Robyn Lebron Ǥ But all would agree that humans, as rational beings, must think about the nature of their religious experiences Friends are encouraged to seek for truth in all the opportunities that life presents to them They are further encouraged to seek new light from whatever source it may arise Their questing and open attitude to life has certainly contributed to the tolerance with which Friends try to approach people and problems of faith and conduct Many Friends have hesitations about the value of theology, fearing that it too easily leads to speculation and argument This may make it easier to understand how the Religious Society of Friends can accommodate such a range of religious outlooks among its members Pretty well every color in the religious spectrum seems to be reflected in the views of Friends There are Friends whose faith is most sincerely expressed in the traditional language of Orthodox Christianity Other Friends could justly be described as religious humanists Each individual is left to work out their own understanding of God and His plan for their life The feeling is that true faith is an intensely personal thing which springs out of personal experience more than from a theological statement Accordingly, individual Quakers may develop individual religious beliefs arising from their personal conscience and revelation coming from “God within”; further, Quakers feel compelled to live by such individual religious beliefs and inner revelations Friends believe true religion cannot be learned from a book, or set prayers, or rituals, which they refer to as empty forms of worship When Quakerism began in England, the Bible had only just come into common circulation in English translation and was widely read and quoted Most Protestant groups attributed a great finality and infallibility to it Early Friends rejected the mainstream Protestant idea of sola scriptura , that the Bible is God’s written word and therefore self-authenticating, clear and its own interpreter; instead, they believed that Christ, instead of the Bible, is the Word of God Robert Barclay wrote in his Apology that the scriptures “ ǡ ” The Society of Friends believes that the person must go to the source, and that God provides everyone with access to understanding spiritual truth for today The attitude of the Friends toward the scriptures is a natural outgrowth of their belief in 202