Apparently I’m A Quaker
Confession time: I’m a compulsive questionnaire taker. As much as they fascinate me, I do find the online variety a little frustrating; they seldom reveal anything new or thought-provoking. So, I was pleasantly surprised by the Belief-O-Matic from Beliefnet.com. The test suggested that maybe I was a Quaker! Liberal to Mainline Protestant and Orthodox filling […]
Confession time: I’m a compulsive questionnaire taker. As much as they fascinate me, I do find the online variety a little frustrating; they seldom reveal anything new or thought-provoking.
So, I was pleasantly surprised by the Belief-O-Matic from Beliefnet.com. The test suggested that maybe I was a Quaker! Liberal to Mainline Protestant and Orthodox filling out a suggestive and provocative top three.
Quakerism has always aroused both my curiosity and respect. During the Spirituality episode of PBS’ excellent ART21 series, James Turrell’s design for a Quaker Meeting house. It’s an example of form following function in creating a simple, restful and inspiring space.
It’s one of many ways in which Christians have used architecture to embody the idea of finding the divine light. Moreover, Turrell’s ideas about the relationship between art and spirituality, of entering into the space of the art are evocative of how to create spaces for worship that transcend the idea of concrete bunkers for piped music.
Perhaps there is something here we could all be listening to a little more closely?
