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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 preaches about the importance of apprentices serving faithfully according to covenant, emphasizing the need for order and discipline to prevent youth from falling into dishonor by indulging in looseness. He warns against giving too much freedom to the youth, as true liberty is found in Christ Jesus, who gives authority over behaviors that dishonor God.
Epistle 278
And friends, see that all apprentices that are bound amongst you may serve out their times faithfully, according to covenant, that all may know their places; for youth, if they be let loose, are like wild asses [Job 39:5], and wild heifers [Hos 10:11]; and such many times bring a great dishonour to God [Rom 2:23], by running into looseness; which are more fit to be under rule and order, than to rule; and through a foolish pity of some, they let up a great deal of airiness and wildness in them: all which should be kept under by the power of God, wherein the honour of the Lord may be preserved; and so, that liberty may not be given to youth in those cases; for the true liberty is in Christ Jesus [Gal 5:1], which gives authority over that which will dishonour God. . . . <25> . . . 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.