Testimony of Equality
How healing to come into the Religious Society of Friends, whose founder saw clearly that the Light of God is not limited to the male half of the human race.
Spirit hath manifested in each of us, without respect of Persons.
There is no longer Jew nor Christian nor Muslim, there is no longer Black nor White nor Red nor Yellow, there is no longer Male nor Female nor Gay nor Straight, for all of us are one in the Spirit.
“The testimony of human equality before God is one of the earliest Quaker social testimonies and is a cornerstone of Friends’ belief. Quaker equality does not imply equality of ability or economic resources but is based on the concept that there is that of God in every person and therefore that each person is due equal respect. This has led to a conscious effort to eliminate negative words and behavior that arise from distinctions in class, race, gender, sexual orientation, social status, age, or physical attributes.” -Southeastern Yearly Meeting Faith & Practice, 2013
All men were created equal, it has been said. Unfortunately, as soon as those words left the lips qualifiers were established that divided and caged people. If you were of a certain race, or if you didn’t own property, if you were a woman, if you were gay, or if you were … . How important has the ideal of Equality been to our society?
People have found so many ways to divide others into categories that it is a wonder that we have built societies at all. Some people are so insecure within themselves they feel the need to put others down and pretend they are better than. Some struggle all their lives to get more, have more, be more … so they can feel superior. It wouldn’t be so bad if they did not resort to disrespecting others who were different from them, but that seems to be the case most of the time. The importance of Equality has not been high on our list of priorities.
Do you know anyone who is non-judgmental? Who does not have negative opinions of some group or groups of people they probably don’t know? It is a sad reality that we have been thought to be prejudiced as children by our societies. It is difficult to overcome racism, homophobia, misogyny, and religious bigotry; but that is what the Quaker Testimony of Equality calls us to do.
From Spirit’s point of view, we are all equal because we are One. We are One with Spirit and One with one another. Let’s put away our prejudices and judgements and respectfully treat each other as brothers and sisters.
presented by John Palozzi
The Palm Beach Quaker Meeting invites you to share The Silence with us in a Spirit-filled space that has welcomed worshippers since 1958, regardless of race, gender identity, or nationality. Find information on the Home page of this website.
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