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Quakers: Divine Light
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Quakers believed in a Universal Salvation or "free will" for all men rather than the predestination of Calvinism. All men could ... be saved from sin by the "Indwelling Light". This permitted the attainment of a form of "religious perfection" which often led to bizarre behavior or visions by some early Quakers as a sign of this divine approbation.
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Quakers in the nineteenth century, particularly of the "Gurneyite" variety, sought to partake of the broader evangelical Protestant culture without losing Quaker distinctiveness. They strengthened Quaker commitment to secondary and higher education and extended the humanitarian implications of the doctrine of the Inner Light. While they devoted themselves most energetically to temperance reform, they ... supported foreign and home philanthropic mission efforts, pioneered prison-reform activities, and fought to end slavery in the South. Many Quakers held leadership positions in the abolitionist movement, including John Greenleaf Whittier, Levi Coffin, and Angelina and Sarah Grimké. Quakers also dedicated themselves to freedmen's aid after the Civil War.
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The doctrine of the Inward Light justifies Quakers' speech as the prompting of the Spirit. As any member may be "moved by the Spirit" to witness, all members at meeting for worship are potential ministers, and Quaker women preached or spoke in meeting from early days, eliciting Dr. Johnson's remark:
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