"Beware of anyone who describes a human being as something other than a human being." George Monbiot

The first Friends believed that they were living in the same Spirit that had inspired all the holy people in the Scriptures. This meant that they didn’t just read the Bible, they entered into the narrative and acted it out in visible and embodied ways in their lives. Tangled Roots, p.73

Early Friends concluded that communion with the risen Lord must be substantially the same as that enjoyed by the first disciples - a fellowship in which he teaches his friends. Doug Gwyn

"The cross is an eternal reminder that evil always goes too far, and because it goes too far it contains within itself the seeds of its own destruction." Raphael Warnock

"You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise!" Maya Angelou

"[It] certainly provides an accessible introduction for those looking for texts for students or to get a decent overview of this tradition." Dr. Paul Hedges – British Association for the Study of Religions Bulletin, 148 (May 2026)

“…as a teaching tool this may well be a useful resource to get a sense for students of not only what Quakerism is in terms of it as a tradition but also how this actually works out, at least ideally, in the lives of Quakers.” Dr. Paul Hedges – BASR Bulletin, 148 (May 2026)

Digger, Gerrard Winstanley and Quaker, James Nayler seem to have drawn inspiration from the same stream of 17th century radical Puritanism.

A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love. Saint Basil the Great

When you forgive somebody, when you are generous, when you withhold judgment, when you love and when you stand up to injustice, you are, in that moment, bringing heaven to earth. Rob Bell

...the metaphors of a temple of living stones and a body with many parts points in the direction of an ecological perspective... Tangled Roots: Navigating the Complex Legacy of Early Quakers, p.47.

"The prophets in the Hebrew Scriptures and Jesus in the Gospels... denounce the use of religion to sacralize unjust privilege and to ignore the needs of the people." Rosemary Radford Ruether - Prophetic Tradition and the Liberation of Women

"No one can be authentically human while he prevents others from being so.“ Paulo Freire – Pedagogy of the Oppressed

“We all too often have socialism for the rich and rugged free market capitalism for the poor. Call it democracy, or call it democratic socialism, but there must be a better distribution of wealth within this country for all God's children” Martin Luther King Jr.

The faith and practice of the first generation of Friends combined a complex mix of characteristics that presented future generations with a set of creative tensions to be negotiated and interpreted. The Quaker Faith: Friends of Love and Truth, p.28

"Action is the antidote to despair." Joan Baez

“Competition is the law of the jungle, but cooperation is the law of civilization.” Peter Kropotkin

"Your 'yes' to God requires your 'no' to all injustice, to all evil, to all lies, to all oppression and violation of the weak and poor..." Dietrich Bonhoffer

Anabaptists and Quakers have been united in their opposition to the entire Christendom system and their desire to return to the vital and simple faith of Jesus, the apostles, and the earliest Church as this was described in the New Testament. The Historic Peace Church Contribution

All the diverse expressions of the Quaker faith in the world today look back to the founding mothers and fathers of the Quaker movement for inspiration... they each interpret this received tradition in quite different ways, emphasising some characteristics at the expense of others.

To be truly radical is to make hope possible rather than despair convincing. Raymond Williams

"Empathy may be the single most important quality that must be nurtured to give peace a fighting chance.“ Arundhati Roy

“Patriotism assumes that our globe is divided into little spots, each one surrounded by an iron gate. Those who have had the fortune of being born on some particular spot consider themselves nobler, better, grander, more intelligent than those living beings inhabiting any other spot.” Emma Goldman

The earliest Friends took the reality of evil very seriously, but they also believed that God could liberate them from sin in this life. This created a dynamic tension between human fallibility and the possibility of perfection... The Quaker Faith: Friends of Love and Truth, p.155

Social justice is love applied to systems, policies, and government practice. Now why wouldn't people who profess belief in God, who is love, want that? Bernice A. King

To be afraid is to behave as if the truth were not true. Bayard Rustin

“My goal is to work toward reimagining a nonwhite and a non-gendered God – a God who can help us build a more just society, faith community, and loving church.” Grace Ji-Sun Kim, When God Became White

Recognition that God's Light is in every person helps us to overcome our apparent separation and differences from others; it leads to a sympathetic awareness of their needs and a sense of responsibility towards them... Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

The poor tell us who we are. The prophets tell us who we can be. So we hide the poor and kill the prophets. Philip Berrigan

"My own faith does not rely on escaping to a purely spiritual heaven but is founded instead on the promise that the whole physical creation will be transformed. The necessary power that can achieve this may be spiritual and only known inwardly, but its effects are wonderfully earthy and embodied."