Imaginary Interviews: A Visit wth George Fox, Founder of the Religious Society of Friends (a.k.a. Quakers)

About seven years ago I created several imaginary interviews as a creative way of introducing friends and readers to people from the past whom I found interesting. This week I thought it. might be interesting to continue this series, beginning with George Fox, founder of the Religious Society of Friends, better known as the Quakers. 

I was in part interested because the Quakers had several times cropped up in my readings on other people such as the influence the Quakers later had on men like Leo Tolstoy and Mahatma Gandhi. Also, being a descendent of Daniel Boone, my roots intersected with the Society of Friends when the Boone's first settled in Eastern Pennsylvania five decades before the American Revolution. 

In this imagined interview, I sat down with George Fox (1624–1691) to explore the convictions that shaped his revolutionary spiritual movement. Born in a turbulent era of religious and political upheaval in England, Fox’s radical vision of a direct, unmediated relationship with God challenged the established churches and inspired a movement grounded in simplicity, equality, and pacifism. This conversation delves into Fox’s spiritual journey, the challenges he faced, and the timeless relevance of Quaker principles in a modern world.

Cook Street Gate, one of the twelve gates in
Coventry where Fox received the first of his three 
initial "openings"--his term for vision ot revelation.
Photo: Creative Commons.

EN: Mr. Fox, could you share the pivotal moment that sparked your spiritual journey and led to the founding of the Quaker movement?  

George Fox: I’d be glad to recount it, though it’s a tale of divine disruption. I was born in 1624 in Leicestershire, raised Puritan, with a heart ever turned toward God. Yet, by my early twenties, I grew weary of the churches—corrupt, rigid, and far from Christ’s true spirit. In 1647, at 23, I wandered alone in the woods, wrestling with despair. Then, a voice pierced my soul: “There is one, even Christ Jesus, that can speak to thy condition.” It was as if God Himself reached down, revealing I needed no priest or steeple to know Him. That moment set me ablaze. I began preaching a direct communion with God, gathering those who’d later be called Quakers. We sought truth in simplicity, free from dogma’s chains.

EN: You faced fierce opposition—imprisonment, beatings, even death threats. How did you remain steadfast, and what advice would you offer those enduring hardships for their beliefs?  

George Fox: Persecution was our daily bread. I was jailed eight times, beaten, mocked, yet I stood firm by fixing my eyes on God’s light within. That Inner Light was my anchor; it whispered I was on the true path. My fellow Friends, too, were my strength—together, we bore the blows, knowing we weren’t alone. To those suffering for their convictions, I say: Hold fast. Trust the divine spark within you. Hardships fade, but truth endures. Lean on your community, and let God’s voice guide you through the storm.

 

EN: Quakerism’s principles—simplicity, equality, pacifism—are distinctive. How did you envision these transforming society, and do they still resonate today?  

George Fox: I saw these principles as God’s blueprint for a just world. Simplicity frees us from greed, turning our hearts to what matters—love, faith, community. Equality, rooted in the Inner Light, demands we honor every soul as God’s own, dissolving divisions of class or creed. Pacifism calls us to seek peace, not with swords, but through understanding. Today, your world—rife with strife and materialism—cries out for these truths. Simplicity could heal your obsession with wealth, equality your fractured societies, and pacifism your endless wars. These are not old notions but living remedies.

EN: The concept of the "Inner Light" is central to Quaker spirituality. Can you explain what it means to you and how it shaped your life and interactions?  

George Fox: The Inner Light is God’s presence in every soul—a divine spark that speaks truth, guides conscience, and kindles wisdom. It’s no distant deity but a living voice within, urging us to righteousness. For me, it was my compass, guiding decisions, softening conflicts, and teaching me to see others—rich or poor, friend or foe—as bearers of that same light. It made me listen, not judge; love, not condemn. When I met a soul, I sought their light, and it forged bonds stronger than any doctrine.

EN: You lived in a time of religious conflict. How did you engage with those of different faiths while staying true to your beliefs?  

George Fox: I met all—Puritans, Catholics, even skeptics—with openness, seeking the light in them. I believed God speaks to every heart, not just Quakers, so I listened, spoke plainly, and stood firm in my truth without scorn. I’d dispute fiercely with priests I thought misled their flocks, but never to wound—only to awaken. My aim was unity in God’s spirit, not division. Stay true to your light, I’d say, but honor the light in others, whatever their creed.

