Ohio Yearly Meeting's Podcast

Our testimony against war and for peace, from ‘A Brief Synopsis of the Principles and Testimonies of the Religious Society of Friends’ (1913). As Quaker pacifists, our testimony is not only against war but also against the spirit of war. A follower of Christ is one whose profession and life conforms to the example of Christ. He commands us to love our enemies.  Recording of the Zoom session where...

Our beliefs regarding observing the Lord’s Supper, from 'A Brief Synopsis of the Principles and Testimonies of the Religious Society of Friends’ (1913). Christ did not command His disciples to institute any new outward rite or ritual. Rather, the real communion between Christ and His church is only maintained by a real participation in His divine nature through faith and obedience. Recording...

Our beliefs regarding true baptism as being spiritual, as an ‘immersion’ into the Divine, not into physical water, from ‘A Brief Synopsis of the Principles and Testimonies of the Religious Society of Friends’ (1913).  Recording of the Zoom session where Henry Jason and Conrad Lindes of Ohio Yearly Meeting  (Conservative) discuss pages 19-22 from ohioyearlymeeting.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/OYM...

Our beliefs regarding ministry and ministers, from ‘A Brief Synopsis of the Principles and Testimonies of the Religious Society of Friends’ (1913). Ministry is a gift bestowed by God on whomever He chooses for a given time and place: it is not that the minister speaks but that God speaks through His minister, the intermediary. True Gospel ministry is not a profession nor is it subject to any intel...

Henry begins this session by taking questions and comments regarding 1 John 5:1-12 commenting on several vital words/phrases included in those verses such as: “the way”, “the life”, “eternal life” and “truth”.   About seven minutes into the podcast, Henry goes on to begin his comments on 1 John 5:13-21, and then on to 2 John 1-13.  Verse 5:17             The King James Version (KJV) translation of...

Our beliefs regarding true spiritual worship being a waiting upon the Lord, that is, a waiting for the Lord (for a manifestation of Him within us) and a waiting on the Lord (to learn His will), from ‘A Brief Synopsis of the Principles and Testimonies of the Religious Society of Friends’ (1913). Recording of the Zoom session where Henry Jason and Conrad Lindes of Ohio Yearly Meeting  (Conservative)...

The notes from this podcast provide an abbreviated (verse by verse) summation of selected, important Greek words:    Henry begins the session by quickly reviewing and commenting on a phrase from 1 John 5:1:  Verse 5:1 When, in this First Epistle of John, the author uses the phrase, “born of God”, the Greek means a spiritual birth from God. The word, “of God” in the Greek, means “out of God”.  Vers...

Our beliefs regarding the doctrine of the ‘Trinity’ (we are non-trinitarian), resurrection (as being spiritual) and true worship (being in the Spirit), from ‘A Brief Synopsis of the Principles and Testimonies of the Religious Society of Friends’ (1913).  Recording of the Zoom session where Henry Jason and Conrad Lindes of Ohio Yearly Meeting (Conservative) discuss pages 12-14 from ohioyearlymeetin...

The notes from this podcast follow not so much a narrative as a more abbreviated (verse by verse) summation of selected, important Greek words from 1 John 4:16-5:5. The comments follow:   Verses 4:16-21    The word for “love” (used throughout 1 John) is the Koine Greek word, “agape”, an unconditional love which carries a strong sense of “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. In this...

Our fundamental beliefs regarding God, Christ (as both fully divine and fully human) and our reconciliation with God through Christ, from ‘A Brief Synopsis of the Principles and Testimonies of the Religious Society of Friends’ (1913).   Recording of the Zoom session where Henry Jason and Conrad Lindes of Ohio Yearly Meeting (Conservative) discuss pages 7-9 from ohioyearlymeeting.org/wp-content/upl...

The podcast begins with a question about a commentator’s interpretation given in a particular commentary on the word, “schism”. The commentator seemed to believe that the individuals who left John’s congregation may have been pushed out, rather than having left by their own decision. Henry responds that there is really nothing in 1 John that seems to indicate they were pushed out.  Another questio...

Our fundamental beliefs regarding God, Christ (as both fully divine and fully human) and our reconciliation with God through Christ, from ‘A Brief Synopsis of the Principles and Testimonies of the Religious Society of Friends’ (1913).    Recording of the Zoom session where Henry Jason and Conrad Lindes of Ohio Yearly Meeting (Conservative) discuss pages 7-9 from ohioyearlymeeting.org/wp-content/up...

