Inner light: Encyclopedia - Inner light

Inner light

The concept of the Inner Light is central to many versions of Quaker (or Religious Society of Friends) theology. It refers to God's presence within a person and to a direct and personal experience of God. Quakers believe that God speaks to everyone, but that in order to hear his voice, one must learn to be still and actively listen for it,--what Paul Lacout called a "silence which is active" [1]. They believe not only that individuals can be guided by this Inner Light, but that Friends should meet together and receive collective guidance from God by sharing the concerns and leadings that he gives to individuals. In a Friends meeting it is usually called "ministry" when a person shares aloud what the Inner Light is saying to him or her.

Inner light - Synonyms for the Term

Synonyms for Inner Light include "Light of God," "Light of Christ," "Spirit of God within us," "Light within" and "Christ within." Some people identify it with the expression "that of God in everyone," which was first used by one of the founders of the Society of Friends, George Fox. The related term Inward light, appears in older Quaker writings but not used as often now. This term evokes an image of people being illuminated by the light of God or Christ, rather than having a light of their own inside them. It was never a clearly distinct concept among Friends, and the terms were often used interchangeably.

Inner light - Basis for the Concept

The Quaker belief that an Inner Light resides in each person is based in part on a passage from the New Testament, namely John 1.9, which says, "That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." Friends emphasize the part of the verse that indicates that every person is born with the Light within him or her. Early Friends took this verse as one of their mottoes and often referred to themselves as "Children of the Light."

One of the founders of the Society of Friends, George Fox, claimed that he had a direct experience of God. He had explored various sects and had listened to an assortment of preachers. He finally concluded that none of them were adequate to be his ultimate guide. At that point he said that a voice told him, "There is one, even Jesus Christ, that can speak to thy condition." He felt that God wanted him to teach others that they need not depend on human teachers or guides either, because each one of them could experience God directly and hear his voice within. He wrote in his journal, "I was glad that I was commanded to turn people to that inward light, spirit, and grace, by which all might know their salvation, and their way to God; even that divine Spirit which would lead them into all Truth, and which I infallibly knew would never deceive any" [2].

Later, Robert Barclay, an apologist for the Society of Friends wrote: "This most certain doctrine being then received, that there is an evangelical and saving Light and grace in all, the universality of the love and mercy of God towards mankind, both in the death of his beloved Son the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the manifestation of the Light in the heart, is established and confirmed, against all the objections of such as deny it." As the quotations demonstrate, both Barclay and Fox connected the Light not only with an experiential knowledge of God but with the grace and mercy that leads to salvation from sin and acceptance by God.

Inner light - Inner Light and Universalism

Based on the teachings of Fox, Barclay, and other respected leaders, the Society of Friends subscribes, in one form or another, to Universalism. Some Friends today subscribe to Christian Universalism, which is the belief that all people are already saved from sin, or eventually will be saved from it, through the death of Jesus and the presence of His Spirit within. In other words, because the Light is within everyone, nobody will end up condemned to hell. Other Friends, such as the Quaker Universalist Group [3], go further and believe in Universalism in the broader sense. They believe that people need not acknowledge Jesus Christ at all--that people of any faith or even no faith are indwelt by the Light and therefore do not need to be saved. A third segment of the Society of Friends are evangelicals. They believe that all people have the Light within them and have the possibility of being saved, but that only those who avail themselves of the Light and accept the salvation provided by Jesus Christ actually are saved.

Inner light - Inner Light in Contrast to Other Inner Sources

It is important to note that many Friends consider this divine guidance (or "promptings" or "leadings of the Spirit") distinct both from impulses originating within oneself and from generally agreed-on moral guidelines. In fact, as Marianne McMullen pointed out[4], a person can be prompted to say something in meeting that is contrary to what he or she thinks. In other words, Friends do not usually consider the Inner Light the conscience or moral sensibility but something higher and deeper that informs and sometimes corrects these aspects of human nature.

Inner light - Inner Light in Contrast to Rules and Creeds

Because Friends believe that every person can experience God directly and sense his voice within, they are generally suspicious of hard and fast rules, as evidenced by the postscript that a Quaker meeting attached to a list of "Advices" published in 1656:

To paraphrase, human laws are fallible, and ultimately we must rely on that of God within us in order to conduct our way through the grey areas of life; right action cannot be legislated. Because of this tendency to depend on personal leadings, Quakerism has not formulated creeds or rules. However, Friends do not believe that each individual should make decisions and determine his or her values in isolation. In meetings for worship, individuals state their personal concerns and leadings, but as other Friends share, a consensus is usually achieved. Quakers also address sticky questions in a clearness committee or meeting for discernment to try to confirm or clarify a particular leading.

Inner light - The Inner Light and the Bible

Friends are not in complete agreement on the importance of the Inner Light in relation to the Bible. Most Friends, especially in the past, have looked to the Bible as a source of wisdom and guidance. Many, if not most of them, have considered the Bible a book inspired by God. But Quakers have generally tended to regard present, personal direction from God more authoritative than the text of the Bible. Early Quakers, like George Fox and Robert Barclay, did not believe that promptings which were truly from the Spirit within would contradict the Bible. They did, however, believe that to correctly understand the Bible, one needed the Inner Light to clarify it and guide one in applying its teachings to current situations. In the nineteenth century some Friends believed that other Friends were using the concept of the Inner Light to justify views that were unbiblical. These Orthodox Friends believed that the Bible was more authoritative than the Inner Light and should be used as a test of personal leadings. Friends are still formally, but usually respectfully, divided on the matter.

See also

• Inner peace
• Shabd

Inner light - External links

• Quotations about the Inner Light from the BYM Faith and Practice
• More Quotations about the Inner Light from the BYM Faith and Practice
• Discussion of the Inner Light from the NCYM (Conservative)Faith and Practice
• Glossary Definition of "Inward Light" from NYYM Faith and Practice
• Meetings for Clearness in BYM Quaker Faith and Practice
• Committees for Clearness in PYM Quaker Faith and Practice, page 29 (pdf page 14)

Category: Quakerism

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Inner light", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki