Continued - - 4

Finally, it is compared to the intense fire used by a goldsmith to purify gold, with the soul of the converted represented by the purified gold, and the transformative power of God represented by the fire. It is a transformation that is represented by a fire, which purifies the soul. This is part of a more complex passage in A Guide to True Peace that also incorporates Molinos’ passage discussed earlier in this study, where temptation and strife cleanse and purify the soul, and act like a fire to take away any element in the soul that is not God-like. Although to outsiders it can appear like a sterile dearth of action, this relationship of the converted to God represents an extremely dynamic and active process, with humans fully participating within God’s agency.

In describing the similarities between Guyon’s text and A Guide to True Peace, I do not wish to ignore some important differences between them. Let us not forget that Guyon was a devout Catholic, and the method she proposes to lead seekers toward union with God includes reference to certain elements of Catholicism not found in A Guide to True Peace. These include reference to the Lord’s Prayer, the sacraments, confessing sins, intercessory prayer, evangelism.

A Guide to True Peace also differs from Le Moyen court with its emphasis on the sinful nature of humanity and the reality of evil and temptation in the world, relying perhaps more on Molinos’ theology that stresses the importance of temptation and strife for spiritual growth. It is certainly ironic that Guyon’s work might speak more to the sensibilities and needs of contemporary Quakers than A Guide to True Peace does, because of its stronger emphasis on the peace and joy to be found in contemplative prayer, and its relative lack of concern with sin, temptation and evil in the world.

Let us once again consider Griswold’s five theological tenets presented at the beginning of this study, through the following summary: Divine Love exists and is known through personal experience; this Light is available to all people; this Light, this "Christ" is a reality for us now; our ego is not our most fundamental reality; and God finds us. These tenets recall the seventeenth-century Quietists theology present in the works of Fénelon, Guyon and Molinos, which I would summarize as follows: Pure Love, accessible to all, relies on deep faith calling us to turn inward and, in silence, abandon our will to the will of God, letting Him operate within us, growing through faith and love to the point of perfect union. Michael Marsh speaks eloquently of the joy of cultivating this type of relationship with the Divine in his Pendle Hill Pamphlet, where he states:

Gradually this belief took hold in me. I found myself surprisingly sustained. The inner light truly is a seed of God in me. The short deep emptiness that had seemed so trivial in my earlier experience with the light now took on a sweet warmth. At odd moments during the day I drift into it. It’s always momentary. And it’s always there, always sustaining when I touch it. I don’t need a long straining effort to reach and grasp this sweet source. A moment’s dropping down is enough. It’s always present; I need not worry. (27)

Works Cited or Consulted

Bossuet, Jacques. Quakerism A-la-Mode: or a History of Quietism, Particularly That of the Lord Arch-bishop of Cambray and Madam Guyone. Containing An Account of her Life, her Prophesies and Visions, her way of Communicating Grace by Effusion to those about her at Silent Meetings, etc. London: Harris at the Harrow, 1698.

Brinton, Howard. Friends for 300 Years: The History and Beliefs of the Society of Friends Since George Fox Started the Quaker Movement. Wallingford, PA: Pendle Hill Publications, 1952.

Davis, James Herbert. Fénelon. Twayne’s World Author Series 542. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1979.

Fénelon. Maxims of the Saints. Heart and Life Booklets, No. 16. London: Allenson, 1903.

Griswold, Robert. "No Creed is Not the Same as No Theology." Friends Journal. August 2001: 13-16.

Guenin-Lelle, Dianne. "Jeanne Guyon’s Influence on Quaker Practice: A Guiding Voice in Silence." Forthcoming in Actes de Tempe, published by the North American Society of French Seventeenth Century Literature.

A Guide to True Peace Or the Excellency of Inward and Spiritual Prayer Compiled Chiefly from the Writings of Fénelon, Guyon, and Molinos. New York and London: Harper Brothers, 1946.

Guyon, Jeanne-Marie Bouvier de la Mothe. Le Moyen court et d’autres récits: Une simplicité subversive. Texte établi et présenté par Marie-Louise Gondal. Grenoble: Jérôme Millon, 1995.

Harris, J. Rendel. The Influence of Quietism on the Society of Friends. A Lecture delivered at Bryn Mawr College on April 30, 1900. Philadelphia: Leeds Press, 1900.

Marsh, Michael. Philosophy of the Inner Light. Pendle Hill Pamphlet 209. Wallingford, PA: Pendle Hill Publications, 1976.

Miguel de Molinos, Guia Espiritual, Madrid, Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, 1976.

Ward, Patricia. "Madame Guyon and Experiential Theology in America." The American Society of Church History. 67:3 (September 1998): 484-498.

Yungblut, John. Speaking as One Friend to Another on the Mystical Way Forward. Pendle Hill Pamphlet 249. Wallingford, PA: Pendle Hill Publications, 1983.

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