EN: Quakers’ unprogrammed worship and consensus-based decision-making seem unique. How did you envision these fostering community and purpose?  

George Fox: Our silent worship is no empty ritual—it’s a gathering in God’s presence, where each soul listens for divine guidance. No priest dictates; the Spirit moves us to speak or hold silence. This binds us, for we seek God together, equal in His sight. Our consensus reflects that equality—every voice matters, and we wait on God to guide our decisions. This builds a community rooted in trust, not hierarchy, united in purpose to live out God’s love. It’s a living faith, not a performance.

EN: Quakerism has diversified over time, with varied branches. How do you view this, and what principles must remain constant?  

After a lifetime of curiosity I finally attended a
Society of Friends worship service here at the
Quaker Meeting House in Duluth.

George Fox: I rejoice that the Friends have grown, though I grieve when divisions arise. The light within us is one, and its truth doesn’t bend to factions. The core must hold: the Inner Light as God’s voice in all, simplicity to keep us humble, equality to honor every soul, and peace to heal a violent world. Let branches flourish, but let these roots remain, for they are God’s eternal call to us.

EN: Observing today’s world, what Quaker values do you think are most urgently needed?  

George Fox: Your world drowns in noise, greed, and conflict. The Inner Light is needed to quiet the clamor, guiding you to truth amid lies. Simplicity could free you from chasing hollow wealth, equality heal your divisions of race and rank, and pacifism end your wars born of pride. Above all, listen—to God, to each other. Live as if all are equal in God’s sight, for they are. That’s the path to a just, compassionate world.

EN: What role does the Bible play in Quakerism? Is the Inner Light informed by Scripture or independent of it?  

George Fox: The Bible is a sacred record of God’s dealings with humanity, a guide to truth—but not the only one. The Inner Light, God’s direct voice within, is our truest compass. Scripture can illuminate that light, stirring the soul to righteousness, but it’s no substitute for God’s living presence. I’ve said, “The Scriptures are a good rule to guide us, but we must also have the Spirit to lead us into all truth.” The Light confirms the Bible’s truths and speaks afresh to each heart, for God is not silent.

 

EN: Any final words for our readers?  

George Fox: Seek the Light within—it is God’s gift to you, a spark that never fades. Live simply, love fiercely, and stand for truth, no matter the cost. You are never alone, for God speaks to all who listen. Let that truth guide you to a life of peace and purpose.

* * * * * 

Related

Imaginary Interview #1: A Visit with Artist Paul Klee  

https://ennyman.medium.com/imaginary-interviews-1-five-minutes-with-artist-paul-klee-a378aa96a2dd?sk=9467841105ad8239bbf5364b0174704d
Imaginary Interview #2: John S. Hall, the Blind Poet of Ritchie County

https://ennyman.medium.com/imaginary-interviews-2-john-s-hall-the-blind-poet-of-ritchie-county-5bddd0db5cd7?sk=071d23202a4673f2091abeaab1517499

Imaginary Interview #3: The Influential French Author Honore Balzac 

https://ennyman.medium.com/imaginary-interviews-3-the-influential-french-author-honoré-de-balzac-eec642f739cf?sk=20aa802f87d49f0cf5bcfc51e2475b72

Various Perspectives on Non-Violence as a Response to Violence

One of my favorite novellas is Tolstoy's The Forged Coupon which explores themes of morality, redemption, and the ripple effects of individual actions on society. The story shows how interconnected we are, especially the manner in which even our smallest actions have consequences beyond our selves. 

The first half of the book details the negative consequences that flow out of a seemingly insignificant act. The second half shows the power of a single good act and its reverberations. The trigger event is a non-violent response to a violence assault.

It could have been a hundred different things, but Tolstoy had a point he wished to make. Every now and then I return to this story and reflect on the issue he raises. Did Jesus really mean it when he said, "But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also."? 

Here are some challenging statements from a variety of viewpoints. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. Indeed, it is a weapon unique in history, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. I believe in this method because I think it is the only way to reestablish a broken community.
--Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Nobel Lecture 

"Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. Indeed, it is a weapon unique in history, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it."

--Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

There is no principle worth the name if it is not wholly good. I swear by non-violence because I know that it alone conduces to the highest good of mankind, not merely in the next world, but in this also. I object to violence because, when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary, the evil it does is permanent.
--Mahatma Gandhi

Time and again, people struggling not for some token reform but for complete liberation — the reclamation of control over our own lives and the power to negotiate our own relationships with the people and world around us — will find that nonviolence does not work, that we face a self-perpetuating power structure that is immune to appeals to conscience and strong enough to plow over the disobedient and uncooperative.
--Peter Geiderloos

We who advocate peace are becoming an irrelevance when we speak peace. The government speaks rubber bullets, live bullets, tear gas, police dogs, detention, and death.
--Desmond Tutu

Non-violence is backed by the theory of soul-force in which suffering is courted in the hope of ultimately winning over the opponent. But what happens when such an attempt fails to achieve the object? It is here that soul-force has to be combined with physical force so as not to remain at the mercy of a tyrannical and ruthless enemy.
--Bhagat Singh

There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm.
--Abu Said, Hadith 32

Evil does exist in the world. A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies. Negotiations cannot convince al Qaeda's leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force may sometimes be necessary is not a call to cynicism – it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason.
--Barack Obama

Dr. King's policy was, if you are nonviolent, if you suffer, your opponent will see your suffering and will be moved to change his heart. That’s very good. He only made one fallacious assumption. In order for nonviolence to work, your opponent must have a conscience. The United States has none.
--Stokely Carmichael

There are different forms of anarchy and different currents in it. I must, first say very simply what anarchy I have in view. By anarchy I mean first an absolute rejection of violence.
--Jacques Ellul

The power of unarmed nonviolence is any day far superior to that of armed force.    
--Mahatma Gandhi

Can the hungry go on a hunger strike? Non-violence is a piece of theatre. You need an audience. What can you do when you have no audience? People have the right to resist annihilation.
--Arundhati Roy

Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages.
--Thomas Edison

* * * 

For more on this subject, see: Leo Tolstoy on Pacifism and Non-Resistence to Evil

https://pioneerproductions.blogspot.com/2024/06/leo-tolstoy-on-pacifism-and-non.html

A Good Day For Lists: 35 Items of Greater or Lesser Insignificance

I've been recently bitten by the David Foster Wallace bug. That is, I keep finding myself drawn to reading more of his work. Impressive is an understatement. Pow! Blam! Ouch.

Wallace liked lists. Or so I've been led to believe. Here's a list of miscellaneous observations, notes to myself of things to read or do, and ideas to ponder. There's always more to do than there is time, so a list is all we end up with in the meantime.

1. Game 1 of the World Series is tonight featuring the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians, the two teams that have gone longest without winning a World Series championship.
2. Today is World Pasta Day.
3. Who comes up with these things? World Pasta Day?
4. Why is it called the World Series when it only involves a competition North American teams?
5. Blog topic: young bull, Death in the Afternoon, good and bad bulls.
6. Last Friday's Fall Art Show at Goin' Postal was a lot of fun for a lot of people.
7. Blog Idea: Series of blog posts featuring the songs on Dylan's Oh Mercy album, beginning with "Political World."

We live in a political world
Love don't have any place
We're living in times
Where men commit crimes
And crime don't have any face

