Oz, (and NtF planning Friends),
Thanks for your update, Oz, - and the readings you shared. I enjoyed how you began in one of them with "K.R. recently wrote about nontheist Friends, “I think we are the path the other guys are looking for.”" May I please add links to the text of both documents you sent to WUaS's Nontheist Friends' wiki subject page?
Would you be interested in teaching a NtF course for credit at online F/friendly-informed World University and School (centered around CC MIT OCW in 7 languages and CC Yale OYC) with matriculated undergraduates from around the world in 2016 or 2017 - http://worlduniversity.wikia.
I'm glad to be giving a presentation about Friendly-informed World University this year at Friends Association on Higher Education (FAHE) in Newberg, Oregon, in a few weeks, on "World University and School and Growing the Religious Society of Friends in many languages and with planned Ph.D.s & professional degrees". I'm attaching the FAHE schedule. (And here are 4 big recent WUaS developments which give me hope that WUaS will be able to matriculate an undergraduate class in 2016 - potentially of 2000 current high schools - http://scott-macleod.blogspot.
(I just heard back from Duke University Press that they wouldn't publish my actual / virtual Harbin Hot Springs' ethnographic manuscript - see their letter + here ... http://scott-macleod.blogspot.
I've added references to yours, Oz, David Boulton's and Chuck Fager's books here http://worlduniversity.
Thank you.
Friendly regards,
Scott
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Hi Scott,
Thanks for your encouraging words and your unceasing efforts to make education available to all. You may refer to my writings any way you like.
As to leading a World University course, it would be on Quaker religious diversity rather Quaker nontheism. However, it would be a huge investment, like writing a book. Right now there isn't time in my days for that, although I hope it happens in some future.
Go well,
Oz
Friends,
I suggest we consider expressing our views on Quaker nontheism while in a group working for Friendly diversity, as compared with our current position of working for diversity while in a Quaker group defined by non theism.
This has served well in reaching out to people who need our support, but it does not work well in reaching out to Friends who do not agree with us, who are happily in one of the many other streams in the RSoFs. I am not suggesting we keep quiet about our views, but that we give voice to our views as we join with others in working for a Society in which we are all encouraged to express our views.
Oz
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Hi Oz and NtFs,
Great, Oz, makes sense, and thanks,
Scott
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Hi Oz and NtFs,
In regard to your designing / teaching a course at WUaS on Quaker religious diversity (rather than Quaker non theism) at Friendly-informed World University and School in the autumn of 2016 or thereabouts, here's "This Course at MIT" about how MIT OCW is thinking through what a course is:
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathematics/18-05-introduction-to-probability-and-statistics-spring-2014/this-course-at-mit/. In a recent MIT OCW survey, I responded asking in what ways MIT OCW (and MIT itself) is evaluating how students are enjoying their courses, say, for example, comparing 4 online Intro to Biology MIT OCW/MIT courses. On behalf of WUaS, I'm particularly interested in the enjoyment experience among high achieving high school and college students, Quakers too, and would like to study this inter-lingually and rigorously at WUaS over decades (and centuries even).
And here are some key aspects from this email thread in my blog post from today:
I'm including Jon Kershner (https://twitter.com/JonRKershner) in this email, who is a John Woolman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Woolman) scholar and teacher, is also giving a presentation at Friends Association for Higher Education (FAHE) in Oregon, who is originally from England and who has a Masters' degree from Princeton. Jon, this is the Nontheist Friends' Planning Group email list; are you receiving by any chance the NtF emails from the main list - http://www.nontheistfriends.org/email-discussion?
Friendly cheers,
Scott
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Hi John, Os, Anita and NTFs,
Hi Jon and Os,
Jon, thanks for your email; makes sense that you're not on the NTF email list since you aren't a non-theist; looking forward to seeing you in Oregon on June 20th. Due to WUaS financial constraints, it looks like I'll only be attending FAHE at George Fox University in Oregon, on Saturday, June 20th, when I'm giving my presentation. But I'm excited to be presenting about this Friendly-informed WUaS possibility of reaching out to Quakers around the world with online CC degrees, including professional degrees (and CC Yale OYC and CC MIT OCW in 7 languages), and online in most countries and their main languages, to complement existing Quaker colleges' degrees - and even Friendly-informed universal education. How do you like living in the state of Washington, after Princeton and Birmingham?
Jon, I'd like to e-introduce you here to Os Cresson, whom I find among the most inspiring, and enjoyable, writers among Quaker thinkers in general these days, and appreciate too his focus - in this NTF Planners' email thread itself to NTFs that I included you in - on the importance of Quaker religious diversity as a focus for NTFs and not non theism among Friends. As an articulate Quaker Nontheist, I think Os has a Masters' of Divinity from Earlham and much experience among Friends and with NTFs especially. Like the spirit of John Woolman's thinking and his writings - with which Os probably also would be an interesting Friendly conversant - Os is a far-reaching articulator also among Friends in the Wider Quaker Fellowship. Os has written "Quaker and Naturalist Too: a new NTF book" (see, too: http://www.nontheistfriends.org/article/author/os-cresson).
Os, Jon teaches about John Woolman, and his Ph.D. analyzed the theology of eighteenth century Quaker minister John Woolman (and was entitled "'The Government of Christ': John Woolman's (1720-1772) Appocalyptic Theology" 2013). Here are Jon's publications - http://bham.academia.edu/JonRKershner/Publications.
(What do you both like about the Harvard Classics' editions Vol I in which John Woolman's The Journal of John Woodman - the 1774 and later editions - have been included since 1909 here:
I also recently found these other versions online of Woolman's journals -
- John Greenleaf Whittier 1879 version- https://archive.org/details/journaljohnwool01whitgoog
- A variety of John Woodman related resources on Google Books 1922+ - https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Journal_and_Essays_of_John_Woolman.html?id=Tfqnp5sdLk8C
Vol 1 of these Harvard Classics also contains William Penn's Fruits of Solitude, interestingly).
Looking forward to further developments in our Quakerly conversations.
Best wishes,
Scott
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Hi John, Os, Anita and NTFs,
So glad you have been conducting these Quaker Theological Diversity interest groups over years now at FGC, John.
I'm also grateful for Os's focus on the language of "Quaker religious diversity" - and that this might be the focus of an online Friendly-informed WUaS course emerging from this NTF group. As I've shared before in our NTF lists over the years, I have ongoing challenges with words, in the Quaker context, like spirituality, worship, theology, God, divinity, theism, etc., and I'm glad we can all share about our differences about all of this here NTF-wise and in writing, as well as face-to-face in gatherings.
I'm also grateful over the years in these NTF lists, in general, for our explicit focus on both language and differences in understandings.
As an NTF-sympathizer, I don't think I'm a "flaming Quaker atheist" (in Monty Python tones:) but thanks to everyone on this list for creating a space for NTF language exploration and idea-sharing - and especially also at Quaker gatherings.
Scott
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