Review: Living the Quaker Way

The book begins with a couple of short chapters that give a quick introduction to the Quaker religion (or is it a way of life?). The bulk of the book consists of five chapters corresponding to the five major values of the Quaker way -- Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, and Equality.

Philip Gulley writes well. His chapter on Simplicity is full of wisdom and sound teaching. Other than that, there's not much good I can say about this book. His tone becomes more critical as he moves into the chapter about peace, perhaps reflecting his passion for the subject and the weight he feels it deserves. Unfortunately, he spent an entire lengthy chapter without mentioning abortion(!), the role of police(?), or whether self-defense or the protection of one's family ever justifies violence. The remaining chapters were a mixed bag of a bit of good stuff along with plenty of theological and political liberalism. If you're a fan of gay marriage, abortion, socialism, and religious pluralism you might well enjoy this well-written book.


Thanks to Convergent for a free review copy.