8. Trivia: Teddy R changed name of Executive Mansion to White House
9. Worth re-reading: How To Lie With Statistics
10. Don't forget to pay your bills.
11. Learn more about Will Rogers.
12. Einstein was a pacifist who became a non-pacifist because of Hitler
13. Item 13 is now removed and has been replaced with this sentence.
14. What are your goals for the next 30 days? Do you have goals or do you simply drift?
15. Submissions are now open for the Water-Stone Review through December 1. They are seeking original, unpublished creative fiction, essays, poetry.
16. In 2009 the richest man in Asia had 168 cars. The average income in India at that time was $500 a year.
17. Jay Leno had more cars than the richest man in Asia.
18. I'm curious how much money the DAI raised last Friday in their Make Your Mark fund raising event.
19. A million square miles of land was added to U.S. as a result of the Mexican War.
20. WikiLeaks: No one likes what Mr. Assange did yet everyone seems glad to have found out about what's been going on underneath Washington's skin.
21. Most dangerous jobs in America #1: Crack Dealer #2: Logging
re: crack dealers... 1 in 4 killed who serve four years on job
22. Fear of being shunned causes people to avoid honesty; takes courage to speak honestly
23. “A hard day’s work never really killed anyone, but why risk it?” ~Ronald Reagan
24. The great virtue of capitalism is that it decentralizes power and minimizes coercion. One nation’s gain does not necessitate another nation’s loss, and it doesn’t discriminate; it is open to anyone.
25. The Man by Irving Wallace made an impression on me as a teen in the Sixties, a novel about the first black U.S. president and the special challenges he would experience.
26.  "Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God." ~Corrie ten Boom
27. In Muslim culture hypocrisy is not as serious of a vice as here because it is better to uphold ideals we fail to live up to than to just give up and say “anything goes.”
28. Blog Entry idea: Great Gatsby and Lady Chatterley’s Lover both have as a theme the difference between good adultery and bad adultery.... A noble adultery and ignoble....
29. Blog Exploration: Do the strong stay strong forever or do they weaken over time (eg. Buddenbrooks)
30. Blog Exploration: What if our brain lost its "sort" function.
31. Life can only be understood backwards, but must be lived forwards." ~Kierkegaard

32. In the "good old days" New York City had 40,000 horses that generated 400 tons of manure a day, 20,000 gallons of urine and nearly 200 carcasses. (19th century stat.)
33. “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt
34. What are you doing today that will make a difference tomorrow?
35. Another verse from Political World:

We live in a political world 
Wisdom is thrown in jail 
It rots in a cell 
Is misguided as hell 
Leaving no one to pick up the trail

The times are most definitely a-changin'.

"The future depends on what you do today." ~Mahatma Gandhi

Thinking About The Future

You can tell a lot about a topic by Googling the words >>quotes about topic<< and seeing how much people have said about it. "The Future" is one of those subjects people think about quite a bit, and about which much has been said. Even though we're urged to live in the present, it's a pretty big challenge. It's not entirely healthy to neglect the future altogether.

While going through some notes I came across these two quotes about the future which connected with me. The Lapham quote jumped out at me because I'm currently reading Mark Twain's autobiography. Twain gave instructions that it not be published till one hundred years in the future after his death. He wanted to be blunt and totally frank in the recording of his life observations, and did not want his words to be injurious to anyone still living, or their children. He figured one hundred years was a fairly safe distance.

“Twain said that history doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” ~ Lewis Lapham

"Nothing ages so quickly as yesterday's vision of the future" ~ Richard Corliss

These quotes set me thinking there may be other thoughts about the future that would make good food for thought today. So I decided to see what I could mine from the 1607 quotations about the future gathered at Goodreads. Here's a smattering.

“Why didn't I learn to treat everything like it was the last time. My greatest regret was how much I believed in the future.” ~ Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

“The future depends on what you do today.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

“Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.” ~ Malcolm X

“The future is uncertain but the end is always near.” ~ Jim Morrison

"Drink like there's no tomorrow and pretty soon there's no tomorrow." ~ Author Unknown

“The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine.” ~ Nikola Tesla

“It's possible to go on, no matter how impossible it seems.” ~ Nicholas Sparks, Dear John

“The past is made out of facts... I guess the future is just hope.” ~ Isaac Marion, Warm Bodies

“The past was gone and the future had yet to unfold, and he knew he should focus his life on the present…yet his day-to-day existence suddenly struck him as endless and unbearable.” ~ Nicholas Sparks, The Choice

“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” ~ Søren Kierkegaard


Speaking of the future, as I write this there's an opening reception at the Duluth Art Institute this evening that you won't want to miss if you're here in the Twin Ports. Starts at 5:00 p.m., about ten hours from now.

Meantime, life goes on .... all around you. Embrace it.

By What Measure?

"So far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in praise of intelligence." ~ Bertrand Russell

It's an interesting comment. On one level it reveals a value system that is common among many intellectuals. Intelligence has high value.

But in the Gospels, there are other values of importance. Being good, for example. Or being compassionate. Or being wise. There are so many educated fools that the very expression has become a byword.

