Editing George Fox (section)

==Religious Society of Friends==
In 1647 Fox began to preach publicly:<ref>Fox in Nickalls, pp. 18–19.</ref> in market-places, fields, appointed meetings of various kinds or even sometimes in "steeple-houses" (churches) after the service. Fox said in his journal ‘and as I was walking by the steeplehouse side, in the town of [[Mansfield]] the Lord said unto me, that which people do trample upon must be thy food. And as the Lord spoke he opened it to me how that people and professors did trample upon the life, even the life of Christ was trampled upon…’<ref>Fox in Nickalls, p19.</ref><ref>Cite Web:https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/media/112154/the-mansfield-quaker-heritage-trail-leaflet.pdf |Mansfield Quaker Heritage Trail leaflet|Nottinghamshire County Council|access date 10 May 2025</ref> His powerful preaching began to attract a small following. It is not clear at what point the Society of Friends was formed, but there was certainly a group of people who often travelled together. At first, they called themselves "Children of the Light" or "Friends of the Truth", and later simply "Friends". Fox seems initially to have had no desire to found a sect, but only to proclaim what he saw as the pure and genuine principles of Christianity in their original simplicity, though he afterward showed great prowess as a religious organiser in the structure he gave to the new society.

There were a great many rival [[Christian denomination]]s holding very diverse opinions in that period; the atmosphere of dispute and confusion gave Fox an opportunity to put forward his own beliefs through his personal sermons. Fox's preaching was grounded in scripture but was mainly effective because of the intense personal experience he was able to project.<ref name=ingle/> He was scathing about immorality, deceit and the exacting of [[tithe]]s and urged his listeners to lead lives without sin,<ref>Fox, e. g. in Nickalls, p. 91.</ref> avoiding the [[Ranters|Ranter]]'s [[antinomian]] view that a believer becomes automatically sinless. By 1651 he had gathered other talented preachers around him and continued to roam the country despite a harsh reception from some listeners, who would whip and beat them to drive them away.<ref>e. g. Fox in Nickalls, pp. 44, 48, 97–98, 120 and 127–131.</ref> As his reputation spread, his words were not welcomed by all. As an uncompromising preacher, he hurled disputation and contradiction to the faces of his opponents.<ref>James Walvin, ''The Quakers, Money & Morals'', p. 11.</ref> The worship of Friends in the form of silent waiting punctuated by individuals speaking as the Spirit moved them seems to have been well-established by this time,<ref>Fox in Nickalls, p. 79.</ref> though it is not recorded how this came to be; [[Richard Bauman]] asserts that "speaking was an important feature of the meeting for worship from the earliest days of Quakerism."<ref>Bauman, p. 124.</ref>

===Imprisonment===
Fox complained to judges about decisions he considered morally wrong, as he did in a letter on the case of a woman due to be executed for theft.<ref>Fox in Nickalls, p. 66.</ref> He campaigned against paying the [[tithes]] intended to fund the established church, which often went into the pockets of absentee landlords or religious colleges distant from the paying parishioners. In his view, as God was everywhere and anyone could preach, the established church was unnecessary and a university qualification irrelevant for a preacher.<ref name=ingle/> Conflict with civil authority was inevitable. Fox was imprisoned several times, the first at [[Nottingham]] in 1649.<ref>Fox in Nickalls, pp. 40–43.</ref> At [[Derby]] in 1650 he was imprisoned for [[blasphemy]]; a judge mocked Fox's exhortation to "tremble at the word of the Lord", calling him and his followers "Quakers".<ref>Fox in Nickalls, pp. 52–58, and Jones, chapter 4.</ref> After he refused to fight against the return of the monarchy (or to take up arms for any reason), his sentence was doubled.<ref>Fox in Nickalls, pp. 64–65.</ref> The refusal to swear oaths or take up arms came to be much more important in his public statements. Refusal to take oaths meant that Quakers could be prosecuted under laws compelling subjects to [[Oath of allegiance|pledge allegiance]] and made testifying in court problematic.<ref name=ingle/> In a letter of 1652 (''That which is set up by the sword''), he urged Friends not to use "carnal weapons" but "spiritual weapons", saying, "let the waves [the power of nations] break over your heads".

