Can't We Just Keep It Simple

[ThePilgrim]

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free 'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be, And when we find ourselves in the place just right, 'Twill be in the valley of love and delight. When true simplicity is gained, To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed, To turn, turn will be our delight, Till by turning, turning we come 'round right.

Simple words to a simple song.  Maybe it is to simple to be true.  I don't think it is, but then maybe I am wrong.

Has God made life so complicated and His word so complicated that only the learned and wise among his creatures can understand?

I don't think so.  Maybe we, each and every one of us are the prOBlem.  Maybe we make our lives way to complicated.  Maybe we make God's word complicated, when it really is not.

Listen to the song, read the gospel of Christ.  Is God's grace an impossible thing to understand without much learning?  Is grace complicated or is it free?

Will only the much educated be saved?  Will the poor and the simple attain to glory?  

Just some simple questions.

Enjoy

 

 

 

[Covenanter]

Were the Shakers IFB? Or were they Christian? Or were they just a brand name for well made furniture?

 

They were a very interesting sect, originally from Manchester, England. They were the original suppliers of packet seed on a sale-or-return basis. "Simple gifts" was the inspiration for Sydney Carter's "Lord of the Dance."

 

I've got a book & CD of their music. I love the sound of it, but we have to be very selective of the words. I've sung some of the songs at an open mike occasion.  

 

I try to keep my theological contributions simple, but people don't read them that way, not because they don't understand my complexity of thought, but because they do understand my simplicity of thought. 

[ThePilgrim]

Were the Shakers IFB? Or were they Christian? Or were they just a brand name for well made furniture?

 

They were a very interesting sect, originally from Manchester, England. They were the original suppliers of packet seed on a sale-or-return basis. "Simple gifts" was the inspiration for Sydney Carter's "Lord of the Dance."

 

I've got a book & CD of their music. I love the sound of it, but we have to be very selective of the words. I've sung some of the songs at an open mike occasion.  

 

I try to keep my theological contributions simple, but people don't read them that way, not because they don't understand my complexity of thought, but because they do understand my simplicity of thought. 

No they certainly were not IFB.  They were Shakers

 

Mother Anne Lee, who started the Shaker movement, was formerly a Quaker, and she did incorporate some of her Quaker background into Shaker practices: simplicity, financial responsibility, work ethic, belief in the perfectibility of humankind... among them. She and her followers believed her to be the second incarnation of Christ. Shakers were a celibate sect, and expanded their membership through adult conversions and the rearing of orphans, who were given a choice of joining the Shakers, or going out into the world when they became of legal age. They were an exclusively American movement, mainly located in New England and New York. Their worship included many lively songs--and dances-- of praise to God. The Quakers originated in England in the mid 17th century. They rebelled against the rigid hierarchy and government control prevalent in the Anglican church, and began meeting in homes or buildings without steeples, waiting upon God silently to make His presence felt and inwardly heard. Any person could be called by God to rise and preach upon any occasion of worship. They were much persecuted in England before finding refuge in the American colonies. They were, and are, very family oriented, far from being celibate, and would not agree that Anne Lee is the second incarnation of Christ. They also have historically not withdrawn from the world but have been very active in the cause of social justice for the poor and oppressed, education, humanitarian relief, and the humane treatment of prisoners in penal institutions.

While Shakers have nearly died out, Quakerism, though limited in numbers by comparison to mainline and evangelical Protestants, is alive and growing, both in the USA and in Africa and South America and other nations overseas. Many have today adopted the custom of having a person designated as primarily a pastor, and most are neither white English speaking nor North American, since the greatest growth in the past generation has been outside of England and the USA.

This is a great abridgment and oversimplification of the histories of the two groups, Quakers and Shakers, but gives you an indication of the major differences. For a good short readable history of Quakers, I recommend to you Howard Brinton's *Friends for 300 Years*. I hope this helps thee.

Julia Ewen
Atlanta Friends Meeting
Atlanta GA USA

 

 

If being wrong about theology makes everything they ever said or did wrong or sacrilegious I'll leave that up to each and everyone who reads the words to the song.  

It seems already Simplicity has gone by the wayside.  Saddens me.

[Covenanter]

I'm enjoying these Shaker songs at present.

[Invicta]

The shakers were started by James and James Wardley,  Quakers who took the spirit and teaching of the French Prophets and their followers were known as the Shaking Quakers.  Mother Ann Lee  was a convert.  I thought there were some years between the Wardleys and Ann Lee but it seems I was wrong. 

http://www.utopia-britannica.org.uk/pages/Shakers.htm

[Covenanter]

 

Larry:

If being wrong about theology makes everything they ever said or did wrong or sacrilegious I'll leave that up to each and everyone who reads the words to the song.  

It seems already Simplicity has gone by the wayside.  Saddens me.

 

Are you saying that about those who have responded to the OP? 

 

I've got "Shaker Songs" by Christian Goodwillie, complete with CD.  It's basically a one page chapter for each song, with sheet music & text. I bought it years ago after listening to a series about the Shakers on BBC Radio 4. I wanted to hear more. 

 

I'll have to have another look to see what of their songs we could include in worship. "Stone Prison" is one we could use in connection with the persecuted church. 

 

In the spirit of the OP, do you want to discuss theology from a "simple" viewpoint? I do try to keep to clear New Testament statements rather than the highly complex & speculative assertions regarding prophecy. 

 

My approach is simple:

We are saved by repentance & faith in Christ, who, as God-Man lived & died to redeem us, & rose again to open the way to heaven for all who believe, regardless of ethnicity;

During the present Gospel age of grace, God is saving his people by the Gospel, calling on all to repent;

The present age is marked by spiritual warfare, tribulation suffered by believers at the hands of the ungody - the world, wholove darkness rather than light;

The age will end when Jesus returns in glory to raise the dead for glory or punishment, & the eternal NH&NE will be brought into being, when all God's promises will be perfectly fulfilled.