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| A Quaker Meeting in the early 18th century |
We have begun to see how with the suppression of bishops in 1646
the English Church began to fracture with the official government (the
Republic/Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell) Church being what we would call today
“Congregational,” but with a myriad of other sects of varying orthodoxies
emerging among those for whom the presbyterian worship and polity of the
government-sanctioned Church was still to “Romish” or at least not sufficiently
reformed.
We looked at the Baptists and the Seekers—a group who rejected
not only any structured worship but creeds and even the idea of sacraments or
ordinances. Next we should look at the
Quakers—a religious tradition that, unlike the Seekers, survives today (and
with great credibility) but was to some extent rooted in the Seeker movement.
Quakerism is ascribed to the religious insights of George Fox
(1624-1691). Fox was from Drayton-in-the-Clay Leicestershire. His family background was strongly puritan
and he himself from his youth was deeply religious—so deeply religious that
some thought he should be sent on for the clergy. His parents were known for their integrity and
were themselves deeply religious; moreover they had the funds to send George on
to University (the path that to the clergy) but for some reason he did not go
on for higher education but was apprenticed to a dairyman/sheepfarmer. George was given huge amounts of time in his
youth to spend in the pastures watching over the animals. This solitary and even bucolic life seems to have
encouraged a natural strain of mysticism in the young man and he burned with
religious interest and questions.
Through reading the scriptures in his solitude he came to identify with
biblical figures such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, and Amos, all of
whom the scripture records as being keepers of animals.
As he grew older, George began to search out clergy to carry on
conversations and to learn more about the bible from them, but he found most of
the clergy to be more interested in their tithes and rents than in their
spiritual lives. He also was turned off
by what he perceived to be an endless contentiousness over the minutiae of the
current doctrinal controversies. In the
end he decided that clergy were not only useless but a hindrance for one’s
spiritual growth and, believing in the universal priesthood of all believers (a
key Reformation doctrine), he judged that each person could come to religious
truth himself or herself without the mediation of an ordained clergy. He also had a natural respect for women and
perceiving the interest of women in religious experience, made no distinction
between the roles of women and men in religion.
His reading the Bible gave Fox a conviction for simple living
and the avoidance of any excess. In this
same vein he developed an abhorrence for tobacco (for which he also had a natural
dislike) and alcoholic beverages which he had seen had led too many men down
the wrong paths in life. In 1647 Fox
wrote of his religious experience and where it led him:
as I had forsaken the priests, so I left the separate preachers
also, and those esteemed the most experienced people; for I saw there was none
among them all that could speak to my condition. And when all my hopes in them
and in all men were gone, so that I had nothing outwardly to help me, nor could
tell what to do, then, oh, then, I heard a voice which said, "There is
one, even Christ Jesus, that can speak to thy condition"; and when I heard
it my heart did leap for joy. Then the Lord let me see why there was none upon
the earth that could speak to my condition, namely, that I might give Him all
the glory; for all are concluded under sin, and shut up in unbelief as I had
been, that Jesus Christ might have the pre-eminence who enlightens, and gives
grace, and faith, and power. Thus when God doth work, who shall let (i.e. prevent) it? And
this I knew experimentally.
From his religious convictions Fox developed the following
principles:
1.
God “dwelleth in the hearts of his obedient people” not in
buildings made by man and God can be given true worship anywhere that his
saints gather—meadows, orchards, private homes, meeting houses.
2.
For those have experienced a true conversion to Christ, rituals
have no real significance
3.
True communion is spiritual and not in bread and wine.
4.
The word “church” should not be applied to a building; such
buildings are “steeple houses.”
5.
One is called to ministry by the Holy Spirit—university degrees
or ecclesiastical studies are of no consequence; everyone—including women and
children—who is called by the Holy Spirit is qualified to minister the Word.
6.
Because God dwells within the heart of his faithful people,
one’s inner guide is at least as important as scripture.
In addition to these principles it should be noted that Fox was,
at least practically, a unitarian in as that he did not distinguish between the
Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity: Jesus, the Father, and the Spirit were
more or less manifestations of the same Oneness.
In or about 1647 Fox began itinerant preaching and gathered many
followers. His message, while positive,
was not all sweetness and light and he was a very strict moralist who made no
tolerance for the weaknesses of the flesh.
He scored not only alcohol and tobacco but gaming and even such
traditional recreations as dancing and the maypole. Nevertheless he was very
popular and won many followers. In
particular his opposition to the clergy—and the mandatory paying of tithes to
support the clergy—as well as his emphasis on individual religious experience
won him many followers. In 1652 he had a
mystical experience convincing him of the eventual fruitfulness of his mission.
As we travelled, we came near a very great hill, called Pendle Hill,
and I was moved of the Lord to go up to the top of it; which I did with
difficulty, it was so very steep and high. When I was come to the top, I saw
the sea bordering upon Lancashire. From the top of this hill the Lord let me
see in what places he had a great people to be gathered.
His popularity threatened to be his undoing. His preaching challenged the official Church
and persecution of Fox and his followers followed. He was arrested several times and sometimes
imprisoned at some length. During a 1650
arraignment he told the Judge that he should “tremble before the Word of the
Lord.” The judge, mocking Fox and his
followers, ascribed the name “Quakers” to them, a name that stuck and not to
Fox’s displeasure. Fox’s condemnation of
war—and remember, England was in the midst of a civil war between Cromwell’s
forces and the monarchy—and his refusal to sanction fighting or the taking of
an oath of loyalty to the government (at that time Cromwell’s) led to several
arrests. He was brought before Cromwell
in 1655, however, and the depth of their spiritual conversation left Cromwell
very moved and put Fox in good favor with the Lord Protector, though not making
a convert of him. At a second meeting in
1656 Fox urged Cromwell to “lay down your crown at the feet of Jesus.” Cromwell declined but continued to hold Fox
in good regard.
The restoration of the monarchy in 1660 put Fox and his movement
in a dangerous situation as Charles II was re-establishing the traditional
Church with its bishops and suppressing all non-conformists. But once the dust settled and the Crown was
again secure, since Fox and his followers were committed to non-resistance they
were more or less left in peace though several times through the following
decades Fox was arrested and Quakers imprisoned for refusing to take loyalty
oaths. With the overthrow of James II
and the accession of William and Mary, official tolerance was granted to
non-conformist groups such as the Quakers.
It is difficult to say when exactly the format of Quaker
worship—the silent meeting in expectation of the Spirit giving an utterance
through a believer—emerged. Even today
there are Quaker meetings where there is hymn singing and scripture reading,
but classic Quaker worship is silent assembly waiting for one or more
participants to speak under the guidance of the Spirit. There are, of course, no rituals or
sacraments. Quaker meeting houses are
generally plain rooms with benches arranged so that the worshippers sit facing
one another in concentric rings. The
lack of a common creed makes Quaker beliefs hard to categorize and there is a
wide spectrum of belief among them.
While most Quakers would still consider themselves Christian, their
Christology generally tends towards the Arian and their theological perspective
is, in general, more in the Unitarian/Universalist direction than classic
Christianity. However there are meetings
whose members confess the Divinity of Christ and there are, on the other end of
a spectrum, those who find their spiritual inspiration in other religious
traditions. There is more or less an
agreement to disagree on specific doctrines.
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