A Study of the Friends Doctrine of the Person of Christ
Abstract
Friends (often called Quakers) are distinctive in their doctrines in some areas of theology and among Friends there are differences of opinion. Various theological positions concerning Christ have been held among Frineds which have been classed as unorthodox. It was the purpose of this investigation to determine if possible whether or not the basic concept of the Person of Christ and compare them with the seventeenth century Friends' view and both in relation to the traditional historic Christian position. Of particular interest was the Evangelical Quaker position in relation to Evangelical Orthodoxy. Special attention was given to the seventeenth century and the Christological problems as dealt with by the Friends. The answers to the following questions helped to clarify the issues: (1) Did the seventeenth century Quaker have anything to say concerning the Person of Christ or did they speak to another problem. (2) What was the seventeenth century Friends view of the Person of Christ? (3) Did their view differ from the decisions of the ecumenical councils? (4) Did the Friends make a contribution to the doctrine fo the Persons of Christ?