The Religious Society of African American Friends !

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Our Puritan roots run through the Mayflower ship and the Mayflower Compact of 1620 and through Puritan colonial New England.  

Here the English settlers organized individual, autonomous congregations (i.e., "Congregationalism") and upheld Calvinistic theological doctrines, including the doctrine of Predestination, total depravity, unconditional election, irresistible grace, limited atonement, and perseverance of the saints. 

We note that to train its Puritan ministers, the Puritans founded Harvard College (1636); Yale College (1701); the College of New Jersey (Princeton) in 1746; and Brown University (1764).  (We note this important history not to endorse "elitism" but rather in order to emphasize the plain fact that the Black Puritan movement, like their Puritan predecessors, supports and sustains a highly-educated and trained ministry). 

The graduates of these institutions were most influential in laying the constitutional foundation of the United States.   And even though the Puritan-church state came to an end during the early 18th century, its constitutional ideal remained an enduring legacy in American theological, constitutional, and political discourse.

THE PURITAN-QUAKERS

Next came the Quakers (i.e., the Religious Society of Friends to the colonies of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. There the influence of Quakers George Fox (1624 - 1691) and William Penn (1644 - 1718) was most readily felt, spread, and implemented. 

Notably, The Religious Society of Friends, also known as the Quakers, were a prominent force in the abolition of slavery in the United States and United Kingdom. They were the first religious group to condemn slavery and the first organization to collectively oppose both slavery and the slave trade. 

In Philadelphia, when the "Free African Society" was founded by notable black men such as Rev. Richard Allen (1760 - 1831) and Rev. Absalom Jones (1746 - 1818), its original Charter memorialize the great trust and high regards which these African Americans had towards the Quakers, stating:  "And we unanimously agree to choose Joseph Clarke to be our Clerk and Treasurer; and  whenever another should succeed him, it is always understood, that one of the people  called Quakers, belonging to one of tile three monthly meetings in Philadelphia, is to be chosen to act as Clerk and 'Treasurer of this useful Institution." 

 EARLY BLACK PURITAN-QUAKERS

A few of the earliest Quakers in North America were Africans or African Americans. For example, Paul Cuffe (1759 - 1817) was a free Black Quaker who taught himself math and seafaring skills, and became involved in the abolitionist movement. He established the Friendly Society of Sierra Leone in 1811 and led a group of Black settlers to the area in 1815.

Although there were a few African American Quakers, we believe that most African Americans who were "Quakers in Spirit" remained rooted in the established Methodist and Baptist churches-- and this is still true to this day.

For instance, the great Frederick Douglass (1817 - 1985) was a member of the A.M.E.Z. and the A.M.E. churches, but in reality his philosophy of religion and life was that of the "Quaker in Spirit."  Similarly, the great Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 - 1968) was an ordained Baptist minister, but his philosophy of religion and life was that of the "Quaker in Spirit."  See, e.g., David Yount, How the Quakers Invented America (Lanham, MD, 2007), pp. 129-130, stating "Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream was a Quaker dream... In 1964 the Quakers nominated Dr. King for the Nobel Peace Prize." 

As a Religious Society,  we are fully-mature Puritans or Evangelical Christians who do not disdain established, orthodox Christian churches, but we have also out-grown the older "school masters" of religious ritualism.  See, e.g., Galatians 3: 24 ("schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ") 

Thus, we accept that Jesus Christ now and forevermore reigns in our hearts, as the "Light of the World."  John 1:4 ("In him was life; and the life was the light of men.")

We are therefore "the sons of God," having received such power directly from Christ himself, who "lighteth every man that cometh into the world." John 1: 9-12.

Moreover, we have adopted the nickname "Friends," because Jesus himself elevated us to this friendship status, saying: "I have called you FRIENDS...." "Henceforth I call you not servants...." "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."  John 15: 13-15.

Wherefore, agape ("love") is at the heart of Our emphasis upon family ministry which is rooted in the New Testament.

We believe that Christ was proclaimed to be a High Priest (Hebrews 5:1-14), and that Christ’s priesthood was “after the order of Melchisedec.” (Hebrews 5:6, 10).  “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.” (Genesis 14:18).

And so, Christ was, like Melchizedek, both a king and a priest.  Not only was Christ both a priest and a king, but the Book of Revelation informs us that Christ also “made us kings and priests unto God and his Father.” (Revelation 1:6).  And before the Levitical priesthood was instituted in Exodus 32, the entire nation of Israel was so designated as “a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” (Exodus 19:6).   The Apostle Peter used this same description to describe the Church of Jesus Christ, to wit: “[b]ut ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people….” (1 Peter 2:9).  

From this we deduce the correctness of Martin Luther’s doctrine on the “Priesthood of All Believers,” and of John Calvin’s conceptualization of the “Presbyterian” forms of both ecclesiastical and civil polity-- i.e., the fatherhood of God, the brotherhood of man, and democracy.  (See, e.g., Acts 6:6; 1 Timothy 4:14; and 2 Timothy 1:6, describing “the presbytery,” “laying on of hands,” etc., by a Council of Elders).  

Christ’s restored Israel would be a nation of priests (or a nation of elders or presbyters  (i.e., holy men and holy women)).  This means that every man and woman has equal worth and dignity and that a sort of “democracy” should be included within ecclesiastical polity.   

As an "African American" sect, the BLACK PURITANS is a logical and natural extension of the Black Church experience, especially that of the Black Primitive Baptists and the General or Regular Baptists.

Hence, our “African American” Puritan-Baptist heritage is noteworthy.  

The first African American clergyman in North America was a Puritan-Congregationalist named Rev. Lemuel Haynes (1753-1833).   "A veteran of the American Revolution, Haynes was the first black man in the United States to be ordained as a minister....  Haynes also became an anti-slavery activist. In addition to arguing against involuntary servitude and preaching against the slave trade, Haynes also advocated against the colonization movement, arguing that people of African descent living in the United States should be entitled to the same rights as other citizens, and that having them resettle in Africa would not be beneficial."  ["Lemuel Haynes," Wikipedia]. 

The legacy of Rev. Haynes is being carried on in very many Congregationalist and Presbyterian churches. But aside from the few African Americans who became Puritan-Congregationalists, such as Rev. Haynes, the vast majority of African American slaves became Baptists!  

Hence, the Black Puritans, USA is deeply rooted in the heritage of the Black Primitive Baptists (Calvinistic, or Quasi- Calvinistic), and, through a spirit of ecumenism, closely affiliated with  various other Baptist churches, such as those which comprise the Joint National Baptist Convention, USA.

To that end, we are Reformed Anglicans or Black Puritans who are also the spiritual heirs of the original English Baptists, and the brothers of the Black Primitive Baptists of the National Primitive Baptist Convention, USA. 

We, the Black Puritans USA,  focus on building strong fraternal organization among men of all races-- but especially among African American men-- through the blessing of a Congregationalist- Presbyterian ecclesiastical church structure.  

We, the Religious Society of African American Friends, are the logical extension of these Baptist sects.  As mature Christians, having the Light of Jesus Christ reining in our hearts, we are universal citizens of entire world, and  having elders, pastors and deacons without a  distinction between "clergy and laity," constitute a "priesthood of all believers."  See, e.g.,1 Peter 2:9  

Finally, Black Puritans, USA (The Religious Society of African American Friends) is, among other things, a Pan-African church mission. 

As such, we honor the development of Christianity on the African continent, with an acknowledgment of the spread of both Judaism and the Christian religion in ancient Egypt and Ethiopia; and, later, throughout northern, western, and southern Africa-- having there many segments of the "Lost Tribes" of ancient Israel, such as, e.g., the Lemba Jews (Bantu) in southern Africa, and Black or Messianic Jews worldwide.  (See, e.g., The Meachum School of Haymanot (St. Louis, Mo)).

As a reformed, Evangelical, and Quaker-oriented church mission, we expressly acknowledge the north African Augustine of Hippo (354 - 430 AD) as one of the Western Church's great theologians and a primary influencer of Protestant Reformers Martin Luther (1483 -1546) and John Calvin (1509 - 1564). 

And as Christians who are primarily of African descent, we understand and honor the plain fact that the Trinitarian God was present in Africa, and amongst the Africans, prior to the arrival of the Abrahamic religions, including Christianity; and that certain primitive spiritual practices and proverbs emanating from traditional African philosophy and religion are coterminous with Christ's law of agape (love) (i.e., Matthew 7:12).  See, e.g., Lamin Sanneh, "Whose Religion is Christianity? The Gospel Beyond the West" (Cambridge, UK/ Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Pub., 2003).

EVANGELICAL FRIENDS CHURCH INTERNATIONAL- AFRICA

The Religious Society of African American Friends is committed to EFCI's global Africa mission.