Howard Brinton, Director of Pendle Hill from 1936 to 1952, wrote sixteen pamphlets on Quaker thinking, mysticism, and a variety of religious topics. In this pamphlet Howard presents his research from original Quaker Journals and other documents on why and how people became Friends in the 17th century.

"The claim has frequently been made that early Quakerism spread through evangelism, meaning by that term, fervent preaching to large gatherings...But a careful scrutiny of early Quakerism shows that spectacular events did not constitute the heart and core of the movement. Its real strength lay in the quiet inconspicuous growth of small meetings in many homes where sometimes as few as three or four waited upon God in silence..."

Moving from the 17th century to current times, Howard asks whether the time is ripe for a renewal of interest in Quakerism. The "belief in progress through science alone is still predominant but there are dissenting voices... Some top-ranking scientists have shown that science can deal with only a portion of human experience and that there are large areas which lie beyond its scope...The failure of reliance on the outward, whether in religion or science, may induce men to turn to greater dependence on the inward."

As Quakerism met many needs of the 17th century seeker, so today Brinton sees many doors which are "opened to the Quaker type of faith...Men seek, often without realizing it, to know what they are and what may arise from the depths of their own being to give meaning and direction to their life. A Friends' meeting may or may not lean them to this knowledge, which is indeed knowledge of God."

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