Book Review
George Fox – the Founder of the Quakers
Jean Hatton 2007 407pp
George Fox lived in the turbulent times of the 17th Century, times which have some uncanny resonances with our own time. The country was deeply split, with Royalists and Parliamentarians in conflict, there was tension between the power of Parliament and the the royal prerogative claimed by the King, often in conflict with the of parliament. Mistrust was widespread. There was paranoia about unwanted influences from Europe, which it was alleged sought to subvert the established protestant religion and bring in catholicism again. In this turmoil any group which dissented from established church order was viewed with great suspicion by the authorities, regardless of whether they were Catholics or Non-conformists. This did not stop many folk joining dissenting groups like the Congregationalists, Baptists and Unitarians, often at great personal cost.
George Fox was a colourful figure in the world of dissent in these times. He was of an imposing stature with a commanding presence and a powerful voice, he could hold the attention of audiences for hours at a time with his impassioned delivery. Urged on by a strong sense of the spiritual, he toured the country endlessly, preaching his belief in the Inner Light prompting self examination as the ultimate guide for one's beliefs and actions. He was deeply versed in the scriptures and quoted them profusely in his sermons, but he rejected all forms of creed and dogma. He did not believe in priests or their “steeplehouses”, he would not swear oaths in court, quoting the words “let your yea be yea and your no be no”, he rejected wars and violence, he refused to pay tithes or honour his social superiors by doffing his hat as all were equal in his eyes, honour was for God alone. He wrote “Walk boldly upon the world, answering that of God in all men”
Many were drawn to his teaching and meetings sprang up all over the country where these seekers, or Quakers as they came to be known, would gather every Sunday to worship. They attracted the attention of the authorities and under a variety of laws they were severely persecuted; many were jailed in appalling conditions, Fox had numerous periods of imprisonment himself through which his health suffered badly. Injustices were common, juries could actually be fined for not bringing in the “right” verdict, appeals had to be pursued through byzantine legal structures before there was any chance of relief.
In his decades of travel, preaching and encouragment, he established the Quaker movement which lives on to this day. It is tempting to see liberal theology of the present day as a relatively recent development, yet the story of George Fox is a reminder that it has a much longer pedigree, even if eclipsed later by influential movements like Evangelicalism or Anglo-Catholicism. For today perhaps his most lasting legacy however is religious toleration which was only won shortly before his death, largely prompted by public awareness and discomfiture at the appalling sufferings inflicted on his innocent followers.
David Tidy