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George Fox
George Fox (1624 - 1691). English Dissenter, founder of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), born in Drayton-in-the-Clay, Leicestershire. Apprenticed as a shoemaker, he left home at 19, seeking spiritual truth amid Puritan and Anglican tensions. In 1647, after visions and direct experiences of God, he began preaching an “inner light” accessible to all, rejecting clergy and formal worship. By 1652, he gathered followers in northern England, forming the Quakers, known for pacifism and simplicity. Fox traveled across England, Ireland, the Netherlands, and America, enduring eight imprisonments for his beliefs, including at Lancaster Castle. He wrote Journal (1694) and numerous letters, shaping Quaker theology with calls for equality and justice. Married to Margaret Fell in 1669, a key Quaker leader, they had no children, but she had eight from her prior marriage. His 1660 Declaration rejected violence, influencing conscientious objection. Fox’s emphasis on personal revelation transformed Protestantism, and his writings remain central to Quaker thought.
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George Fox emphasizes the importance of standing firm in the holy truth, being valiant against deceit, and keeping the camp of God clean from impurities. He urges the congregation to be faithful in their testimonies of light and life, resisting the temptations of apostasy from God's light, life, and power. Fox encourages the believers to focus on the Lord's eternal power that has delivered them from darkness and preserved them, giving glory to God for His dominion over all evil spirits and His presence in their assemblies.
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Epistle 315
Dear Friends,—To whom is my love in the holy truth; my desire is, <75> that you may all be valiant for it [Jer 9:3], against all deceit, that the camp of God may be kept clean [Deut 23:15]; and all may be faithful in your testimonies of light and life, against all those things which have come up in this night of apostacy from the light, life, and power of God. So look at the Lord and his eternal power, which has brought you out of the night of apostacy, to his eternal praise, and his power hath preserved you to this day. The Lord with his glorious power was with us in all our assemblies, at this Yearly Meeting; he hath the dominion, and over all evil spirits gave dominion to his people [Mark 3:14f]. Glory to his name for ever Amen. . . . <76> . . . G. F.
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George Fox (1624 - 1691). English Dissenter, founder of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), born in Drayton-in-the-Clay, Leicestershire. Apprenticed as a shoemaker, he left home at 19, seeking spiritual truth amid Puritan and Anglican tensions. In 1647, after visions and direct experiences of God, he began preaching an “inner light” accessible to all, rejecting clergy and formal worship. By 1652, he gathered followers in northern England, forming the Quakers, known for pacifism and simplicity. Fox traveled across England, Ireland, the Netherlands, and America, enduring eight imprisonments for his beliefs, including at Lancaster Castle. He wrote Journal (1694) and numerous letters, shaping Quaker theology with calls for equality and justice. Married to Margaret Fell in 1669, a key Quaker leader, they had no children, but she had eight from her prior marriage. His 1660 Declaration rejected violence, influencing conscientious objection. Fox’s emphasis on personal revelation transformed Protestantism, and his writings remain central to Quaker thought.