The Inner Life (1916) (Linked Table of Contents)

The Inner Life (1916) (Linked Table of Contents)

Rufus Matthew Jones (1863 – 1948) was an American religious leader, writer, magazine editor, philosopher, and college professor. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Haverford Emergency Unit (a precursor to the American Friends Service Committee). One of the most influential Quakers of the 20th century, he was a Quaker historian and theologian as well as a philosopher.<br /><br />In 1916, Jones published: "The Inner Life" in which he writes: <br /><br />"THERE is no inner life that is not also an outer life. To withdraw from the stress and strain of practical action and from the complication of problems into the quiet cell of the inner life in order to build its domain undisturbed is the sure way to lose the inner life. The finest of all the mystical writers of the fourteenth century — the author of Theologia Germanica — knew this as fully as we of this psychologically trained generation know it. He intensely desired a rich inner life, but he saw that to be beautiful within he must live a radiant and effective life in the world of men and events. "I would fain be," he says, "to the eternal God what a man's hand is to a man" — i.e. he seeks, with all the eagerness of his glowing nature, to be an efficient instrument of God in the world. In the practice of the presence of God, the presence itself becomes more sure and indubitable. Religion does not consist of inward thrills and private enjoyment of God; it does not terminate in beatific vision. It is rather the joyous business of carrying the Life of God into the lives of men — of being to the eternal God what a man's hand is to a man."<br /><br />CONTENTS<br />CHAPTER I. THE INNER WAY<br />CHAPTER II. THE KINGDOM WITHIN THE SOUL<br />CHAPTER III. SOME PROPHETS OF THE INNER WAY<br />CHAPTER IV. THE WAY OF EXPERIENCE<br />CHAPTER V. A FUNDAMENTAL SPIRITUAL OUTLOOK<br /><br /> <br /><br />As a prolific author, Jones produced many popular works, including: <br /><br /> Practical Christianity, 1899. <br /> Social law in the spiritual world; studies in human and divine inter-relationship, 1904. <br /> The double search: studies in atonement and prayer, 1906. <br /> The Abundant Life, 1908.<br /> Studies in Mystical Religion, 1909.<br /> The Quakers in the American Colonies, 1911<br /> The Luminous Trail<br /> New Eyes for Invisibles<br /> The Spiritual Reformers in the 16th and 17th Centuries, 1914.<br /> The Inner Life, 1916.<br /> A Service of Love in War Time: 1917-1919, 1920.<br /> The Later Periods of Quakerism, 1921<br /> Spiritual Energies in Daily Life, 1922.<br /> The Church's Debt to Herectics, 1924<br /> The Faith and Practice of the Quakers, 1927.<br /> The Trail of Life in College, 1929.<br /> Some Exponents of Mystical Religion, 1930.<br /> Pathways to the Reality of God, 1931.<br /> The Testimony of the Soul, 1936.<br /> The Eternal Gospel, 1938.<br /> The Flowering of Mysticism, 1939.<br /> A Small-Town Boy, 1941<br /> "Mystical Experience" in The Atlantic Monthly, May 1942.<br /> The Radiant Life, 1944.<br /> A Call to what is Vital, 1948.<br />