Quaker Focus of the Month
May/June 2010:
That of God in Everyone
The belief that there is that of God, or the Divine Spark, in everyone is one of the core beliefs of the Religious Society of Friends. It is from this and other basic beliefs that the testimonies spring.
Here is a more complete quote from George Fox about this belief:
“This is the word of the Lord God to you all, a charge to you all in the presence of the living God; be patterns, be examples in all countries, places, islands, nations, wherever you come; that your life and conduct may preach among all sorts of people, and to them. Then you will come to walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in every one; whereby in them ye may be a blessing, and make the witness of God in them to bless you: then to the Lord God you shall be a sweet savour, and a blessing.”
– George Fox
“Each person has inside a basic decency and goodness. If he listens to it and acts on it, he is giving a great deal of what it is the world needs most. It is not complicated, but it takes courage. It takes courage for a person to listen to his own goodness and act on it.”
– Pablo Casals
“Learn to be quiet enough to hear the sound of the genuine within yourself so that you can hear it in other people.”
– Marian Wright Edelman
