What's In a Name?
"To generalize is to be an idiot" - William Blake
I have always had some degree of discomfort knowing what to call this group of people known by various names, including The Way, The Friends, The Truth, etc. Ex-members generally call them "2x2s" because of the fact that their preachers (workers) travel in pairs; however, most current members do not seem to like this, and I can't say I blame them for this.
The English poet William Blake, whom one of my favorite writers Thomas Merton quotes often, makes an interesting point - generalizing about anything puts one at risk for not capturing the essence of that thing in the first place. This is somewhat problematic when it comes to this religious group, however, because they themselves reject having a name at all! This leaves outsiders scrambling to come up with a succinct descriptor for the group for the sake of brevity. In other words, based on my examination of the group, I would call them a "19th Century fundamentalist Protestant sect with anti-clerical and anti-Trinitarian tendencies"; however, this is way too lengthy for the purpose of discussion. For the same reasons that the "four-wheeled vehicle which has a gasoline powered engine operated by a single driver" is simply called a "car", there must be a common name for this religious group, as well.
There is the danger of dehumanizing a group by restricting them to a mere slogan or acronym, so I must pay attention to the sensibilities of the members of this religious group such that I do not offend them. In looking at my essays, I've called them "2x2s", "Friends & Workers" "F&W's", and "Truth Fellowship". While I would say that some of the responsibility for the confusion belongs to them due to their continued rejection of a common name, I will make an effort to refer to them as "Friends & Workers", which may be abbreviated after the initial phrase as "F&Ws". The reader must know, however, that any reference to "2x2s" is not meant to be derogatory, but rather it is made simply out of habit.
Clay Randall
Jan 16, 2003
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