No. 16. >> Here is a quick question I think: If Quakers make little use of the sacraments, what do they believe about Christ? >>DR. THOMAS E. MANTEUFEL: Quakers, indeed, have a doctrine about Christ. And they think that it is important that Christ has come. Although, they also have the doctrine of the inner light, which says that even people that don't know about Christ nevertheless have a connection with God through the inner light. But nevertheless, they also say that the inner light is connected with Christ, even if they don't realize that it is. There are two kinds of Quakers as far as the attitude toward Christ is concerned. There are the Unitarian Quakers and the Trinitarian Quakers. And you will, indeed, find both of them. The Unitarian Quakers say that there's only one divine person. And that Jesus Christ was simply a man who was filled with the inner light that God gives. And so when Christ is called a light and when he is called a Son of God, that is simply a way of saying, they will say, that Christ is filled with the inner light. And that he is a special servant or Son of God. The Trinitarian Quakers believe that there are three divine persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. And they believe that Christ, the Son, is also called the Light because he gives the inner light which is so important to them, to us. And that he works together with the third person of the Trinity, that is the Holy Spirit, in bringing this light to people. Now, here we need to talk about the Quaker view of the work of Christ. And they definitely do have teaching about the work that Christ was sent to do. They say that he purchased the inner light by his death for sinners. And that one does not need to know the Gospel story about Christ in order to be saved or to have the benefit of salvation. But they say that salvation always comes about by making use of the inner light which he has made available. And this was also true of the people in the Old Testament living before Jesus came. They say that inner light was always being made available in anticipation of the Savior who would come to make that inner light available. And they will say then this: That Jesus has made justification potential for us. But it is the new birth coming about through working with the inner light which actually makes justification actual for us. So they distinguish between making justification potential, which Jesus did. And making it actual, which comes about in our own lives. But they say, also, that is the work of Christ. Because Christ gives the inner light for producing that inner birth in us, which then makes justification actual on the basis of a change or a transformation that comes about in us by regeneration or rebirth.