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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 living in the seed of God, which overcomes the devil and the strife he causes. He calls for a rejection of false accusations against those who uphold justice and peace, while warning against the dangers of blending with worldly powers. Fox highlights that true peace and life are found in the seed of God, which leads to a state of sanctification and the reign of Christ. He reminds believers that the time will come when nations will no longer learn war, returning to the peace that existed before conflict. Ultimately, he encourages a life that glorifies God through wisdom and righteousness.
Epistle 188
Friends,—Live in the seed of God that destroys the devil [Heb 2:14], who is the author and cause of wars and strife, and bringing of men and people into the earth, where the war, strife, and pride are; here the outward swordsmen have not learned yet to beat their swords and spears into ploughshares and pruning hooks [Isa 2:4]. Yet ye that are in that seed, see that ye accuse no man falsely [Luke 3:14], that hath the sword of justice, which is to keep the peace, and is a terror to the evil doers [Rom 13:3f], and to keep down the transgressors, and for the praise of them that do well [1 Pet 2:14]; this is owned in its place. But he that killeth with the sword, must perish with the sword [Mat 26:52]. So there was a time the Jews were to fight with outward weapons, with sword, and spear [Neh 4:13-18]; but there is a time, when nations shall not learn war any more, but shall come to that which shall take away the occasion of wars, which was in the beginning before wars were. And Friends take heed of blending yourselves with the outward powers of the earth. . . . In the seed of God is the stayed state, and in that are the life and peace with God, and the offering that satisfieth God, and that perfecteth for ever them that are sanctified [Heb 10:14]. And the seed bruises and destroys the serpent's head [Gen 3:15], who is the prince of the air [Eph 2:2], the prince of darkness, the tempter [Mat 4:3, 1 Th 3:5] and the troubler; in which seed is peace and life enjoyed, and by the wisdom of it be ordered to God's glory [Wis 8:1, 1 Cor 10:31]. And there the reign of Christ is known, who is come to reign and to rule. 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.