A Portraiture of Quakerism, Volume 2 | Page 5

indeed as are distinguishing characteristics of
Quakerism from the religion of the world.
It is a religious tenet of the Quakers, as will be shown in its proper
place, that no appointment of man can make a minister of the gospel,
and that no service, consisting of an artificial form of words, to be
pronounced on stated occasions, can constitute a religious act; for that
the spirit of God is essentially necessary to create the one, and to
produce the other. It is also another tenet with them, that no minister of
a christian church, ought to be paid for his Gospel-labours. This latter
tenet is held so sacred by the Quakers, that it affords one reason among
others, why they refuse payment of tithes, and other demands of the
church, preferring to suffer loss by distraints for them, than to comply

with them in the usual manner. Now these two principles are essentials
of Quakerism. But no person, who marries out of the society, can be
legally married without going through the forms of the established
church. Those therefore who submit to this ceremony, as performed by
a priest, acknowledge, according to the Quakers, the validity of an
human appointment of the ministry. They acknowledge the validity of
an artificial service in religion. They acknowledge the propriety of
paying a Gospel-minister for the discharge of his office. The Quakers,
therefore, consider those who marry out of the society, as guilty of such
a dereliction of Quaker-principles, that they can be no longer
considered as sound or consistent members.
But independently of the violation of these principles, which the
Quakers take as the strongest ground for their conduct on such an
occasion, they think themselves warranted in disowning, from a
contemplation of the consequences, which have been known to result
from these marriages.
In the first place, disownment is held to be necessary, because it acts as
a check upon such marriages, and because, by acting as such a check, it
prevents the family-disputes and disagreements which might otherwise
arise; for such marriages have been found to be more productive of
uneasiness than of enjoyment. When two persons of different religious
principles, a Quaker for example, and a woman of the church, join in
marriage, it is almost impossible that they should not occasionally
differ. The subject of religion arises, and perhaps some little altercation
with it, as the Sunday comes. The one will not go to church, and the
other will not go to meeting. These disputes do not always die with
time. They arise, however, more or less, according to circumstances. If
neither of the parties set any value upon their religious opinions, there
will be but little occasion for dispute. If both of them, on the other hand,
are of a serious cast, much will depend upon the liberality of their
sentiments: but, generally speaking, it falls to the lot of but few to be
free from religious prejudices. And here it may be observed, that points
in religion also may occasionally be suggested, which may bring with
them the seeds of temporary uneasiness. People of other religious
denominations generally approach nearer to one another in their
respective creeds, than the Quakers to either of them. Most christians
agree, for example, in the use of Baptism in some form or other, and

also in the celebration of the Lord's Supper. But the Quakers, as will be
shown in this volume, consider these ordinances in a spiritual light,
admitting no ceremonials in so pure a system as that of the Christian
religion.
But these differences, which may thus soon or late take their rise upon
these or other subjects, where the parties set a value on their respective
religious opinions, cannot fail of being augmented by new
circumstances in time. The parties in question have children. The
education of these is now a subject of the most important concern. New
disputes are engendered on this head, both adhering to their respective
tenets as the best to be embraced by their rising offspring. Unable at
length to agree on this point, a sort of compromise takes place. The
boys are denied, while the girls are permitted, baptism. The boys, again,
are brought up to meeting, and the girls to church, or they go to church
and meeting alternately. In the latter case, none of the children can have
any fixed principles. Nor will they be much better off in the former.
There will be frequently an opposition of each other's religious
opinions, and a constant hesitation and doubt about the consistency of
these. There are many points, which the mothers will teach the
daughters as right, or essential, but which the fathers will teach the sons
as erroneous or unimportant. Thus disputes will be conveyed to the
children. In their progress