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CATECHISMGEORGE FOX’ S CATECHISM FOR CHILDREN, 1660
George Fox’s A Catechism for Children, written in 1660, follows the traditional question and answer format. Fox discusses many things in the book but principally it is an explanation of what he believes about the Light.
The First Principal of pure religion and Fox’s primary and central belief is that Christ the Light said, "I am the way who doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world, and no man cometh to the Father but by me, every man having a light from Christ the way, it leads to the Father." Fox names Christ many names but His true and best name is Christ the Light who enlightens every man who comes into the world.
The Light is also the way to the Father of Light.
No man comes to God but by the Light.
Every man and woman has a light from Christ which leads to the Father.
The True Light, by whom the world was made, is eternal.
The true Light who was glorified with the Father before the world began.
The Light enlightens every man and woman in the world but the Light is not of the world, being immortal and eternal. The Light comes from and gives knowledge of God by whom the world was made.
Everyone should stand still in Him who discovers all things and makes them readily seen and understood.
All sinners must be brought to the Light, for the Light reconciles them to God and to one another.
The Light destroys the Devil, the author of darkness, the author of sects, who is out of the truth.
The Light is the healer. He shows concern for all hurting, weary, sick, sinful humans. He is the binder up of the broken, restorer and seeker of the lost; he brings back those who are driven away. He is the Mediator between God and man, reconciles us to God, justifies us to God, breaks our bonds of iniquity and blots out our sin.
The idea of all things becoming brand new, starting over, is an appealing one. For Fox there is a new covenant, priesthood, temple, living way. But above all, the Light of Christ makes everything new.
We may become children of the Light by believing in the Light.
LIVING FAITH, THE LIVING HOPE
Fox names God Living. There is a true and living faith, the Light Christ, Author of our faith who gives us Faith, . He brings everyone into oneness to one Faith. There is a true and Living Hope, Christ the Mystery – Fox also names Him the Hope Christ – who anchors our immortal soul, purifies as God is pure, makes us not ashamed. Hope saves us. In the Light Christ, who is a better hope, we live in unity and have the Hope of Glory.
WE ARE ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS
Fox makes us active participants in our relationship with the Light.
We are to pay attention to the Light.
We are to stand still in the Light, who discovers all things, and makes words, thoughts and actions clear and understandable.
We may stand against spiritual wickedness in the whole world.
We walk in the Light and have fellowship with the Son and the Father.
We are to wait in the Light to inherit the promise of Christ and abide in Him.
Fox makes it sound easy to become acquainted with the Light. All we have to do is turn our minds inward to God the Light and away from the distractions of the world. In this way we may be acquainted with the Life and Power of God which is without end. It is possible for believers to see Christ through the Light, see Him whose name is the Word of God.
The Light is manifest. (This means that He is apparent, obvious, readily seen and understood.) With the Light we may also see and understand ourselves. The Light also enables us to see the Kingdom of Heaven. (When the child asks, "What is the Kingdom of Heaven?" Fox replies, "Why, it is the Light, child.")
In the Light the Lord God is "seen and beholden."
The scriptures are from the Light, given forth from the Spirit of Truth. We see and understand them through the Light.
The Light also helps us see the devil, the Prince of the dark power and of the Air.
The Light also gives us knowledge of the Glory of God in the Face of Jesus Christ; the Light is the way to wisdom which is from above; this wisdom, which is pure, gentle and easy, does not persecute anyone.
The Light, the Teacher, is the way to the Father; The Light is the Author of our Faith who brings all subjects in oneness through one Faith. (One, oneness, unity are words that Fox uses often when referring to God, Christ and the Light.)
THE FIRST ADAM AND THE SECOND ADAM
All those in the first Adam died. He sinned and went out of life into death. Death reigned from Adam to Moses. The first Adam was in death because he sinned against God’s Law and Commandments. He was out of the Light, out of Truth, out of the way to the Father.
The Second Adam, Christ the Light, bore the sins and iniquities of all mankind, and is an offering for the sins of the whole world so that we may have Life through Him. The Second Adam brings back that which was driven away.
In the first Adam all died but in the Second Adam, Christ, all are made alive. He is the quickening spirit who destroys death and its power. He is the Glory which was with the Father before the world began.
