AI: “The Shakers, or United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, are a 18th-century Christian sect founded in England and known for communal, celibate, and pacifist lifestyles, along with ecstatic, trembling worship. Founded by Mother Ann Lee, they aimed to create heaven on earth through gender equality, communal ownership, and simple, industrious living. Founded in 1747 in Manchester, England, as a branch of Quakers, they moved to America in 1774. They believed that God is both male and female and that Mother Ann Lee was the female embodiment of Jesus’ 2nd appearing. They believed the Second Coming was not a physical, apocalyptic return of Jesus, but a spiritual rebirth that already occurred in the person of Mother Ann Lee. Practiced strict celibacy, requiring members to be unmarried and adopt children or gain converts, and held all property in common. Known as “Shaking Quakers” for their emotional, chaotic, and physical worship services involving dancing, whirling, and trembling to “shake off” sin. Emphasized gender and racial equality, with men and women sharing leadership roles. Famous for their simple, functional furniture design, architecture, and agricultural success. At their peak in 1840, they had over 6,000 members in 19 communal villages across the United States. Today, the faith has nearly disappeared, but their legacy lives on through their furniture, music, and simple design philosophy.As of late 2025, there are three active Shakers remaining in the world, all living at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village in New Gloucester, Maine, the last active Shaker community. This small community relies heavily on volunteers and visitors to maintain its historic site museum, which draws thousands annually.”

Shakers believed Jesus was the male manifestation of the “Christ spirit,” representing the first Christian Church, but not divine in the traditional Trinity sense. They viewed him as a celibate example, whose incarnation marked the beginning of a new spiritual, non-carnal life, with the Second Coming fulfilled in their leader, Mother Ann Lee. Shakers did not believe Jesus was God, but rather a human infused with the divine Christ spirit. Jesus established the first Christian church, which Shakers believed apostatized (fell away) shortly after his death. Shakers taught that Jesus lived a life of absolute purity and celibacy, establishing a model for overcoming the “original sin” of sexual intercourse. Shakers viewed themselves as the “Second Church” or the “Millennial Church” that continued the work begun by Jesus. The Shakers (United Society of Believers) generally did not subscribe to the traditional Christian doctrine that Jesus’ death on the cross atoned for the sins of mankind. Instead, they emphasized that salvation was achieved through personal, daily effort, confession of sins, and following the celibate, sinless example of Jesus. Shakers believed in working out their own salvation through confession, confession, celibacy, and rigorous, holy, daily living. They focused on the idea that each individual must walk the same path of self-denial and perfection that Jesus did. Shakers believed that the original sin was sexual, and therefore, overcoming “lust” through absolute celibacy was a key part of the path to salvation. Therefore, while they revered Jesus, their theology focused more on spiritual resurrection and behavioral transformation than on the substitutionary atonement of his death.”

In. other words, they don’t believe in salvation by grace through faith in Jesus’ death on the cross It is basically a salvation by works system. That and their belief that Mother Ann was an embodiment of Jesus definitely makes them a cult. Cults like the Shakers are fascinating. Their synchronized line type dancing in their worship assemblies is just he opposite of the Quakers sitting silently meditation, waiting for the Spirit to move someone to give a word or sing a song. They split off the Quakers and wer basically “Shaking Quakers”. I guess they wanted more emotion in their assembies!

Which could bring up another discussion: the role of emotion in worship assemblies today. The 16 day Asbury Revival in Wilmore, Ky in February, 2023 at Asbury University is estimated to have drawn 50,000–70,000 visitors to a town of 6,000 people, with over 200 other institutions represented. There have been studies about the lasting effects of the revival, some very good that led to transformed lived and service, and some emotion that died out quickly even leaving many disillusioned. Megachurches rely on emotional, band led singing but they follow up with conversions and community service. Some churches practice tongue speaking, which would surely stir up emotion but are they really speaking in the same tongues as found in the early church? I personally do not think so. Those tongues were actual human languages and tongue speaking today is not languages. It is also interesting that often many are speaking in tongues at the same time even though 1 Corinthians 14 gave instructions to only have 2 or 3 tongue speakers at the most in an assembly, and those only speaking one at a time.

I thought this was great from AI (from some articles somewhere!). “Emotions in worship assemblies serve as a natural, authentic response to encountering God, engaging the heart, mind, and spirit rather than just the intellect. While encouraging sincere expression of joy, gratitude, and contrition, they should not be manufactured or manipulated to “create an atmosphere”, serving instead as a means of deepening understanding of divine truth. Music plays a significant role in drawing out emotional responses on a visceral level, often making singing a high point of emotional engagement. While emotions are important, they must not become the primary goal (emotionalism) or replace the need for theological understanding. Emotions in worship are meant to follow facts and be rooted in God’s character and actions, rather than being fickle or self-focused. In essence, emotions are a vital, God-designed component of worship that, when authentic, enhance a person’s engagement with the divine, making them a necessary, but not the ultimate, part of the worship experience.”

I hope you don’t mind me pulling so much from AI but why re-invent the wheel. AI scans many great articles and seems to usually come up with great material, so I use it and add my own thoughts.

Does your worship assembly stir up your emotions?