Review of words in their Quaker context: Condition, Experience, Covenant, Discipline, Discernment, Authority, The Beloved Community, Submission. Excellent reminder of what feeds us and holds us as Quakers.

I enjoyed reading this book, but the person I read it to did not like some of Griswold's vocabulary, especially "discipline" and "submission." This had much to do with the person and the situation in which they find themself (non-gendered pronoun problem in agreement with "they"), combined with the difficulties in hearing the English used by early Friends.

The eight words are:
Condition
Experience
Covenant
Discipline
Discernment
Authority
The Beloved Community
Submission

Griswold uses several quotes from early Friends. Two of my favorites are:
George Fox (24):
And all Friends, ye must come into a patience above all the world.
And all Friends, ye must come into a moderation above all the world.
And all Friends, ye must come into a wisdom above all the world.
And all Friends, ye must come into a knowledge above all the world.
And all Friends, ye must come into an understanding above all the world.
And all Friends, ye must come into a sobriety, and gravity, and a seasoned state above all the world.
[Epistle 179]

Isaac Penington (28):
Our life is love, and peace, and tenderness; and bearing one with another, and forgiving on another, and not laying accusations one against another; but praying one for another, and helping one another up with a tender hand.
[Epistle to Friends in Amersham, 1667] ( )

The life of a fully committed Quaker can be described as a series of passages, beginning with a truthful understanding of one's spiritual condition and deepening through attention to inward experience, spiritual covenant, discipline, and the practice of discernment, culminating ultimately in the maturation of spiritual authority in a beloved community. Robert Griswold explains these passages for modern Friends, drawn from the writings of the early Quakers, and offers us glimpse of the profound growth that can flourish when we turn ourselves over to a life dedicated to the Spirit. Discussion questions included.

Griswold asks: how do our Friends meetings let seekers know that they are at the start of a spiritual journey, and then guide them on that journey? He writes a guide to a Quaker pilgrim's progress, to the process of spiritual deepening as a Friend, to eight vital aspects of Quaker spiritual growth. For example, his section on discipline shows how discipline grows out of our commitment to relationship with the Divine, and the role of various spiritual disciplines in nurturing the Seed. I particularly like his paragraphs on Quaker committee work as a spiritual discipline! The section on discernment explains why this Quaker group process is essential to our spiritual growth. In all, this pamphlet is an excellent contribution to a sparse contemporary literature on practical spiritual formation in the Quaker Way. It is richly insightful and helpful, and could be the basis for a fruitful program of spiritual nurture for an individual or a group. ( )

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