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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 seeking the peace of all men, emphasizing that true peace is found in Christ and peacemakers will be blessed by the Lord. He warns against causing strife and offense, urging everyone to walk in the righteousness of Christ to experience true peace and delight in God's love. Fox encourages practicing righteousness, truth, and judgment, and being careful with words and actions to maintain virtue and goodness in all dealings.
Friends, - Seek the Peace of All Men
Seek The Peace Of All Men (1674) Friends, - Seek the peace of all men; which peace is in Christ, which is a peace the world cannot take away. And blessed are the peacemakers, that make p[peace among the brethren and people; these shall have a blessing from the Lord,the king of peace; but wo be unto them that cause strife and offence. And all walk in the righteousness of Christ the Lord, over your own righteousness, and do, and act, and speak in his righteousness; then you act, and do, and speak, and walking that, in which you have peace, and then God will delight in you, and you will be loved of him, for he loveth the righteousness. And let it be below any of God's people to raise an evil report on his people, or any others, or the give both their ears to any one's report of his people or matter, till they have heard both parties; so that righteousness, and truth, and judgment, may be kept up, and not fall. And in your men and women's meetings, you are in and about the Lord's business, and not your own; and therefore let the lord be in your eyes, that all of you his presence, and power, and wisdom, and judgment do receive, to do, and act, and speak in. And this keeps all in his fear, to be careful of their words and doings, and keeps all solid, and virtuous, and sober; and the whatsoever is of a good report, and is decent and comely, and whatsoever is virtuous, and tends to virtue,and is lovely, that follow and cherish. And here your eyes are kept open, to see that nothing be lacking, and that you stand in that which shall never fall, in the power, and spirit, and seed Christ, who is the sure foundation, the rock of ages. 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.