It has been said that all renewal movements in church history harken back to an earlier, exceptional period of intense spirituality, inspirational leadership, close community, and unwavering commitment to God.[1] These “revivals” have clear tell-tale signs, historically. As McClymond notes, “Revivals are corporate, experiential events. There is often a spiritual contagion, causing one person’s experiences to cascade onto others . . . it suggests a return of zeal or vitality to a group of Christian believers who have declined in their devotion.”[2] If so, the Quaker Movement that began in seventeenth-century England is a prime example of such a religious phenomenon. Moreover, its origins, outreach, and organization over the centuries have been well-elucidated in Walter Williams’ 1962 book, The Rich Heritage of Quakerism.[3]
As with other revivals or renewal movements, the development of Quakerism was (and still is) a multifaceted matter, ostensibly starting with the religious efforts of one man—George Fox[4] (1624–1691)––but ultimately having its deepest and long-lasting roots in the will, empowerment, and blessings of God. Williams writes,
George Fox had a deep concern to help men find a genuine religious experience. He, himself, had found the living Christ, and was learning the precious lessons of trust and obedience. With the passing of the months and years since that great discovery, he had been seeking to acquaint others with a knowledge of the truth. The winning of souls to Christ was now his one consuming passion. The urge of God’s Spirit was upon him; indeed, that was the reason for his coming into this part of Northern England.[5]
Truly (and evidentially), George Fox was a man of faith, a man of his times, a man of the spirit, a man on a mission, and a man of the people––realities fully discussed in Williams’ book. Amidst the cultural and political darkness that Fox observed all around him in England, he received a life-changing theophany from God. As Williams remarks, “He now had good news to tell others.”[6] Fox’s charge from God was to fully minister to God’s people wherever they were—be they in a street or in a pew, for which he frequently received beatings and imprisonments (for both him and his co-laborers).[7]
He had his work cut out for him, for seventeenth-century England was “in a state of unrest and confusion.”[8] In this age of absolutism, the elites and the powerful dictated everything in society––from the courts to the culture to the church. The Civil War that erupted in the middle of the century (1642–1660) only added to the hostilities and hardness of hearts. According to Williams, “[The people] thirsted for the gospel of a living Saviour who would give unto them ‘beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.’”[9]
Fox, like other dissenters and non-conformists in the British Isles,[10] felt that the Anglican bureaucracy had only provided its parishioners “a rigid, impersonal, coldly-institutional, Christian community from which to receive both spiritual and physical aid.”[11] The people needed and deserved more; fortunately for them, God sent George Fox and an ever-increasing band of Christian brothers and sisters “to carry the good news to other neighborhoods and towns and cities.”[12] Despite their small beginnings and lengthy imprisonments, Fox and his “Valiant Sixty” unashamedly, un-relentlessly, and unreservedly sought to bring revival to all of England[13]—and succeeded more than many could have hoped or dreamed, bringing the Spirit’s divine (and solidly doctrinal) message[14] of inward light, love, and transformation to Wales, Scotland, and the American colonies. New converts began to include what Williams called, “the ablest and most eminent recruits”[15]— such as Fell, Penington, Ellwood, Barclay, Woolman, and Penn—who added to the Society of Friends with their talents, enthusiasm, and influences.
Williams notes that the testimonies, convictions, practices, and attitudes of the Friends who followed Fox often ran contrary to worldly norms but never contrary to biblical or Godly admonitions.[16] Still, despite the aforementioned persecutions and martyrdoms,[17] the Quaker Movement continued to grow until the needs of this new Christian fellowship required greater organization to maintain the Holy Spirit’s high calling for them to live in unity, purity, and Christ-likeness.[18] In General Meetings (or Yearly), the Friends met (and continue to do so) to find common understandings, uniform practices, and proper rules of discipline.[19]
Williams described Fox, who died in 1691, as “Unafraid, he had given his all to building the kingdom of God, without reserve or complaint, even when misjudged, maligned, persecuted, and accused of personal ambition by some who envied his powerful leadership.”[20] Not unexpectedly, the question of who should lead was expectedly raised, but who could follow someone so exemplary as Fox? Yet, Fox had done his best to prepare the Movement’s followers to keep the course steady, preserving the main leadership role for the Holy Spirit. However, leadership-in-consensus was far more embraced than leadership-from-seniority, which created an unsure course of action.
Fox’s absence shook the Movement (ironically), with courage being replaced with caution. Perhaps it was based on their long distrust of human nature so easily corrupted that helped shift the Quaker voice to a whisper during the Quietism era.[21] Influential Quakers such as Whitehead and Crisp urged even further retreatment from worldly affairs and comforts, ostensibly to protect against Quakers themselves falling prey to material temptations. Although meant for good, Williams suggests that this ministry philosophy curtailed two key characteristics of early Quakerism: fullness of joy and daringness of faith.[22]
It also seemed to turn the Quaker Movement into a Quaker Institution—a juxtaposition of Fox’s earliest mission of freedom in the Spirit. Discipline and oversight became amplified and over-regulated. As Williams notes, “Friends had settled down into a peaceable, respectable sect, proud of their past, but, by and large, feeling no moving concern to do more in the future than to preserve their ‘Testimonies,’ and keep the Society's membership in good order.”[23] Sadly, for many Quakers, “Bravery” had been replaced with “Bureaucracy.”
Sometime later, even classic Quaker spirituality began to splinter. Williams notes, “There were a few—perhaps a very few—among the various groups of Friends who had become so enamoured with the rationalistic views of religion as to feel ready to discard the claims of Revealed Religion, and rely only on human reason.”[24] As with other denominations, a Quaker bifurcation in the Movement began to develop between believers and unbelievers, although social reforms and philanthropy remained central to all branches. Just the why (or perhaps the Who) and where had begun to change.
