when one looks back upon the past 250 years and attempts to estimate the value of friends to the christian life of england and america, there are certain outstanding features which at once arrest attention. 66amongst the chief contributions which the society has been successful in making hitherto to the christian life of england and america are the following:
1. at a time when religion was in danger of becoming, to a large extent, formal, ceremonial and external, the early friends succeeded in calling the attention of their own generation to the necessity for a vital, inward experience. they undoubtedly helped many besides those who actually joined with them into a clearer understanding of the inwardness of the christian gospel, and into a personal experience of the living and indwelling christ.
2. the reformation and post-reformation period was marked by that intensity of religious conviction which so often leads to intolerance and religious bigotry. even those who had suffered persecution themselves followed the very example one would have expected them to avoid as soon as the opportunity occurred. that our spiritual forefathers had an immense influence upon that age, in bringing about a greater spirit of religious toleration, cannot be 67doubted by any who read carefully the religious history of that time.
3. from the day that william penn entered into treaty with the red indian chiefs till the day when john woolman made his protest against negro slavery, and on till john greenleaf whittier thrilled the nation with the songs which called to love and brotherhood, friends have consistently stood for an attitude of sympathetic understanding of other races. nowhere perhaps has this been more publicly and more deservedly acknowledged than by the action of president grant in handing over to friends the management of certain reservations for red indians, a policy which he declared had proved “most satisfactory.”
4. even at the time when quakerism ceased to be a powerful evangelical force, and when friends seem to have lost something of their first love, the society was producing men and women of outstanding christian character, who were known to be no hypocrites; whose word was their bond; whose business integrity was proverbial 68and whose character for truthfulness and honesty was surely an outstanding contribution to the christian life of the eighteenth century. this type of character has, i believe, been largely maintained till the present day.
5. and lastly, scarcely any great philanthropic movement has risen during the last 200 years which has not had the support of friends; and notable cases could be quoted to show the way in which friends have taken the lead in such matters. especially at times when religious revival has taken on emotional forms, and when the emphasis has been thrown almost exclusively upon the subjective side, it has been of great benefit to the church to have the association of practical philanthropy with the very society which has always insisted on the necessity for an inward experience.
i refer to these few historic examples in order to illustrate the way in which i am approaching the question, and to show how a particular christian society has, for upwards of 250 years, been steadily 69bringing its influence to bear upon the christian life of two great nations. in looking back upon the past, we may truly thank god and take courage. let there be no thought of arrogance in our minds; but rather of deep humility, as we proceed to look into the problems which confront us to-day, and consider in what direction our society may contribute towards their solution.
