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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 recognizing and feeling the presence of God's power and seed within the community of believers. He encourages friends to draw their hearts towards the Lord, fostering love and unity among one another. This divine connection leads to openness and easiness of heart, protecting them from anything that could stain or defile their spirits. Fox calls for a life governed by God's presence, which will enable the spread of truth and life throughout the world. He concludes with a prayer for preservation in God's life, power, and wisdom for the glory of God.
Sweet Love and Unity
AND all Friends every where, In all your Meetings know and feel the Power and the Seed (that is the Heir of the Promise) of the Lord God amongst you, over you, and in you; then in that ye will feel the Presence of the Lord God dwelling in the midst of you. And to the Lord your Hearts will be brought, and it will bring you nigh one to another, and to come into sweet Love and Unity, and into Easiness and Openness of Heart; and keep you over all that which would stain you, or hurt you, or defile you . . . that nothing may rule, but Life it self, that ye may feel God's Presence in you, and with you, that Truth and Life over all the World may spread. So the Lord God Almighty preserve you in the Life, and Power and Wisdom of God, that ye may all be ordered to his glory. 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.