Mission with Prophetic Power: The Journal of John Woolman (SRSC 12)

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Mission with Prophetic Power: The Journal of John Woolman

Discussion Questions

What was a big insight or “take away” from your experience of reading this portion of John Woolman’s Journal ?

Woolman felt that his visit to the native communities might be dangerous. Indeed, others warned him of this and he heard

firsthand witness to the dangers. Yet he felt compelled to go. On the one hand, he was heading toward those whom some thought of as dangerous outsiders. Yet, on the other hand, his brief encounters with natives led him to believe that their hearts might be open to the Spirit. Who in your context are considered dangerous outsiders? What signs of openness to God’s Spirit do you see in them?

John Woolman speaks throughout his Journal about our complicity in oppression through ordinary economic choices. He has earlier

discussed (and will discuss more) the economics of war. In this chapter, he mentions the seacoast life in Nantucket and how decisions about luxuries endanger the lives of sailors. He reflects on the various economic factors that led to the current hardships of many natives. Today we use the phrase “consumer ethics” to discuss the moral impact of our ordinary economic practices. Are there economic choices we make today that influence the hardship of others? Can you identify how you or others around you might be complicit in oppression through economic choices? How could we respond?