TRUE RELIGION
Fox is convinced that no one but himself has held the true faith in its true form from the time of the Apostles. Fox understands God’s holy Prophets and believes the Apostles’ words. But no one else correctly understands the Old Testament which prophesies Christ’s coming; no one understands the New Testament which fulfills the promise of this prophesy. He also believes that social and religious problems are due to individuals’ worshiping God in many false ways. Men – women too – did this because we are sinners, out of the Gospel, the Power of God. We worship our own wills and so grieve and extinguish the Spirit of God in ourselves. We should worship God the Father and His Son Christ the Light who came to enlighten us; we should stand against spiritual wickedness which takes the form of various sects, opinions and judgments.
GOD CREATES US IN HIS IMAGE
God creates men and women in His own Image. Everyone may be like God, pure, holy, perfect and righteous. These are moral characteristics. What Fox seems to be saying is that we may be like God in that we may live good moral lives. We are in God's Image in that we know right from wrong, good from evil. We are capable of loving others, of living a peaceful life, of being pure and chaste.
Because God creates us in His Image and lives within us as the Light, we have great value. Our decisions need not be completely selfish and self-serving but may consider other people’s wants and needs. We may live a full life and use the gifts that God has given us.
TRUE CHURCH, TRUE CROSS, GOSPEL
The Church of God is the "pillar and ground of the Truth" with Christ Jesus as its Head, the Rock upon which it is built. It is neither a great house nor an invention of something in the mind of man.
The true Cross of Christ is the Power of God. It is not a creation of someone’s mind, not on top of a steeple-house, not made of wood or stone.
The Gospel is not Matthew, Mark and Luke but Christ, the everlasting power of God unto salvation. We may be acquainted with this Power.
PURITY
Mind that which is pure in one another, which joins you together. For nothing will join or make fit, nor unite, nor build but what is pure. Letter 13, 1652
The Light leads us to purity and holiness so that we may be our best selves, our real selves. Christ purifies us as He is pure. More than just everyday goodness, purity is all that is virtuous. It is innocence, untouched by evil and free from guilt. Chaste is a synonym for pure. It means purity in conduct and intention. Holiness is also a synonym for purity. If something is pure, it's not contaminated in any way. Fox admonishes us to heed the Light and escape all the pollution of the world.
When the word pure refers to God, it means absolute goodness and absolute integrity. God creates us in His Image so we may be made pure like Him. We may be good and act with integrity, be disciplined and capable of holy obedience.
Purity is absolutely essential to being a Friend. To know God, follow our conscience, live a good life, get into heaven, we must be on very close terms with purity. We are to live a spiritual life, not a natural one. For nature doesn’t purify as God is pure. We may dwell in that which is pure and wait for the Power of God to preserve us in that which is pure.
A MORAL LIFE
The Light admonishes us, condemns us; the Light will teach us to give up our sins; the Light saves us from sin. If we pay attention to the Light, we will be kept from "all distractions and distempers, and drunken thoughts and imaginations." One reason that men and women act in such terrible ways is that we go from that of God within them. (We also have God’s Power within us to help us.) No one steals, covets, makes idols with their own hands, commits adultery – in other words breaks the Ten Commandments – unless we first go from the God within them. But when we do this, we go from the Power and Light into darkness and blindness.
Instead of what we should do – which is to turn our minds inward to know God and let Him guide us – we turn our minds outward to the world and are strangers to the Life of God and His Covenant of promise, the Light. God shows everyone the Truth. But men and women may choose to turn from the God of all Truth within them. In this way we lose God’s Garden and become a wilderness. We make a deliberate choice to go over to the dark power instead of living a godly life.
We love our neighbor because Christ enlightens everyone with the same Light. We love our neighbor but we love God above all possessions and created things. The Light brings us to God. If we love the Light, we will love God who is the Light.
THE ANTI-CHRIST; THE DEVIL
The anti-christ does not confess the Light; he denies the Light; he hates the Light, does not see the Light. He is against Him who has enlightened every person who comes into the world. A seducer and a liar, he is a false prophet.
The Devil, Prince of the air and of darkness, does not abide in the Truth; he has lost his Dominion over all the creatures. Like the Anti-christ he is a denier of the Light but he is also a deceiver whose fruits – thorns and thistles – declare him.
Both the anti-christ and the devil go from the Light which enlightens them and so are against it in others; both abandon the Light so are full of darkness.
MANY SECTS
Sects are "all on heaps one against another both in Teaching and Church Religion." Men and women started to believe in many sects instead of the one true religion when they lost the Image of God and began to sin. The Word was in the beginning and sees over all these sects, religions, and teachings. The only true unity is in the Word Christ.
