I suppose one of the attractions was the wonderful creations made by the costumers of the BBC. The details, materials, and embroidery used was just fantastic to observe.
The second interest was the politics of liberal morality and its decline and how that impacted on personal morality.
Set in the 18th century one of the phrases used was,
" By Gad Sir, you are as sanctimonious as a Quaker"
Sanctimonious is a twist on the words sanctity and sacred,
which mean holy or religious. A sanctimonious person might think he's
holy, but their attitude comes across more like "holier-than-thou."
Though sanctimonious people might try to act like saints, their actions
are far from pure or holy, which just makes them sound like hypocrites.
This made me reflect on how Quakers are perceived by others. We think that we are allowing our live to speak, however I have many short comings. For instance I love to have fun and enjoy life.
While I do believe in our descernment process I do not think God has a Will. I think that I can be guided in the essence of my being by being still and being open to others. And when discernment has taken place what then?
Decisions may be the right way forward for Quakers but perhaps may or may not be the right way forward for other people. Have we perhaps inherited this particular sanctimonious trait? Have we lost sight in how others perceive us? Are we in fact not letting our lives speak but are in fact sanctimonious?
