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Quakers The Quiet Rebels

Quakers The Quiet Rebels In 1652 George Fox, standing on Pendle Hill in England, had a vision. This was the beginning of the Religious Society of Friends. Before 1650 the Quaker movement were basically unknown, in a year or two the seemed to be all over the place. This time period was called the Quaker Explosion. George Fox saw a great people to be gathered and this people included Puritans, Separatists and presumably others without a label. Among all these different kinds of people what was there in common to make them feel that Fox was what the wanted? The answer is probably that that were looking for a spiritual religion, rather than the religion of conformity. There was resentment against ecclesiastical authority and so a readiness to listen to Fox’s assurance that there was only one authority Christ himself and that his authority was to be known directly in the human heart. The message that “Christ has come to teach his people himself” may be called the slogan of the early Quakers. George Fox had already met with opposition and indeed with imprisonment. However the group had a steadfastness which eventually enabled the Quakers to survive as a group. They were full of confidence that they possessed the “Truth of God” and were not slow to point out that others were in the darkness. Above all, they refused to give in to violent treatment; a response which always brings out the worst from those in power. The early Quakers encountered a lot of hatred and brutality, they encountered it from the magistrates and from the judges, from the prison wardens and in a less physical manner from many of the clergy. The crimes they were charged with were such things as blasphemy and disturbing the peace, but their offences were really against the authority of those in charge locally. In addition to the many who suffered in Britain, there were some that felt called to go to further places. A notable example was Mary Fisher who, having suffered imprisonment and brutality at York and Cambridge, went with Ann Austin across the Atlantic, first to Barbados and then to Boston. Boston was governed by a Puritan regime, which regarded all Quakers as dangerous heretics and enacted strict and harsh laws against them. Mary Fisher and Ann Austin suffered no more than imprisonment followed by banishment, but the laws against Quakers were strengthened in the following years. Some including Mary Dyer in 1660 were executed. The spread of Quakerism into America during these years makes a remarkable story. The best know event is the voyage in 1657 of the “Woodhouse”, which was sailed to New York (then known as New Amsterdam) by a group of Quakers, their survival in America is a matter of wonder. During the 1650’s the Friends had begun building Meetinghouses, the beginning of the establishment of local stable worshiping groups. There were already many of such groups up and down the country when Fox was released from prison in 1666. George Fox was an Englishman and he was a man who lived by his principles. Despite severe persecution no one could halt his preaching or his disrespect for the Church of England, which he considered irreligious. Once he even refused to leave prison when given his freedom. Because he had been imprisoned unjustly, he demanded pardon as well as release. George Fox was born in July 1624. His parents were Puritans. As a boy George was extremely religious. When he was 19, he became disgusted by the sinfulness of many Christians. He left his family and went off alone. After much thought and reading of the Bible, Fox came to the conclusion that God was to be found only within the soul of each individual. Fox was 23 when he began his ministry by traveling from village to village. He preached his new belief of the Inner Light and soon won many converts. England was torn by civil war, however, and the authorities did not like this sect that claimed equality for all and refused to take up arms or swear allegiance. Hundreds were jailed. Fox wrote his 'Journal' and pamphlets supporting his beliefs while in prison. After Oliver Cromwell became ruler of England, Fox found a refuge at the home of Judge Fell, Cromwell's chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster. Fox died in London on Jan. 13, 1691. William Penn was another important contributer to the history of the Quakers. His province, or colony, of Pennsylvania (meaning "Penn's woods") had an area of more than 50,000 square miles. A Quaker, Penn welcomed to his colony members of all religious faiths and also those who had no religion. He gave it a democratic form of government, and he dealt fairly with the American Indians. William Penn was born on Oct. 14, 1644, in London. His father, Admiral Sir William Penn, was a wealthy man. As a child young Penn became interested in religion, but he rebelled against the Church of England, to which his father belonged. After two years at Christ Church College at Oxford University, he was expelled for being a nonconformist in religion. For the next few years he wavered between worldly attractions and a devotion to religious ideals. Then, influenced by the preaching of the Quaker leader Thomas Loe, he became a devout Quaker . Just like Fox he was jailed several times for his beliefs, he continued to write books and pamphlets. 