Some of the most terrible sins in the world, Fox is confident, are the "abundance of worships" and people having no unity with God. Even though everyone is given the Light, they do not worship in "Spirit and in Truth." John 4:23 The root cause of this is that some Christian Teachers and professors, those who profess Christ, did not believe that Christ enlightens everyone. They profess the Scriptures but do not believe in the Light who enlightens every one who comes into the world.
These Teachers and Professors made gods with their hands, fell down to them. They go from the God within them; they are strangers to the Life of God. For no one sins unless they begin by going from that of God within them. But God is "over all their wiles."
Fox condemns these professors, teachers, Christians who teach Christ but deny the Light and don’t understand scripture. They are full of unrighteousness, pride, wickedness, and ungodliness. Religion is just a pretense for them. Fox contrasts their behavior with the righteousness of God and His Son.
Christ brings everyone into oneness. (Thus there should not be any sects nor any divisions or strife in the world and certainly not within Meetings.) The Word was in the beginning but professors and teachers did not come from the beginning.
Some teachers – made by the will of man and set up by the powers of the earth – profess Christ’s words and the Scriptures but don’t have his Spirit and Mind. The crux of the matter is that Preachers, Teachers and Professors said that Christ did not enlighten every man that cometh into the world.
THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD
Many people are not in the Kingdom of God but live in the world. They are out of the image of the Creator. Their behavior is evil; they live in the power of darkness, not in the power of the Light. They set up strange gods, making them of wood and stone. They make gods of creatures and come to trust graven images; they follow their inventions and imaginations that did not come from the beginning. Out of the Dominion, out of the Truth, they live in uncertainty and bewilderment. Neither the God of Power, nor the Prince of peace is the author of this confusion. The author of this is the devil, the wick one who is the distraction and confusing imagination.
The people of the world set up strange gods – making gods of stone and wood which the Living God hath made – and live in the power of darkness and sin. They are out of the image of the Creator, out of the dominion, out of the Truth, in confusion.
These people of the world worship their own wills and quench the Spirit of God in themselves. They also worship the world and "stand not in the Spirit but in their wills." When men and women go from that of God in them, they become proud and self willed; they worship the world, do not stand in the Light but in their own wills.
All the problems of the world may be healed if we answer and witness to the God and the good within everyone. For Fox healing comes when everyone is brought to the Light, the power that answers the principle of God in all. All sinners must be brought to this power; all must see the good in themselves and in others. Then everyone must know and believe in the Light who enlightens us even if we have sinned.
God cares for us so that we may live in the world by giving us the Light to live within us and to enlighten us. He creates us in His Image. His Kingdom on earth is a peaceful and joyful one. He shows us how to answer the God in others, that which is good in them. In this way we may understand others and get along with them.
HOUSES OF CORRECTION
Houses of correction are jails where magistrates imprison Friends for not swearing allegiance to the king and for not paying to maintain Anglican priests. Fox believes that the real reason that they are imprisoned is for the way they worship God. Teachers, made by the will of man, and professors, who are out of the mind of Christ, "hold up such things."
WARS AND FIGHTING
Fox maintains that the origins of outward war are the lust, pride, ambition and disobedience of men and women, their treason to the Light Christ Jesus. In other words human sin. The devil is also a major cause of war and strife. He went out of the Truth and leads others out of the Truth.
Men and women behave like Cain. The great act of betrayal which leads to war and every other evil occurs when men and women go from the Spirit of God in themselves. Then the devil rules in all their hearts so they lose the Power of God within themselves. No man kills another about religion, worship, church, or ministry without first going from the Principle of God in himself. The devil went out of the Truth and leads others out of the Truth. He rules in their hearts. Christ the Light destroyed the devil but this conquest must begin again in the hearts of every Friend.
Christ the Light says that we are to love our enemies and overcome evil with good. He seeks the peace of all men. He does not want us to fight with carnal weapons, not fight with flesh and blood, for His weapons are spiritual. Friends have the Armor of God, their feet are shod with the preparation of the Gospel, and their head a helmet of Salvation.
Our spiritual weapons are kindness, love, truth, persuasion, propaganda and non-resistance. Carnal weapons are illegitimate; individuals who use these throw away the spiritual ones. The weapons of the Spirit are what we might expect: persuasion and non-resistance. Then two more that we might not expect: rebuking and confronting "spiritual wickedness in high places" and fearless preaching.
Christ the Light is the first step in the way of peace. Fox names Christ the Light the Prince of Peace and Life. We should live in peace and unity of the spirit with God. There are soldiers of the Prince of Joy and Peace – possibly of all the names that Fox gives Christ the Light this is the most beautiful and comforting – who came to save men’s lives. These Soldiers of the Light stand against spiritual wickedness, sects and opinions and overcome them and bring all creature into the liberty of the Sons of God.
