The true standard as to whether a person is a Christian seems to be the one set by Jesus in Matthew 7:

21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

I am looking for evidence that a person knows God as a reality in their lives and is seeking to do the will of God. To me the Quaker confusion over the Resurrection and reality of sin indicates that for the most part - and I have no doubt there are some exceptions - they have not found God real in their life.

The issue of understanding of the bible is ultimately secondary to the reality of relationship with God - though overdoing the disdain for the bible (as 'culturally constrained' etc.) may make it harder for it to be a guide for people to find God for themselves.

IMHO the problem we all have is to know what is of God and what is either our own imaginings or the deceptions of the enemy. The pre-Reformation answer was 'the tradition of the church'. After the Reformation used the bible to challenge church authority - because it was badly off course - the bible became the Protestant test. With the rise of critical scholarship this became less acceptable, so some concept of 'reason' became the test - but unfortunately this has proved at least as unsatisfactory as 'The Bible' because it leaves less room for personal prejudices to be challenged.

So where does that leave me in practice? I believe there is a vital need for Christians to know the bible well and we should make it of first importance to read significant amounts every day. But ultimately we need to be very sure in our own minds that what we are doing is what God wants of us - and so one of the dangers of the present situation is that Youth will be led from his own beliefs by the pressure of others, rather than the leading of God.

I hope that makes sense - not a simple answer, because the question is not as simple to give a proper answer to as the hardline partisans on ALL sides would like.