The ethical thought of Rufus Matthew Jones, with special reference to biblical influences

Abstract

Rufus Matthew Jones, 1863-1948, was one of the most influential Quakers of the past century. As an editor, a teacher of philosophy, a founder and chairman of the American Friends Service Committee, a historian of mysticism and Quakerism, an active and dynamic leader in the Society of Friends and in Protestantism, he achieved a place of leading rank in the contemporary church and society. Studies of his thought have to date dealt only in part with his ethics. The present study therefore attempts: (1) to reconstruct his Christian ethics; (2) to seek the nature and extent of general and especially of Biblical influences; (3) to draw conclusions on the nature of his ethical position in relation to the Bible; and finally, (4) to contribute toward an evaluation of his position in relation to Quakerism and to the ecumenical church. Though Jones taught both general and Biblical ethics, he did not publish a complete ethical system. Thus it has been necessary to read, analyze, and correlate Jones's voluminous published and unpublished works as a foundation for the reconstruction of his ethics. This empirical method required an inductive search for and subsequent correlation of categories and principles which could serve coherently though arbitrarily as the basis for relevant findings. [TRUNCATED]