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George Fox was an English Dissenter, who was a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers or Friends. The son of a Leicestershire weaver, he lived in times of social upheaval and war. He rebelled against the religious and political authorities by proposing an unusual, uncompromising approach to the Christian faith. He travelled throughout Britain as a dissenting preacher, performed hundreds of healings, and was often persecuted by the disapproving authorities. In 1669, he married Margaret Fell, widow of a wealthy supporter, Thomas Fell; she was a leading Friend. His ministry expanded and he made tours of North America and the Low Countries. He was arrested and jailed numerous times for his beliefs. He spent his final decade working in London to organise the expanding Quaker movement. Despite disdain from some Anglicans and Puritans, he was viewed with respect by the Quaker convert William Penn and the Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell.
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities.
The inward light, Light of God, Light of Christ, Christ within, That of God, Spirit of God within us, Light within, and inner light are related phrases commonly used within the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) as metaphors for Christ's light shining on or in them. It was propagated by the founder of the Quaker movement, George Fox, who "preached faith in and reliance on 'inward light' ". The first Quakers were known to sit in silence and meditate on the words of the Bible until they felt the inward light of God shining upon them and the Holy Spirit speaking. Early Quakers taught: "God reveals Himself within each individual's conscience and consciousness by the Holy Spirit, Christ Himself being the Light to illumine man's sinfulness and lead in the way of truth and righteousness. ... this light is in all men by the grace of God to lead them to Christ, and that the same light will give daily guidance to the Christian."
Margaret Fell or Margaret Fox was a founder of the Religious Society of Friends. Known popularly as the "mother of Quakerism," she is considered one of the Valiant Sixty early Quaker preachers and missionaries. Her daughters Isabel (Fell) Yeamans and Sarah Fell were also leading Quakers.
Edward Burrough (1634–1663) was an early English Quaker leader and controversialist. He is regarded as one of the Valiant Sixty, who were early Quaker preachers and missionaries.
John Goodwin (1594–1665) was an English preacher, theologian and prolific author of significant books.
The Religious Society of Friends began as a proto-evangelical Christian movement in England in the mid-17th century in Lancashire. Members are informally known as Quakers, as they were said "to tremble in the way of the Lord". The movement in its early days faced strong opposition and persecution, but it continued to expand across the British Isles and then in the Americas and Africa.
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements are generally united by a belief in each human's ability to experience the light within or see "that of God in every one". Some profess a priesthood of all believers inspired by the First Epistle of Peter. They include those with evangelical, holiness, liberal, and traditional Quaker understandings of Christianity. There are also Nontheist Quakers, whose spiritual practice does not rely on the existence of God. To differing extents, the Friends avoid creeds and hierarchical structures. In 2017, there were an estimated 377,557 adult Quakers, 49% of them in Africa.
Mary Fisher, also Mary Fisher Bayley Crosse, was among the first travelling Quaker ministers. She counts as one of the Valiant Sixty, the group of early itinerant preachers whose mission was to spread the spiritual message of the founder of the Quakers, George Fox.
William Penn was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful treaties with the Lenape Native Americans.
William Dewsbury was an English Quaker minister and religious writer in the early period of the movement. He was born in Allerthorpe, Yorkshire, around 1621. Little is known of his parents or education, except that his father died when he was eight years old.
Thomas Hall (1610–1665) was an English clergyman and ejected minister.
William Caton (1636–1665) was an early English Quaker itinerant preacher and writer.
Thomas Aldham or Aldam was an English farmer, who was prominent in spreading Quakerism in the Doncaster district. He worked hard to combat wrongful imprisonment of fellow Quakers.
Thomas Lawson (1630–1691) was an English botanist and Quaker.
Samuel Fisher (1605–1665) was an English Quaker controversialist.
John Swinton (1621?–1679) was a Scottish politician active during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and during the Interregnum. At the Restoration he was found guilty of treason and was imprisoned for some years before being released. In later life he became a Quaker.
Katherine Evans (1618–1692) and Sarah Cheevers (1608–1664) were English Quaker activists who were held captive during the Roman Inquisition in Malta, between December 1658 and August 1663. During and after their captivity, Evans and Cheevers published several books that were critical of the Catholic Church and the Spanish Inquisition and promoted their own Quaker beliefs.
James Parnel or Parnell was an English Quaker preacher and author. As a teenager he became a nonconformist, visited George Fox in prison in 1653, and joined the Society of Friends. He is known as "The Boy Martyr".
Thomas Camm (1640/41–1708) was an English Quaker minister and writer. He was imprisoned for not paying tithes in 1674; fined for unlicensed preaching in 1678; and imprisoned, probably for preaching, from 1680 to 1686. He published religious tracts.
References
- ↑ Geoffrey F. Nuttall, 'Notes on Richard Farnsworth', Journal of the Friends' Historical Society48 (1956), pages 79–84, at page 79: 'Richard Farnworth, or Farnsworth as his name is commonly spelt by modern writers'
- ↑ Greaves, Richard L. "Farnworth, Richard". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/9176.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : "Farnworth, Richard". Dictionary of National Biography . London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
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