Chapter 6

 What then shall groups of Friends, who have reached the vital experience of which I have been speaking, do with their experience? Surely there are great demands confronting them to-day, great duties and convictions to be entered upon, great Messianic hopes stirring in the world. This world of change is also a world that is fertile in the promise of richer life. There is the passionate¹ craving² after truth. Surely we are to stand for reality in religion and life. There is the fresh sense that is coming to men of the meaning and the worth of personality. Men are learning what the early Friends reached as a fact of inner experience, that their hearts could be places where the Divine side of life could spring up, and that here in this world of our own 52personality, in personal responsibility, personal dedication³, personal service, is the very heart of religion.

 

There is another Messianic hope: Woman’s place in the universe in equal fellowship with man. Surely we can stand for that. We have expressed that in our Church life long before it came as a great hope to the mass of the people.

 

Then there is the hope of the establishment of the reign⁴ of law instead of brute⁵ force in international affairs. We stand and have always stood for that.

 

Again, there is the hope of the better ordering of society, removing the menace of destitution⁶ from the poor, securing an equality of opportunity for all, remedying the conditions that produce stunted⁷ lives, and giving those whom we call men the chance to become men in reality. The social regeneration of England and America has become to-day a living Messianic hope, making an insistent⁸ demand upon the Christian⁹ Church. Surely, with our witness to the practical application of Christianity to every part of life, we stand for 53that. Above all, and finally, there is the great hope of Christ and His Kingdom, not for a few only but for the whole world. With our living experience of Jesus Christ, we must stand for that. Are we not again called to form a vanguard of progress towards the Kingdom of God? Our response to the call depends upon our personal consecration¹⁰ to the task. Behind the Kingdom of God as it is, behind the Kingdom of God as it is to be, there stand the actual groups of disciples¹¹, their personal experience, their personal devotion.

 

Joseph Sturge, the founder¹² of the Adult School movement, once wrote: “It seems to be the will of Him who is infinite in wisdom, that light upon great subjects should first arise and be gradually spread through the faithfulness of individuals in acting¹³ up to their own convictions.” This personal witness for truth, based upon a living experience of it, is the great duty laid upon each member of the Quaker Church. It carries with it the necessity for self-sacrifice. We know how the self-sacrifice of our Lord on the cross was the atonement of 54the world, and the self-sacrifice of men and women, in the spirit of Jesus Christ, has still redemptive force.

 

We see before the Society of Friends, as it renews its spiritual communion and its warmth of fellowship, a great service for which it has been wonderfully prepared—a service for the revival¹⁴ of vital, prophetic religion and for its expression in righteousness of life—but the service will be fruitful through discipline and suffering; if it is to be redemptive of society it will cost much; those of us who have seen the vision of the future that may be will find our eyes filled with light and our hearts with peace, and our souls will know the springings-up of everlasting¹⁵ life and power, but at the same time our feet must be treading the way of the Cross with our Lord.

1 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

2 craving   

n.渴望,热望

参考例句：

• a craving for chocolate 非常想吃巧克力
• She skipped normal meals to satisfy her craving for chocolate and crisps. 她不吃正餐，以便满足自己吃巧克力和炸薯片的渴望。

3 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

4 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

5 brute   

n.野兽，兽性

参考例句：

• The aggressor troops are not many degrees removed from the brute.侵略军简直象一群野兽。
• That dog is a dangerous brute.It bites people.那条狗是危险的畜牲，它咬人。

6 destitution   

n.穷困，缺乏，贫穷

参考例句：

• The people lived in destitution. 民生凋敝。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His drinking led him to a life of destitution. 酗酒导致他生活贫穷。 来自辞典例句

7 stunted   

adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的

参考例句：

• the stunted lives of children deprived of education 未受教育的孩子所过的局限生活
• But the landed oligarchy had stunted the country's democratic development for generations. 但是好几代以来土地寡头的统治阻碍了这个国家民主的发展。

8 insistent   

adj.迫切的，坚持的

参考例句：

• There was an insistent knock on my door.我听到一阵急促的敲门声。
• He is most insistent on this point.他在这点上很坚持。

9 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

10 consecration   

n.供献，奉献，献祭仪式

参考例句：

• "What we did had a consecration of its own. “我们的所作所为其本身是一种神圣的贡献。 来自英汉文学 - 红字
• If you do add Consecration or healing, your mana drop down lower. 如果你用了奉献或者治疗，你的蓝将会慢慢下降。 来自互联网

11 disciples   

n.信徒( disciple的名词复数 )；门徒；耶稣的信徒；（尤指）耶稣十二门徒之一

参考例句：

• Judas was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. 犹大是耶稣十二门徒之一。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• "The names of the first two disciples were --" “最初的两个门徒的名字是——” 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

12 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

13 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

14 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

15 everlasting   

adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的

参考例句：

• These tyres are advertised as being everlasting.广告上说轮胎持久耐用。
• He believes in everlasting life after death.他相信死后有不朽的生命。