Synopsis

Are Quakers Christian? Is it possible for Quakerism to be both Christian and Universalist? These are just two of the questions which form the starting point for this book. In exploring them, it becomes clear that they cannot be answered in isolation for they are linked to a whole complex of questions about Jesus, God, and the nature of human living. So it becomes necessary to engage in theology. But for Quakers this must be from a distinctively Quaker standpoint which seeks to be both undogmatic and concerned with practical issues. Most of all it must be grounded in our corporate experience of God.

In her 1980 Swarthmore Lecture entitled What Canst Thou Say?, Janet Scott attempts to begin this process. She explores what we may say about Jesus and about God, sets out one way in which Quakerism may be both Christian and Universalist, and points out areas needing further discussion.