George Fox (1624-1691) ***
Founder of the Society of Friends, otherwise known as Quakers. Son of a Leicestershire weaver, he evidently had little formal education or regular occupation, but at the age of eighteen he left home in search of enlightenment.
After many painful experiences that made him regard his fellow men less trustingly, he tells of having found one who spoke to his condition. In 1646 he announced his reliance on the "Inner Light of the Living Christ." He rejected outward sacraments, paid clergy, even church attendance, and taught that truth is to be found primarily not in Scripture or creed but in God's voice speaking to the soul.
So emerged the "Friends
of Truth." Fox taught the priesthood of all believers and advocated a
simple life style for his colleagues, who later included William Penn. The
Friends traveled widely in England. Their anti-clerical views, disrespect of
authority, and refusal to take oaths often led to arrest and imprisonment. At
Derby in 1650 Fox was charged with blasphemy; then it was that the term
"Quakers" was born in a magisterial jibe after Fox had urged the
bench to "tremble at the word of the Lord." Persecution was stepped
up after the monarchy was restored in 1660, and altogether Fox served eight
jail sentences with a total of six years.
His travel extended also to
the Netherlands, the West Indies, and America (notably Maryland and Rhode
Island). Whenever he could, he established local congregations. Fox was also a
true pacifist, and his use of group silence was a brake on impetuous conduct.
Later he moved his base from northwest England to London, where he spent his
final years crusading against social evils, fighting for religious toleration
and the promotion of education. His famous Journal gives valuable insights into
the turbulent conditions in England during the latter half of the seventeenth
century.
See also FRIENDS, SOCIETY
OF.