As a high school student, Chris Stern had some negative experiences with missionaries that turned him off Christianity, especially the “fake news” that, as he puts it, “Jesus is here to give us individual salvation and all we need to do is make some declaration of faith and we’ll go upstairs and if we don’t, we’re going downstairs.”
When he learned about early Quakers, though, and how they became convinced, he felt he had found the “real news.”
“Jesus is available to me, in my heart,” Chris explains. “All I need to do is be open and listen to that, and sit with others who are open to being guided by that power… that they can feel deep within that wants to draw them closer to God’s love and loving one another.”
Resources:
- Subscribe to QuakerSpeak so you never miss a video
- See a list of all the videos we’ve produced.
- Read Friends Journal to see how other Friends describe the substance of Quaker spirituality
Discussion Question:
- What role does Jesus play in your faith?
The views expressed in this video are of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Friends Journal or its collaborators.
We want to hear from you, not an AI! Please be thoughtful and use your own words. Comments on Friendsjournal.org may be used in the Forum of the print magazine and may be edited for length and clarity.