I am taking a break from Viola and reading a biography of George Fox, the founder of the Quakers.
What a crazy coot!!!
If we thought we had the odd bit of biffo over church and mission then we really need to get some 17th C perspective!
Here’s a man who was so convinced of his divergent opinions that he would go to the ‘steeplehouses’ (churches ) on a Sunday and pick an argument with the preacher, letting him know that church was people not buildings.
From a Puritan background, suffering from some form of depression and with a prophetic instinct, Fox struggled with faith for a long time before he had his ‘inner light experience’ (where he elevated spiritual encounters over scripture) and he then found his way.
The odd bit of critique these days gets met with the same level of response, but Fox was an absolute Nazi when it came to critiqing the establishment of his day.
He was punched out by an angry pastor, stoned by a mad congregation and thrown in prison for his convictions. He sounds very arrogant in much of the book and one of those wacky prophets who gets one thing very VERY right and the rest gets drowned out by the fuss that goes with it.
Looking forward to seeing what develops in the life of this nutter!
Hi Hamo,
What a man! I always find reading Fox’s journal very challenging.
A bit of ‘opening the Truth’ here and there, a few beatings … but, thankfully, ‘the Lord is over all’ and he’ll manage to drag himself of to a Friend’s house and recover to face his next beating.
I found the journal quite repetitive (along the lines of the above pattern) but it is definitely worth a read.
Peace to you,
Harry
Never read it but its been on my to-do list for many years. Wouldn’t religion be dull without guys like this 🙂