I remember listening to a mean spirited diatribe by Andy Rooney against Mel Gibson and his film Passion of the Christ a few years back on Imus in the Morning. Rooney essentially dissed Gibson and the film because "the smartest man of the last century, Bertrand Russell" was an atheist.

So there you have it. A smart man's ideas are more valid than a holy man's. What do we do, then? Give everyone I.Q. tests to decide who gets to declare what we should all believe? It's nonsense. Newton was a smart man, and a Christian.

Sir Isaac Newton has been near universally ranked as the greatest mathematician of all time. Of Newton, Einstein said, "Nature to him was an open book, whose letters he could read without effort."

So?

This only proves that smarts does not bring us all into agreement. One difference between Newton and Russell, however, might be that Newton was quite humble about his smarts. Before his death he remarked, "I do not know what I may appear to the world; but to myself I seem to have been only a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me." I doubt either claimed to have perfect knowledge. And maybe Russell would have been embarrassed to have Andy Rooney put him on a pedastal like that.

There was a time when I thought being smart was the thing to be. I looked down on people who couldn't spell. Then, in college I met a guy who was valedictorian in his high school and lo, he was an atrocious speller. He wanted to co-write a play with me because I was an excellent speller and he felt I could communicate his message more effectively than he.

This threw a monkey wrench into my notion of smarts. And later when I learned he raped (at the time it was "heavy coercion") a friend of my girl friend, more head spins were occurring for me. Personal character has to be part of the equation.

By what measure, then, should we be measured? I can't recall anyone saying Mother Teresa, St.Francis of Assisi or Gandhi's significance had something to do with I.Q. Where did this strange measure come from?

There are other faulty measures of value, too. But it's getting late, and before too much fog settles in I'm going to pass on that.

Christian Anarchy

It might be worthwhile to make a differentiation between Christian anarchy and Marxism, which looks to anarchy as the path to a new world order. Marxism endorses violence. Christianity cannot.

Jacques Ellul, in his book Anarchy and Christianity, notes that the achievements of both Gandhi and Martin Luther King were accomplished by virtuous means. By way of contrast, the Black Panther movement did not advance the cause of black liberation that it purportedly intended.

Political power corrupts. And against this corruption we must take a stand.

Ellul notes that once we rule out violence as an option, we must resort to persuasion, “the creation of small groups and networks, denouncing falsehood and oppression.”

Dr. Glenn Martin, in his book Prevailing Worldviews, points out how the institution of slavery was ended in England without violence through persuasion, and the tireless efforts of a few important voices. Even though it took more than forty years, spearheaded by the Society of Friends (Quakers) and politician/philanthropist William Wilberforce, the abolition of slavery was ultimately accomplished without bloodshed.

By way of contrast, the U.S. experienced a torrid Civil War as a result of the activist revolutionary approach to the problem of slavery. Yes, there were some who sought slavery’s termination by peaceful means, but the revolutionary approach ultimately superceded the tireless efforts of the persistent persuaders. According to Martin, actions like the Nat Turner rebellion, which left eighty persons dead, set back the cause of peaceful negotiation, and helped fortify the deeply entrenched status quo of slavery.

It reminds me of the story of the wind and the sun. Each made a bet to see who could force a desert traveler to remove his cloak. The wind went first, blowing fiercely, but the more savagely the wind assaulted, the more firmly the man clutched his linen. Then the sun took his turn, and we all know how that story ends.

Lest I babble indefinitely, let me cite two additional observations from Ellul’s challenging book.

1. “Our experience today is the strange one of empty political institutions in which no one has any confidence any more, of a system of government which functions only in the interests of a political class, and at the same time of the almost infinite growth of power, authority, and social control which makes any one of our democracies a more authoritarian mechanism than any Napoleonic state.” ~ p. 22

2. “Most people, living heedlessly, tanning themselves, engaging in terrorism, or becoming TV slaves, ridicule political chatter and politics. They see that there is nothing to hope for from them. They are also exasperated by bureaucratic structures and administrative bickering.” ~ p. 23

To be sure, it would be nice if everything were black and white, which it will never be. But let’s not be lulled into the stupor of non-thinking, quasi-acceptance of all that is, as if it cannot be any different.