Quakers

When, Why and How it began Many people shy away from the idea of learning about the history of something. "The present," they say, "is what matters. Why is it necessary to go delving into the past?" The answer is that a much better understanding of the present, whether in science, history, social events, religion or whatever, is gained, if there is some knowledge of how things have developed or evolved from the past. (a) WHEN did Quakerism begin? Is the answer to this really important? Yes, it is; just as it is important for an understanding of Christianity to realise that it began at the time of the Roman occupation of the Middle East, which followed the Greek civilisation. Quakerism began in the middle years of the Seventeenth Century.

This century has aptly been called "The Century of Revolution". This does not mean simply the political revolution in England, which led to the Civil War. There was a revolution in science, in religion, in thought generally; people were questioning authority in a number of ways, all about the same time. Thus: Round about 1630, Galileo was questioning the wisdom of the ancients: of Aristotle with regard to falling bodies and to mechanics in general; of Ptolemy with regard to the motion of the planets. As a result he came into conflict with the established thought of the Church. About the same time, William Harvey was questioning the established anatomical teaching of the Greek scientist, Galen, and developed his own view of the circulation of the blood. In 1620, a small body of religious dissenters (often known as "The Pilgrim Fathers") who had gone to Holland to escape persecution, sailed to America in the "Mayflower".

The 17th century might also fairly be called the "Century of Dissent"; meaning that it was a time when people were not content to accept established authority, but claimed the right to think and find out things for themselves. Not only in science, but also in religion, direct personal experience was to become the all important thing. So now it is possible to answer the second question......... (b) WHY did Quakerism begin? The group of "dissenters", who first went to Holland and then to America, was only a fraction of those who were dissatisfied with the Church. They were not able to express their dissent openly and fully, with the result that there developed small groups scattered through the country, who met for worship and for discussion. The general term "Seekers" has been applied to them.

How much communication there was between them it is hard to say, but there was no cohesion and, most importantly, there was no leader to inspire them and to weld them together. Probably many of them were in a state of expectation, waiting for such a leader, as it were for a "Messiah" for their time. This leader came in the person of George Fox. (c) HOW did Quakerism begin? It began through the agency of George Fox; and the date which is generally accepted as the "birth time of Quakerism" is 1652. For some five years, Fox had been travelling round the country, spreading his message.

He was understood and welcomed by some, but he also met with considerable opposition; he had been imprisoned in Derby gaol on a charge of blasphemy and had suffered considerable ill-treatment. He had been working very much on his own and he had certainly not initiated any sort of religious movement. Then, in May 1652, he was in Lancashire and had climbed to the top of Pendle Hill, near Clitheroe. It was a strange thing to do, for people did not climb hills for fun in those days, especially one well-reputed as an abode for witches; still, Fox had a habit of doing unaccountable things! The view from the summit of the far spread countryside inspired him and shortly afterwards he had a vision, or an insight, of "a great people to be gathered". It was, in fact, the district where he would meet groups of interested people, for instance those known as the "Westmorland Seekers". The really significant visit which he paid, one to have far reaching and permanent effects on the history of Quakerism, was to Swarthmore Hall, near Ulverston (reached by crossing the dangerous sands of Morecambe Bay).

This was a large house and property occupied by Judge Fell and his wife Margaret. Both were of a liberal outlook in religious matters and visiting preachers had already been made welcome there. Margaret Fell welcomed George Fox with great enthusiasm and was quickly "converted" to his teaching. Fell, though he never formally associated himself with the Quaker movement, was supportive and permitted meetings of Fox and his followers to take place in the Hall. Presumably because of Judge Fell's standing in the county (and also in the nation), these group meetings were not subjected to harassment by Church and Law, which was otherwise common. Thus, for many years right up to the time of George Fox's death, Swarthmore Hall was the "headquarters" or "powerhouse" of the Quaker movement. It was from this Hall that the early Quaker "missionaries" were sent in small groups of two or more to spread the message in different parts of the country.