his Holy Spirit."[11] The term inward light was first used by early Friends to refer to Christ's light shining on them; the term inner light has also been used since the twentieth century to describe this Quaker doctrine. Rufus Jones, in 1904, wrote that: "The Inner Light is the doctrine that there is something Divine, 'Something of God' in the human soul".[12] Jones argued that his interpretation of the Quaker doctrine of the inner light was something shared by George Fox and other early Quakers, but some Quaker theologians and historians, most notably Lewis Benson reject this viewpoint.[13] For certain Conservative Friends, Evangelical Friends and Holiness Friends, Jones' definition represents "modernistic thought" rather than early Quaker teaching, which emphasizes the necessity of a personal conversion to be a child of God."[5]

  1. ^ Gifford, Don; Seidman, Robert J. (2008). Ulysses Annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses. University of California Press. p. 216. ISBN 9780520253971.
  2. ^ Poverty in the United States: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, and Policy. ABC-CLIO. 2004. p. 615. ISBN 9781576075975. The doctrine of the Inner Light originated with Quaker founder, George Fox, in 1640s England. It affirmed that every person had the "still, small voice" of God within. Friends traced this belief to scripture, namely John 1:9, which attested to a true light "which lighteth every man".
  3. ^ Parrinder, Geoffrey (1985). World Religions: From Ancient History to the Present. Facts on File. p. 445. ISBN 9780816012893.
  4. ^ Tolles, Frederick Barnes (1948). Meeting House and Counting House: The Quaker Merchants of Colonial Philadelphia, 1682-1763. Institute of Early American History and Culture at Williamsburg, Va. ISBN 9780807805428.
  5. ^ a b Manual of Faith and Practice of Central Yearly Meeting of Friends. Central Yearly Meeting of Friends. 2018. p. 6-7.
  6. ^ a b "What Do Friends Mean by the Inward Light?". The Key to the Faith and Practice of the Religious Society of Friends. QuakersOnline. 2007. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  7. ^ Hodge, Charles (12 March 2015). Systematic Theology. Delmarva Publications, Inc. p. 137. By the inner light the orthodox Quakers understand the supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit, concerning which they teach, – (1.) That it is given to all men. (2.) That it not only convinces of sin, and enables the soul to apprehend aright the truths of Scripture, but also communicates a knowledge of "the mysteries of salvation." ... The orthodox Friends teach concerning this inward light, as has been already shown, that it is subordinate to the Holy Scriptures, inasmuch as the Scriptures are the infallible rule of faith and practice, and everything contrary thereto is to be rejected as false and destructive.
  8. ^ "What Do Friends Mean by the Inward Light?". The Key to the Faith and Practice of the Religious Society of Friends. QuakersOnline. 2007. Retrieved 22 May 2016. The Light in Scripture and Quaker writings is clearly named. Jesus Christ said, "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life," (John 8:12). John the Baptist "came to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe," (John 1:7). Robert Barclay wrote of other aspects of Jesus and his work as Light: "That for this end God hath communicated and given unto every man a measure of the Light of his own Son, a measure of grace, or a measure of the Spirit, which the Scripture expresses by several names, as sometimes of 'the seed of the kingdom' (Matthew 13:18–19); the 'Light that makes all things manifest' (Ephesians 5:13); the 'Word of God' (Romans 10:17); or manifestation of the Spirit given to profit withal' (1 Corinthians 12:7); 'a talent' (Matthew 25:15); 'the Gospel preached in every creature' (Colossians 1:23)."
  9. ^ Britain Yearly Meeting (1994). "Quaker Faith and Practice (Third edition) – Advices and Queries". Britain Yearly Meeting. Archived from the original on 23 March 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2008. We can worship alone, but when we join with others in expectant waiting we may discover a deeper sense of God's presence.
  10. ^ Lacout, Pierre (1993). God is silence. Translated by John Kay (Pocket ed.). London: Quaker Home Service. p. 20. ISBN 0-85245-253-5.
  11. ^ "A Waiting Worship and A Free Gospel Ministry". Plain Quakers. 20 October 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  12. ^ Jones, Rufus (1904). Social Law in the Spiritual World: Studies in Human and Divine Inter-Relationship. pp. 167–168.
  13. ^ Benson, Lewis (1969). That of God in every man: What did George Fox mean by it?.