With the American Expansionism of the nineteenth century, Quakers also migrated to new regions with new social emphases and influences.[25] One can see how this scattering weakened the earlier potency of English doctrinal Quakerism. In Tolkien-esque fashion, nineteenth-century Quakerism became “thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread.”[26] William remarks, “The Society of Friends had lost her missionary vision, and had largely ceased to be an aggressive spiritual force.”[27] The Bible ceased to be ubiquitously embraced by all Quakers; evangelism was largely replaced with philanthropic rationalism; for some, Jesus Christ ultimately became unnecessary for salvation.
The splintering became a final great divide under Elias Hicks,[28] whose unorthodox, radical views led to the first real schism with Quakerism. Pitted against his heresies were orthodox Quakers like Joseph John Gurney who held “that the Light within is no part of human nature, but a gift to each through God's grace in Christ Jesus.”[29] Gurney’s perspective was part of a greater revival experienced in America during the Second Great Awakening. As with other spiritual leaders of the time (Finney, Moody, Sankey), the Bible was a quintessential component of true Christianity.[30]
Yet, the Industrial Age and the rise of scientific dogmas toward the end of the nineteenth century still challenged the orthodox beliefs of Quakers (and many other denominations), leading to new, innovative praxis and programs––and reaffirmations of undiluted, evangelical Friends doctrines.[31] Not surprisingly, these conferences and declarations of Quaker faith were met with some cheers and some jeers in the twentieth century.[32] As with other denominational squabbles since 1900, the Quakers—both in England and America—have (ironically) experienced their own fair share of separatists, non-conformists, and dissenters to traditional orthodox Quakerism.
The holy, healthy, unity of God’s light that the first Quakers experienced has been swallowed up by secularism’s bureaucratic bumbledom. As Williams concludes, “God waits to work, and He employs human helpers who are fully yielded to Him.” This is a tough task with postmodernity’s love of radical religious individualism, where “the self or ego has the highest sacred authority in a person’s life, giving direction and meaning to religious and spiritual activities (or non-participation).”[33] Submission is difficult in a culture that promotes, even demands, unfettered social avenues (even those formerly considered under God’s demesne). Yet, Williams words still shine bright despite the darkness closing in: “With so rich a heritage, what responsibility rests upon all beneficiaries!”[34]
Bibliography
Knox, John S. A Lexicon of Religious Facts & Figures. Dubuque: Kendall-Hunt, 2021.
––––––. John Wesley’s 52 Standard Sermons: An Annotated Summary. Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2017.
––––––. “Sacro-Egoism and the Shifting Paradigm of Religiosity.” Implicit Religion 11, no. 2 (2008): 153–172. doi:10.1558/imre.v11i2.153
McClymond, Michael. “What Revival Can Teach Us.” Christianity Today (February 24, 2023). https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2023/february-web-only/what-revival-history-christian-movements-asbury-university.html.
Tolkien, J. R. The Fellowship of the Ring. E-book: William Morrow, 2012.
Williams, Walter. The Rich Heritage of Quakerism. E-book: Muriwai, 2018.
Endnotes
[1] Daniel Brunner, “CHT511: Lecture Notes,” Portland: George Fox Seminary (2000).
[2] Michael McClymond, “What Revival Can Teach Us,” Christianity Today (February 24, 2023); https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2023/february-web-only/what-revival-history-christian-movements-asbury-university.html.
[3] Walter Williams, The Rich Heritage of Quakerism (e-book: Muriwai, 2018).
[4] John S. Knox, A Lexicon of Religious Facts & Figures (Dubuque: Kendall-Hunt, 2021), 51–52.
[5] Williams, Rich Heritage, location 100 of 5366.
[6] Williams, Rich Heritage, location 188 of 5366.
[7] Williams, Rich Heritage, location 591 of 5366.
[8] Williams, Rich Heritage, location 262 of 5366.
[9] Williams, Rich Heritage, location 401 of 5366.
[10] Williams, Rich Heritage, location 195 of 5366.
[11] John S. Knox, John Wesley’s 52 Standard Sermons: An Annotated Summary (Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2017), 6.
[12] Williams, Rich Heritage, location 584 of 5366.
[13] Williams, Rich Heritage, location 964 of 5366.
[14] Williams, Rich Heritage, location 1209 of 5366.
[15] Williams, Rich Heritage, location 1793 of 5366.
[16] Williams, Rich Heritage, location 1373 of 5366.
[17] Williams, Rich Heritage, location 1786 of 5366.
[18] Williams, Rich Heritage, location 1606 of 5366.
[19] Williams, Rich Heritage, location 1686 of 5366.
[20] Williams, Rich Heritage, location 2019 of 5366.
[21] Williams, Rich Heritage, location 2159 of 5366.
[22] Williams, Rich Heritage, location 2259 of 5366.
[23] Williams, Rich Heritage, location 2313 of 5366.
[24] Williams, Rich Heritage, location 2608 of 5366.
[25] Williams, Rich Heritage, location 2957 of 5366.
[26] J. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring (e-book: William Morrow, 2012), 32.
[27] Williams, Rich Heritage, location 3052 of 5366.
[28] Williams, Rich Heritage, location 3114 of 5366.
[29] Williams, Rich Heritage, location 3225 of 5366.
[30] Williams, Rich Heritage, location 3614 of 5366.
[31] Williams, Rich Heritage, location 3769 of 5366.
[32] Williams, Rich Heritage, location 3874 of 5366.
[33] John S. Knox, “Sacro-Egoism and the Shifting Paradigm of Religiosity,” Implicit Religion 11, no. 2 (2008): 157.
[34] Williams, Rich Heritage, location 4722 of 5366.