George Fox

I wanted to give you a bit of historical background on George Fox. I think it might help us put the story from his journal in context. I will fill in more of the details on Monday night. Enjoy the readings.

George Fox was born in England in 1624. He lived during a time when Europe in general and England in particular were experiencing much religious conflict. Fox was in many ways a dissenter of the state church in England, and thus he was heavily persecuted. The following is a basic summary of his work from Justo Gonzalez' The Story of Christianity.

At that time there were in England many religious sects, Fox attended all without finding contentment in any. Finally, he felt called by the Spirit to speak out at a Baptist meeting, announcing the inner truths in which he now believed. From that point, such urgings of the Spirit became more frequent. In gatherings of various sects, Fox would declare that he had been ordered by the Spirit to announce his spiritual vision of Christianity. His words were often received with contempt and hostility, and he was repeatedly thrown out of meetings, beaten, and stoned. But such incidents would not stop him...the number of his followers grew rapidly.

There were many who disliked the teachings and practices of Fox and the Quakers. Religious leaders resented the manner in which these "fanatics" interrupted their services in order to preach or to read Scripture...all this seemed disrespectful and an intolerable insubordination. As a result, Fox was repeatedly beaten, and he spent a total of six years in prison. He was sent to prison for the first time for having interrupted a preacher...On other occasions he was accused of blasphemy, or of conspiring against the government...On another occasion, when he was serving six months for blasphemy, he was offered his freedom in exchange for service in the republican army. He refused...and from that point on, the Friends have been known for their staunch pacifist convictions.

Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity, Vol. 2 (New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1985), 198-201.

Sixth Meeting

The Reformation Era: Part II

Time: February 2, 2009 at 7:00 pm

Location: RCN Coffee Room (Room 233)

A short story from George Fox's Journal (Fox was the founder of the Religious Society of Friends, also known as the "Quakers"). Click here for the story.

Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God. Click here for an online version of the book. This is a very short book (about 20 pages).

I think you will find these readings highly interesting and meaningful. Invite a friend!

Ecclesia semper reformanda est?

This Latin phrase, coined by the Reformers, means "the church always needs to be reformed." The following are my musings on the meaning of this phrase.

When we confess the Nicene Creed in worship, we claim that the church is "holy." That is true. The church is holy because Christ has called it his bride (Eph. 5:25-26). The church is holy because it is the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Yet because the church is a fellowship of human beings, it is also sinful. It is blemished and imperfect. The church, therefore, is holy and sinful. Losing sight of this paradox can cause us to become either too pessimistic or too optimistic about the church.

The saints in the Christian faith always have a deep awareness of their sinfulness, and thus a deep awareness of their need to be constantly reformed. I think the same ought to be true of the church. "The church always needs to be reformed" because we recognize that it is broken and corrupt.

How do we go about that reform?

Here I think Martin Luther's life is instructive. Luther did not critique the Catholic Church from the outside; rather, he critiqued it from within. In point of fact, Luther's very ability to critique the church was the result of the fact that he had been positively shaped by the church. Luther's voice was not one of "external criticism but of a conscience reared within the tradition which it denounced. If Luther condemened the church on the authority of what he read in the Bible, or in the writings of St. Augustine, it was the church...who had put these documents into his hands" (Collinson, Oxford History of Christianity, 246). When Luther posted his 95 Theses on the church door in Wittenberg--a document which boldly critiqued the church's brokenness--he was not trying to start the "Protestant Reformation." He was trying to reform the church he loved.

To all zealous reformers of the church--the church needs your creativity, passion, and critique. It also needs your love. The church needs you to reform from within. I will let Derek Webb, a Christian artist who has written many songs about the church, have the last word.

"If you love me [Christ], you will love the church" (She Must and Shall Go Free, INO Records, 2003).