In 1652, Fox preached for several hours under a walnut tree at [[Balby]], where his disciple [[Thomas Aldham]] was instrumental in setting up the first meeting in the [[Doncaster]] area.<ref>Doncaster Friends site: [http://homepages.tesco.net/~d.swift/Doncaster.htm Retrieved 30 September 2011.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111210205852/http://homepages.tesco.net/~d.swift/Doncaster.htm |date=10 December 2011}}</ref> In the same year Fox felt that God led him to ascend [[Pendle Hill]], where he had a vision of many souls coming to Christ. From there he travelled to [[Sedbergh]], where he had heard a group of [[Seekers]] was meeting, and preached to over a thousand people on [[Firbank Fell]], convincing many, including [[Francis Howgill]], to accept that Christ might speak to people directly.<ref>Nickalls, pp. 103–108.</ref> At the end of the month he stayed at [[Swarthmoor Hall]], near [[Ulverston]], the home of [[Thomas Fell]], vice-chancellor of the [[Duchy of Lancaster]], and his wife, [[Margaret Fell|Margaret]]. Around that time, the ''ad hoc'' meetings of Friends began to be formalised and a monthly meeting was set up in [[County Durham]].<ref name=ingle/> Margaret became a Quaker, and although Thomas did not convert, his familiarity with the Friends proved influential when Fox was arrested for blasphemy in October. Fell was one of three presiding judges, and the charges were dismissed on a technicality.

Fox remained at [[Swarthmoor]] until the summer of 1653, then left for [[Carlisle, Cumbria|Carlisle]], where he was arrested again for blasphemy.<ref name=ingle/> It was even proposed to put him to death, but [[Barebone's Parliament|Parliament]] requested his release rather than have "a young man&nbsp;... die for religion".<ref>Fox in Nickalls, pp. 159–164; Jones, chapter 7.</ref> Further imprisonments came in London in 1654, [[Launceston, England|Launceston]] in 1656, [[Lancaster, England|Lancaster]] in 1660, [[Leicester]] in 1662, Lancaster again and [[Scarborough, North Yorkshire|Scarborough]] in 1664–1666 and [[Worcester, England|Worcester]] in 1673–1675. Charges usually included causing a disturbance and travelling without a pass. Quakers fell foul of irregularly enforced laws forbidding unauthorised worship, while actions motivated by belief in social equality – refusing to use or acknowledge titles, take hats off in court or bow to those who considered themselves socially superior – were seen as disrespectful.<ref>Fox, e. g. in Nickalls, pp. 36–37 and 243–244.</ref> While imprisoned at Launceston, Fox wrote, "Christ our Lord and master saith 'Swear not at all, but let your communications be yea, yea, and nay, nay, for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.'&nbsp;... the Apostle James saith, 'My brethren, above all things swear not, neither by heaven, nor by earth, nor by any other oath. Lest ye fall into condemnation.'"<ref>Fox, e. g. in Nickalls, pp. 244–245.</ref>

In prison George Fox continued writing and preaching, feeling that imprisonment brought him into contact with people who needed his help—the jailers as well as his fellow prisoners. In his journal, he told his magistrate, "God dwells not in temples made with hands."<ref>''Journal of George Fox'' (1694), Chapter 4.</ref> He also sought to set an example by his actions there, turning the other cheek when being beaten and refusing to show his captors any dejected feelings.

===Encounters with Cromwell===
[[File:Oliver Cromwell - Statue - Palace of Westminster - London - 240404.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Cromwell was sympathetic to Fox and almost agreed to follow his teaching—but persecution of Quakers continued.]]

