Quaker Faith & Practice and This We Can Say

I picked up these two books, created by the Yearly Meetings of the British and Australian organisations of the Religious Society of Friends (otherwise known as Quakers) when I started to become very interested in Quaker writing on the web.

Of the two, I think I preferred This We Can Say, the Australian book. It was less traditional, I think, than Quaker Faith and Practice, and had a lot more about how Quaker thought and faith applies to everyday life.

Of course, these books are really only of interest if you're interested in Quakerism, intellectually or philosophically. Of the two, I think I'd recommend This We Can Say as the most accessible by far to non-Quakers. I'm not sure whether I'll take my interest in Quakerism any further, say by attending a meeting. Given that half the time I think I'm an athiest (or agnostic at the very least), I'm not sure if it's for me. Although, despite this, I found these books very inspirational, and I'm considering getting myself a copy of This We Can Say for future browsing.

The Spiral Staircase (Karen Armstrong)

The Spiral Staircase is a fascinating memoir by religious scholar (if that's the right term for it) Karen Armstrong. I love Armstrong's writing - I read The History of God at University, and enjoyed it enormously (and I didn't usually become so absorbed in my academic texts). The Spiral Staircase is an account of Armstrong's life after she spends 7 years as a nun, and how she adjusts to the secular world. It made me want to read more of her books, which is always a good sign. Five out of five.