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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 following the Light of God in our consciences, which leads to unity in the Spirit. He highlights the need to discern the Power and Life of Truth in one another and to avoid discouraging anyone in the work of God. Fox urges believers to be mindful of their spirits, to recognize and nurture their individual gifts and callings, and to work together harmoniously for the gathering of those with simple hearts, knowing that those who turn many to righteousness will shine forever.
Mind the Light
. . . BUT, Dear Friends, mind the Light of God in your Consciences . . .; dwelling in it, guides out of the many things into one Spirit. . . . They that are guided by it are one, , who have been made to drink into one Spirit, . . . God is not the author of Confusion, but of Peace; All Jarrings, all Schisms, all Rents are out of the Spirit, for God hath tempered the Body together, that there should be no Schism in the Body, but all worship him with one Consent. And as the Power and Life of Truth is made manifest, watch in the Discerning over one another. And beware of discouraging any in the Work of God. . . . And all take heed to your Spirits: that which is hasty, discerns not the Good Seed. . . . His Work is great, and his Gifts diverse. And therefore all mind your Gift, mind your Measure: mind your Calling and your Work. Some speak to the Conscience; some plough and break the Clods; some weed out and some sow; some wait, that Fowls devour not the Seed. But wait all for the gathering of the Simple hearted ones: for They that turn many to Righteousness, shall shine for ever.
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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.