Show notes #09 1 John 4:2-6 This wide-ranging podcast opens with a quick review of session eight concerning 1 John 4:2. The podcast then continues with a reexamination of 1 John 4:2-6, which is an additional exploration of biblical translation and interpretation. Interwoven through the rest of the podcast are points on the linguistic and grammatical structure of English in the King James Bible (KJ...

Introduction to, and historical context of, ‘A Brief Synopsis of the Principles and Testimonies of the Religious Society of Friends’, 1913. This first session of thirteen covers the minutes of adoption that constitute the approval of this work by the then seven conservative (Wilburite) yearly meetings in North America, as well as explaining the terminology that appears within those minutes. Record...

In this podcast on 1 John 3:11-4:6 , Henry does a great deal of looking at the Greek of this epistle, exploring both the original and variant meanings of the especially significant words. Many, but not all of those words are below.     Chapter 3 Verse 11  Henry has mentioned in previous sessions, the meaning of these related Greek words,  “angelia”:           message “euangelion”:   gospel /good n...

  In this podcast, Henry devotes most of his attention to 2:28-3:3, with the last several minutes devoted to some linguistic issues found in 1 John 3:4-10.  1 John 2 Verse 28         The Greek word “ean” which is typically mis-translated as “when” in verse 28 is more correctly translated, “if ever”. The change to “if ever” enhances the other often mis-translated word (Greek: “parousia”), usually t...

Before going on to this passage in 1 John:26-28, Henry goes back to the previous session, #5 (1 John 2:25) to further discuss the Greek word “epangelia” which is Greek for “promise”. It is related to the Greek words “angelia”: message; “angelos”: messenger/angel; “euangelion”: good news/gospel. Next follows about a twenty-minute discussion from verse 25 of the concept of eternal life.  Verses 27,...

                Before going on to this passage in 1 John:18-27, Henry goes back to the previous session to further discuss the Greek word “kosmos”. In addition to the many meanings discussed in session #4, another one of the primary meanings of this word is one with a negative connotation: worldliness; a worldly way of acting, and that we should not be conformed to the world. Other meanings of ko...

The notes from this podcast follow not so much a narrative as a more abbreviated (verse by verse) summation of selected, important comments from the podcast. The comments follow:   Verse 12:  “little children” in Greek is the plural form of the word “teknion". When addressing adults or a congregation, it is an endearing term of affection, and does not literally mean children who are young in...

#03 1 John 2:1-11                  When in 1 John 2:1, John refers to the recipients as “dear children”, the Greek word he uses for them is teknion, which here means one's “spiritual child.” In the context in which he is writing (to adults, not to literal children) there is no direct corollary in English. Thus, perhaps a close meaning in this context might be “dear students”, “dear followers....

#02 1 John 1:5-10 In 1John 1:5-10, Henry makes specific mention of foundational vocabulary. These words are also foundational concepts in Quaker understanding.  While some nuances are explored in the podcast, there are too many to mention here. Below are a few of the words/concepts that are discussed:  “Message” (v. 5) “angelion” in Greek.   “Light” (v. 5) is “phōs” in Greek which is the same root...

The epistles in the Holy Scriptures are often letters from an author to someone else. However, In the case of the epistle 1 John, it is more of an essay, a treatise, a sermon or message that was sent out to early Christian believers. The name, “John” was common in the years of the early church, and it is possible that these three epistles (1 John, 2 John and 3 John) were not necessarily written by...

The sour wine given to Jesus on the cross (15:36) may have been meant as a sedative to ease pain. As in our not too distant past, people could be given liquor to ease their pain. In 15:38, the curtain to the Holy of Holies in the temple being torn in two could symbolize there now was full access to God through the sacrifice of Jesus of Himself. 15:39 is mistranslated. Both since there is no defini...

At the time of Jesus, Palestine was a province of Rome, which held complete control over the area. Rome reserved the authority to put someone to death, so for a local government to put someone to death required Roman approval. The meeting of the Sanhedrin at night to try Jesus (14:53 and following) was highly irregular, and not a typical time for gathering. The term “Son of Man” (14:62) is drawn f...

This episode is a reading of Chapter 2, The First Separation, 1821 – 1828.  It covers the Ohio experience of the tragic Orthodox – Hicksite split in American Quakerism.  It reports on some awkward moments of Quaker history.  Learning about this era for the first time can be startling.  Many of the actors did not behave in a way that one expects of either Quakers or Christians.   The scenes describ...