There are soldiers of the Prince of darkness who destroys God’s workmanship. The Devil’s soldiers fight with God’s Creatures. They make houses of correction and imprison God’s Creatures there.
A COVENANT OF LIGHT AND PEACE
Fox believes that both he and his followers live in a covenant of peace and light. Christ, the Covenant of Light, is an everlasting covenant, a covenant of promise. The Old Testament, the old covenant, prophesies Christ’s coming; the New Testament, the new covenant, fulfills this promise. The Law and the first Covenant stand in types and shadows and make nothing perfect. The first Covenant must end. Everyone must become acquainted with the Covenant of ise and the Covenant of God through which men have peace. The Light Christ, the Prince of Peace, reigns as ruler of the universe, is the answer to all human ills.
HOW MAY WE BECOME CHILDREN OF THE LIGHT?
SOME QUESTIONS FOR GEORGE FOX
BASED ON HIS CATECHISM FOR CHILDREN, 1660
WHO IS THE LIGHT IN WHOM WE MUST BELIEVE?
The First Principal of pure religion is that Christ the Light said, "I am the way who doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world, and no man cometh to the Father but by me, every man having a light from Christ the way, it leads to the Father."
The Light comes from and gives knowledge of God.
The Light lives within everyone, helps us, shows us what is right and wrong.
The Light is the healer. He is concerned for all hurting, weary, sick, sinful humans.
He is the binder up of the broken, restorer and seeker of the lost; he brings back those who are driven away.
He is the Mediator between God and man, reconciles us to God.
WHAT IS THE LIVING FAITH, THE LIVING HOPE?
The Light Christ is the true and living faith.
The Light, the Hope Christ, purifies us as God is pure.
In this better hope, we live in unity.
WHO IS THE FATHER OF LIGHT?
The Father of Jesus Christ.
The Light comes from the Father.
The Light is the way to the Father.
The Father who sees over the many ways in the world.
The Father of Truth.
The Father of Spirits.
IS THE LIGHT NATURAL AND CREATED?
No. The True Light, by whom the world was made, is eternal; the true Light was glorified with the Father before the world began.
WHO ARE THE FIRST ADAM AND THE SECOND ADAM?
The First Adam was a man, concerned with earthly things. In the first Adam everyone sinned against God’s Law and Commandments, so they died..
The First Adam was
out of the Light.
out of Truth.
out of the way to the Father.
The Second Adam
is Christ the Light.
bore the sins and iniquities of all mankind.
is an offering for the sins of the whole world.
is the quickening spirit who destroys death and its power.
is the Glory who was with the Father before the World began.
In Him all are made alive.
WHAT IS THE WORD AND WHAT ARE WORDS?
THE WORD
Christ the Light’s name is "the Word of God."
Christ, not the Bible, is the Word of God.
The Light inspired the Scriptures and now helps us to understand them.
We must grow up in and know the Word.
[Note: In the pastoral letters Fox writes that if there were no scripture, Christ is sufficient.]
WORDS
Both the written word and the spoken word are spiritual weapons.
CAN THE LIGHT MAKE EVERY THING NEW?
Yes. The Light of Christ makes everything new – covenant, priesthood, temple, living way.
DO WE OWN THE LIGHT?
We must own the Light. (Own means to confess, acknowledge, be aware of the Light.) This doesn’t mean that we possess the Light. We are obedient to Him, not He to us.
ARE WE ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS IN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LIGHT?
Yes. We are active participants in our relationship with the Light.
The Light brings us to God.
We are to pay attention, to the Light.
In the Light we may stand against spiritual wickedness in the whole world.
We walk in the Light and have fellowship with the Father and the Son.
We are to wait in the Light to inherit the promise of Christ and abide in Him.
MAY WE BE ACQUAINTED WITH GOD THE LIGHT?
Yes. We turn our minds inward to God the Light and away from the distractions of the world to become acquainted with the Life and Power of God.
IS IT POSSIBLE TO SEE THE LIGHT?
Believers are able to see Christ through the Light.
The Light also enables us to see the Kingdom of Heaven.
In the Light, the Lord God is seen."
The Light also helps us see the devil.
[Note: One of the characteristics of the devil is that he cannot see the Light.]
DOES THE LIGHT GIVE US KNOWLEDGE?
The Light gives us knowledge of the Glory of God.
The Light is the way to wisdom.
