Continuing Revelation—Expanding our Understanding
July 12, 2022 § 2 Comments
I believe “continuing revelation” to be one of the central tenets of Quaker faith, or rather, one of the more consequential experiences of the Quaker movement. But I fear that it’s come to mean something much narrower than it should, in both the liberal and evangelical branches. This is partly because of the divisive battle over same-sex marriage in the 1980s and ‘90s, in which “continuing revelation” was liberally invoked in the liberal branch and demonized by evangelicals.
In that struggle, continuing revelation came to mean a new “testimony”, in this case, regarding meeting practice. And I think that’s what most Friends think of when they hear the phrase, some new idea and practice that purports to take us forward in our moral lives, as individuals and as meetings. But I want to argue for a much broader understanding.
In this regard, I think of William Taber’s pamphlet The Prophetic Stream. If I remember correctly (I can’t find my copy), Taber sees God’s revelation as a continuing presence, a flowing forward into which we dip our ladles to serve up the truth that is always there.
I would expand this understanding further. I would go beyond truth, as important as that is. For the Holy Spirit is a spirit of love as well as of truth.
Continuing revelation is all of God’s new and present work within us and among us.
Continuing revelation thus includes forgiveness and healing; guidance and correction; openings, leadings, and the call to ministry, including especially, vocal ministry; renewal, strength, and courage in the face of adversity and trials of all kinds; inspiration and creativity in all its forms; acts of love and witness; and grace, the unexpected in-breaking of the Spirit to make us more fulfilled and whole, as individuals and as communities.
And, of course, continuing revelation is creation itself, evolution, the forward direction of life’s advance on this planet, which is always bringing forth new life, and even new life forms. (I love the word for these “buds” in the tree of life—peduncle.) My model for this aspect of continuing revelation is the way apple trees put forth, occasionally, a new variety of apple through a bud on a tree that is otherwise a honeycrisp or granny smith. One of these new varieties gets developed into a new offering in the market in roughly every human generation.
In subsequent posts, I want to explore the role of discernment in continuing revelation.
Through the Flaming Sword 
[…] I said in my previous post, in the struggle over same sex marriage in our meetings, continuing revelation came to mean a new […]
Yes, you are speaking my understanding.