"And that may be the Plain witness, to have our lamps lit. We cannot be hidden under a bushel, the world’s measure. We cannot be a city deep in a valley, no beacon or hope to the lost and terrified traveler. We are to be a city on a hill. We are the visible witness – not only to our own faith, but to the life of the world to come."
"Thou me, thou my Dog! If thou thou’st me, I’ll thou thy Teeth down thy Throat."
An interesting contemporary example of the old Quaker courtroom testimonies:
In some ways, my refusal to wear a tie has brought me into conflict with the Court system. My world view is horizontal, regarding all people as equal and aspiring to treat all people equally. The Court system is hierarchical, and it is important to many judges to have those in participate in Court dress in a way, and sit in their place, in order to mark their role in the hierarchical system. When I appear as an attorney without a tie, I am clashing with the expectations of that hiearchy. I still participate in that hierarchical system in 99.9% other ways - and am complicit in that hierarchy.
I’ve been drawn to Quaker theology and philosophy since a young age. I’ve known Quakers, both Conservative and Liberal. I’ve never met a Quaker I did not like, love, or see as a newly-found brother…
we wear plain clothing, and engage in an alternative economy as much as we can, in order to promote what we believe are the values that best reflect the character of Jesus and early Christ-centered communities. It is a voluntary public witness to our Quaker testimonies. We hope not to inspire others to dress plain, but to think seriously about the world around them, and develop their own community driven public witness to peace, justice, and the salvific character of Jesus the messiah.
I have heard it said I wear a uniform, now, and I suppose I do, in a sense. But a uniform actually gets its name from uniform dress among a group of people, not one person’s habit of dress. It’s a uniform, in so far as it is one, of my own making and it’s done with a conscious intention, consistent with the testimonies of simplicity and integrity.
