The Search for Peace in Times of Chaos—Volume Basic Doctrine Generally, Quakerism has had no creed George Fox dismissed theologians as “notionists,” and modern Quakers are generally little concerned with theology, and are more concerned with acting in accord with the leading of the Spirit Quakers have historically expressed a preference for understanding coming from God’s Spirit over the knowledge derived from objective logic or systematic theology This principle states that in every human soul, there is implanted a certain element of God’s own spirit and divine energy This realization is central to Quakerism and referred to by Friends with such terms as ǡ ǡ This traditional Quaker universalism does not say that all religions are completely true, let alone that they are equally true But it affirms that, as all people have the light, so they have God within whether they consider themselves Christians or not And people of all faiths and upbringings may give expression to the promptings of that light in their words and deeds so that, as a result, one finds the light expressing itself from time to time through religious leaders within faiths Thus, in a religion that overall contains errors—be it Buddhism or Hinduism or Protestantism or Catholicism—there will nevertheless be some genuine and wonderful expressions of the light One who knows Christ will recognize and honor these expressions of the light even as they recognize and avoid the errors elsewhere in those same religions.6 Most Friends believe a formal creed would be an obstacle both to authentic listening and to the recognition of new insight Friends also realize that words may suitably express the personal convictions of someone at one time, but that they will almost certainly be unsuitable for the same person later in life It is even more difficult to define the religious conviction of a group of people Words and phrases often lend themselves to very different interpretations The absence of creeds does not mean that Friends feel that it does not matter what a person believes They recognize that personal beliefs vitally affect behavior Friends are people of strong religious views, but they are quite clear that these views must be tested by the way in which they are expressed 201