'The Sandy Foundation Shaken' (1668) and 'No Cross, No Crown' (1669) are powerful statements of his beliefs. In 1670 his father died. Penn left the prison to be at his bedside. In 1672 Penn married. He traveled widely in Britain as well as all over Europe. He wrote the charter of liberties for the Jersey colony in America. In 1681 King Charles II granted him the province of Pennsylvania in repayment of a debt owed to Penn's father. It meant a new life for English Quakers. The Quakers were regarded as undesirable both in England and in the already-established American colonies. In Pennsylvania they found a home. Penn gave them a popular government, with the right to elect an assembly to make the colony's laws. Soon after his arrival in 1682, Penn started dealings with the Delaware Indians. Several treaties of friendship were made. The most famous was signed on June 23, 1683, on the banks of the Delaware River. It stated that the colonists and the Indians would "live in love as long as the sun gave light." Penn built a home in Philadelphia, planning to stay. But after two years in the colony he was called to England on business. After the Revolution of 1688, Penn was suspected of helping the dethroned king, James II, and was arrested for treason. In 1692 he was deprived of his colony. Two years later the charges against him were dismissed, and he regained Pennsylvania. His wife died in 1694, and he remarried two years later. In 1699 he returned to Pennsylvania. During his absence the colony had changed. Twenty thousand people now lived in the province, and many of them knew nothing of Penn except that he owned their colony and held rights that they wanted. Penn granted their request for an even more democratic government. In 1701 he signed the Charter of Privileges, which remained in force until 1776. Late in 1701 business again called Penn to England. He never returned to America. He got into money troubles and spent nine months in a debtor's prison rather than pay the claims of a swindling steward. Friends obtained his release, but his health was gone. His last years were troubled by quarrels with Lord Baltimore, the proprietor of Maryland, by disagreements with many Pennsylvanians, and by the dissolute ways of one of his sons. He died on July 30, 1718, in Buckinghamshire The members of The Society of Friends are mostly called Quakers. A magistrate first used this name in Derby in 1650, when Fox was on trial for his beliefs. His followers trembled during religious excitement, and Fox asked the judge to "tremble at the word of the Lord." George Fox believed, as the Puritans did, that the formal practices of the Church of England violated the spirit of Christianity. He taught that people could worship God directly without help from clergy. His followers refused to attend the services of the Church of England or to pay taxes for its support. They refused to take oaths on the ground that an oath recognizes a double standard of truth. They were frugal and plain in dress and speech. The authorities persecuted them with fines, confiscation of property, and imprisonment. Nevertheless the sect flourished. In 1689 the Toleration Act ended the persecution. Meanwhile, Quakers could settle freely in America on the large area of land given to Penn. Quakers still reflect the teachings of Fox. They do not sanction taking part in war because they feel that war causes spiritual damage through hatred. Most Quakers therefore refuse to give military service, but individuals follow their own convictions. Although some evangelical Friends have pastoral meetings and Quakers rely on recorded ministers, clerks, elders and deacons they have no rituals, sacraments, or ordained clergy. They appoint elders and overseers to serve at each meeting. Men and women who have received the "gift" are called recorded ministers. The meeting for worship is held "on the basis of silence." The belief in that of God is in every person is also responsible for their distinctive form of worship, and accounts for their general confidence in working for the kingdom of God in the world. Members speak in prayer or testimony as the inward light moves them. After an hour the meeting ends with the members shaking hands. In government as well as worship the Quakers rely on the guidance of the inner light working through the individual and bringing the whole group to a consensus. Congregations generally hold a meeting for business every month. In the 19th century Quakers in the United States founded a number of colleges and universities with an emphasis on science. Because Friends were trusted and extended credit, they became active in banking and insurance. Quakers are also active in welfare work and social reform. The American Friends Service Committee, founded during World War I, organizes relief and service projects not only in the United States but also throughout the world. Bibliography:

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