Parliamentarians grew suspicious of monarchist plots and fearful that the group travelling with Fox aimed to overthrow the government: by this time his meetings were regularly attracting crowds of over a thousand. In early 1655 he was arrested at [[Whetstone, Leicestershire]] and taken to London under armed guard. In March<ref>Ingle (2004) says 9 March; Nickalls, p. 199, says 6 March.</ref> he was brought before the [[Lord Protector]], [[Oliver Cromwell]]. After affirming that he had no intention of taking up arms, Fox was able to speak to Cromwell for most of the morning about the Friends. He advised him to listen to God's voice and obey it, so that as Fox left, Cromwell "with tears in his eyes said, 'Come again to my house; for if thou and I were but an hour of a day together, we should be nearer one to the other'; adding that he wished [Fox] no more ill than he did to his own soul."<ref>Fox in Jones, chapter 8, and Nickalls, p. 199.</ref>

This episode was later recalled as an example of "speaking truth to power", a preaching technique by which subsequent Quakers hoped to influence the powerful.<ref>Frederick Barnes Tolles (1956). [http://www.quaker.org/pamphlets/ward1956a.html ''The Ward Lecture 1956: Quakerism and Politics''.] Quaker Pamphlets.</ref> Although not used until the 20th century, the phrase is related to the ideas of plain speech and simplicity which Fox practised, but motivated by the more worldly goal of eradicating war, injustice and oppression.

Fox petitioned Cromwell over the course of 1656 to alleviate the persecution of Quakers.<ref>Fox in Nickalls, pp. 220–221 and 254</ref> Later that year, they met for a second time at Whitehall. On a personal level, the meeting went well; despite disagreements between the two men, they had a certain rapport. Fox invited Cromwell to "lay down his crown at the feet of Jesus" – which Cromwell declined to do.<ref>Fox in Nickalls, p. 274, and Jones, chapter 10.</ref> Fox met Cromwell again twice in March 1657.<ref>Fox in Nickalls, p. 289.</ref> Their last meeting was in 1658 at [[Hampton Court]], though they could not speak for long or meet again because of the Protector's worsening illness – Fox even wrote that "he looked like a dead man".<ref>Fox in Jones, chapter 12, and Nickalls, p. 350.</ref> Cromwell died in September of that year.

===James Nayler===
One early Quaker convert, the Yorkshireman [[James Nayler]], arose as a prominent preacher in London around 1655. A breach began to form between Fox's and Nayler's followers. As Fox was held prisoner at Launceston, Nayler moved south-westwards towards Launceston intending to meet Fox and heal any rift. On the way he was arrested himself and held at [[Exeter]]. After Fox was released from Launceston gaol in 1656, he preached throughout the [[West Country]]. Arriving at Exeter late in September, Fox was reunited with Nayler. Nayler and his followers refused to remove their hats while Fox prayed, which Fox took as both a personal slight and a bad example. When Nayler refused to kiss Fox's hand, Fox told Nayler to kiss his foot instead. Nayler was offended and the two parted acrimoniously. Fox wrote that "there was now a wicked spirit risen amongst Friends".<ref>Ingle (2004) and Fox in Nickalls, p. 268.</ref>

After Nayler's own release later the same year he rode into [[Bristol]] triumphantly playing the part of Jesus Christ in a re-enactment of [[Palm Sunday]]. He was arrested and taken to London, where Parliament defeated a motion to execute him by a vote of 96–82. Instead, they ordered that he be pilloried and whipped through both London and Bristol, branded on his forehead with the letter B (for blasphemer), bored through the tongue with a red-hot iron and imprisoned in solitary confinement with hard labour.<ref>Jones, footnote 125, chapter 10</ref> Nayler was released in 1659, but he was a broken man. On meeting Fox in London, he fell to his knees and begged Fox's forgiveness. Shortly afterward, Nayler was attacked by thieves while travelling home to his family, and died.<ref name=ingle/>