A Quaker Approach to the Bible; Ward Lecture

Greensboro, NC: Guilford College, 1953. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Wraps. Good. 15, [1] pages. Format is approximately 5.25 inches by 7.5 inches. Cover has some wear and soiling. Front cover has corner crease and part of following title page missing part at that corner. Footnotes. Some ink marks to text noted. Includes A Quaker Approach to the Bible. Also includes Suggested Reading, as well as a discussion by Henry J. Cadbury, Hollis Professor of Divinity in Harvard University, on A Quaker Approach to the Bible. This was the Ward Lecture, 1953, Given at Guilford College on Founders Day, November 9, 1953. Henry J. Cadbury, Hollis Professor of Divinity in Harvard University, is eminently fitted to discuss "A Quaker Approach to the Bible." His contributions to modern Biblical study are recognized by scholars everywhere, while all Bible readers are indebted to him for his share in the new Revised Standard Version of the New Testament. His contributions to modern Biblical study are recognized by scholars everywhere, wile all Bible readers are indebted to him for his share in the new Revised Standard Version of the New Testament. Guilford College is a small liberal arts college in Greensboro, North Carolina. Founded in 1837 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Guilford's program offerings include such majors as Peace and Conflict Studies and Community and Justice Studies, both rooted in the college's history as a Quaker institution. Henry Joel Cadbury (December 1, 1883 - October 7, 1974) was an American biblical scholar, Quaker historian, writer, and non-profit administrator. A graduate of Haverford College, Cadbury was a Quaker throughout his life, as well as an agnostic. Forced out of his teaching position at Haverford for writing an anti-war letter to the Philadelphia Public Ledger, in 1918, he saw the experience as a milestone, leading him to larger service beyond his Orthodox Religious Society of Friends. He was offered a position in the Divinity School at Harvard University, from which he had received his Ph.D, but he first rejected its teacher's oath for reasons of conscience, the Quaker insistence on telling the truth, and as a form of social activism. He later accepted the Hollis Professorship of Divinity (1934-1954). He also was the director of the Andover-Harvard Theological Library (1938-1954), and chairman (1928-1934; 1944-1960) of the American Friends Service Committee, which he had helped found in 1917. He delivered the Nobel lecture on behalf of the AFSC when it, together with the British Friends Service Council, accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947 on behalf of the Religious Society of Friends. The The Quaker Universalist Fellowship (QUF) recognized the importance of this lecture and obtained permission to reissue it. The QUF stated that a long generation has passed since Henry Joel Cadbury, then Hollis Professor of Divinity, Harvard University and one of the eight translators of the American Standard Revised Bible, delivered the 1953 Ward Lecture at Guilford College (Guilford NC). Liberal Quakerism, under the influence of the egalitarian revolutions that began in the 1960s, has undergone substantial changes. But Cadbury's lecture, A Quaker Approach to the Bible, remains a vital exposition of what might be called a Quaker distinctive, a way of distinguishing the Religious Society of Friends from other religious bodies rooted in the Christian tradition. This Quaker distinctive was first seen in one Samuel E. Fisher, Quaker and author of A Rustic Alarum to the Rabbles which Christopher Hill has called the most radical Bible criticism of the 17th century.*
For people raised in one part of the Judeo-Christian tradition seeking some understanding of another part, a natural opening question is, What does the Bible mean to you? A thoughtful answer may elicit dismay, enlightenment, or no more than mild interest. We think Cadbury will enlighten many. The Quaker Universalist Fellowship is a body within the Religious Society of Friends committed to seeking out and making known the commonalities between Friends and people of other faiths. We sponsor this reprint because questions about the Bible continue to be asked, and time has proven Cadbury's answer timeless. We hope our decision will be of help to those seeking to understand Quakers and their ways of thinking about the divine spark in all of us.