No sj'stem of theological training is known or could be permitted among the Friends. Thej' are favorable to education, and provide for its free extension to the children of poor members ; but the)'' regard it as the exclusive province of the Hol^- Spirit to select his own ministers, and to instruct them what they shall say. It is, however, considered the duty of all, and especial- ly of those who stand as ambassadoi-s for Christ, to be diligent and prayerful in the perusal of the H0I3' Scrip- tures, througii which the man of God, led as he will assuredly be by the Spirit which gave them forth, will be "thoroughly famished unto all good works." So great is the stress which Friends place upon the peru- sal of the Scriptures, and upon the bringing up of their children and others under their care in this practice, that it is made a matter of semi-annual investigation in all their meetings, and so long ago as 1751 London Yearly Meeting enacted a rule of discipline that the families of poor Friends should be provided with Bibles — a gratuitous Scripture distribution which was in ad- vance of any Bible Society.
The privilege and duty of praj'er, both secretly and vocally, under a reverent and filial sense of the char- acter of the engagement, are regarded as of the ver}' highest importance. It is believed that "men ought always to pray," but a jealousy is felt lest any should in a light and flippant way rush into this exercise. He who knovveth what we have need of before we ask him, will, if reverently waited upon, extend his kingly sceptre and put into the heart the prayer of faith ; and before any one shall pray vocally in their meetings, as mouthpiece for the peojile, it is requisite that a direct movement of the Holj' Spirit should prompt the offer- ing, lest the words of rebuke be applicable: " Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss." The follow- ing clause in the London Discipline expresses the creed of the society respecting this part of the service of Al- mighty God :
"As prayer and thanksgiving are an important part of worship, may they bo offered in spirit and in truth, with a right understanding seasoned with grace. When engaged herein, let ministers avoid many words and repetitions, and be cautious of too often repeating the high and hoi}' name of God or his attributes; neither let praj'er be in a formal or customary way, nor with- out a reverent sense of divine influence."
The meetings of the society are characterized b}' practical recognition of the presidency and headship
of Christ in the Church, and a conviction that everj' movement of the body should be dictated bj' its Head.
The Society of Friends is not at issue with other or- thodox churches on the general points of Christian doctrine. Avoiding the use of the word Trinity, they reverently believe in the H0I3' Three : the Father, tlie Lord Jesus Christ, the onl^'-begottcn of the Father, by whom are all things, who is the mediator between God and man, and in the Holy Spirit, who proceedeth from the Father and Son — One God, blessed forever. They accept in its fullness the testimony of holy Scripture with regard to the nature and ofHces of Christ, as the promised Messiah, the Word made flesh, the atonement for sin, the Saviour and Redeemer of the world. They have no reliance upon any other name, no hojie of sal- vation that is not based upon his meritorious death on the cross. The charge that they deny Christ to be God William Penn denounced as ' ' most untrue and unchar- itable," saj'ing, " We truly and expressly own him to be so, according to the Scripture." As fully do they admit his humanity, and that he was trulj' man, "sin onl}' excepted." They so fully believe in the Holy Spirit of Christ, that without the inward revelation thereof they feel that they can do nothing to God's glory, or to further the salvation of their own souls. Without the influence thereof they know not how to approach the Father through the Son, nor what to pray for as the}' ought. Their whole code of belief calls for the entire surrender of the natural will to the guidance of the pure, unerring Spirit, "through whose renewed assistance," saj's one of their writers, "they are enabled to bring forth fruits unto holiness, and to stand perfect in their present rank." As it was the design of Christ, in going to the Father, to send as a comforter his Spirit to his disciples, so it is with his Spirit that he baptized and doth baptize them, it being impossible, in the estimation of the Friends, that an outward ablution should wash from the spirit of man the stains of sin. Hence they attach importance only to "the baptism which now saveth,"and which John the Baptist predicted should be administered by Christ. And it is by his Spirit, also, that his followers are ena- bled to partake of the true supper of the Lord: "Be- hold, I stand at the door and knock : if any man hear mj' voice and open unto me, I will come in and sup with him, and he shall sup with me." Thus they hold that the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the flesh was the grand epoch and central fact of time, and that types, and shadows, and all ceremonial observances, which had their place before as shadows of good things to come, now that they have been fulfilled in him, are only shadows of those shadows. The type properlj' precedes the realitj-, and truly this was wor- thy of being foreshadowed; "but," says Paul (1 Cor. xiii, 10), "when that which is pei'fect is ccme, then that which is in part shall be done away."