Synopsis
The Gospel of John is sometimes known among Friends as “the Quaker Gospel,” because it speaks to the Quaker concern for a here-and-now experience of eternal reality in Christ. Conversation with Christ explores this theme through thirteen conversations from the Fourth Gospel in which the history and mystery of Jesus are revealed. Each of these close readings is followed by examples of ways Quakers have grappled with it’s message and by a guided meditation inviting readers to experience the form Christ takes in our lives.
About the Author(s)
Doug Gwyn grew up in the pastoral stream of Friends in Indiana. After experiencing a call to ministry in 1968, he attended Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where he began to know unprogrammed Friends better. Over the years, he has followed his calling to ministry into work as a Friends pastor, as a writer for the American Friends Service Committee, and as a teacher at the Quaker study centers Pendle Hill and Woodbrooke. His training in biblical studies has informed his research and writing on early Friends and on current issues among Friends today. Doug has coined the term “bispiritual” to describe Friends like himself who are engaged and nurtured by both pastoral and unprogrammed Friends, in different ways. His wife, Caroline Jones, is a Friend and dharma teacher in the Insight Buddhist tradition.
His books include Apocalypse of the Word: The Life and Message of George Fox (1986), The Covenant Crucified: Quakers and the Rise of Capitalism (1995), Seekers Found: Atonement in Early Quaker Experience (2000), and Personality and Place: The Life and Times of Pendle Hill (2014).