OF WHOM MUST WE LEARN?
The Light is our Teacher.
The Light is the Author of our Faith.
WHAT IS LIGHT; WHAT IS DARKNESS?
Light is good; darkness is evil. Christ the Light is good; the devil is darkness and evil. The day is light and good; the night is dark and evil.
Friends are Children of the Light, Children of the Day who must turn from darkness.
HOW MAY WE BECOME CHILDREN OF THE LIGHT?
By believing in the Light.
WHAT ARE SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LIGHT?
The Light
is beautiful.
was present before the world began.
binds up the broken.
blots out sin.
breaks the bonds of iniquity.
brings back that which was driven away.
comes from the Father of Light.
comprehends all ways.
condemns sin.
created all things.
discovers all things and makes them readily seen and understood.
enlightens everyone.
is eternal, immortal.
is the first step to peace.
is from Christ Jesus.
gives us Faith.
justifies us to God.
is the Kingdom of heaven.
lets us see our sin and saves us from this sin.
lets us see Christ, the way to the Father of Light, from whence light comes.
is Life.
lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
is the Mediator between God and man.
is not of the world.
is not natural and created.
is the only way to the Father.
is peace.
reconciles us to God.
reigns.
saves us from sin.
seeks and restores the lost.
is spiritual.
is the True Light by whom the world was made.
is the True Light who was glorified with the Father.
is wisdom which comes from above.
WHAT IS THE SOURCE OF GEORGE FOX’S AUTHORITY?
[Note: Fox believes that God specially chose him.]
Fox told Friends on whose authority he acts: I do warn you in the presence of the living God not to speak the things of God at random, or in a presumptuous mind.
Fox’s authority comes from the "presence of the Living God" so he may charge and command Friends.
He has the authority to judge and to understand the powers of darkness from the Power of God.
"This is from the Word of God."
Fox believes that he dwells in the living God and has inspired knowledge of what God wants him to do.
"This is the counsel of the Lord to you."
From God’s mouth to Fox’s ear to Friends. Fox is quite certain of his authority.
WHAT IS GEORGE FOX’S WORLD VIEW?
[Note: Fox has a consistent and orderly world view keeping the inner and outward life in harmony. He tries to bring order to both the inner spiritual life of Friends and their life in the world. The purity of a Friend’s inward life shows them how to live each day. This purity makes such good persons on the inside that it spills over in love and generosity to others. This kind of person may not be involved in violence or war.
Spiritual values permeate all Fox’s; every aspect of life has a spiritual component. He states that truth is the only way to communicate with others. By having only one standard, he simplifies the complex. He doesn’t think that we may stand on the sidelines and leave getting to know and love God to some intermediary. We are active in our own redemption – walking, dwelling and living in Him who scatters the clouds and keeps our eyes clear.]
WHAT DOES FOX BELIEVE AS A UNIVERSALIST?
Everyone, people everywhere, a company of people, citizens, every man and woman may know and worship God.
God loves everyone.
Christ the Light enlightens and saves every person in the world; He is also our intimate Friend.
Christ died for everyone.
WHAT IS THE TRUE RELIGION?
Fox’s central belief is based on Romans 10:20 is that Christ Jesus saith, I am the way who doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world, and no man cometh to the Father but by me, ever man having a light from Christ the way, it leads to the Father. Fox believes that no one but himself holds the true faith in its true form and has not done so since the time of the Apostles.
He understands God’s holy Prophets and believes the Apostles’ words.
He understands the Old Testament which prophesied Christ’s coming.
He understands the New Testament which fulfills the promise of this prophesy.
WHAT IS THE BASIC TRUTH OF CHRISTIANITY?
The basic truth of Christianity is that Christ enlightens everyone.
WHO ARE "TEACHERS, PROFESSORS AND CHRISTIANS"?
Some teachers are made by the will of man.
Some professors do not behave as Christ wants them too.
Teachers and Professors
make gods with their hands.
destroy one another about their gods.
go from the God within themselves.
Professors, teachers and Christians
are filled with pride.
teach Christ but deny the Light.
The true, real Teacher is Christ Jesus.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO "PLEAD FOR SIN?"
Some Christians, Professors and Teachers plead, that is, argue,
no one will have a clear conscience while upon this earth.
no one will be free from sin
no one will be perfect while upon the earth.
WHY ARE THERE SO MANY SECTS?
Men and women start to believe in many sects when they lose the Image of God and begin to sin.
Individuals, who put forward various sects, are not true ministers and have no unity with God. .
The devil authorizes many sects.
WHAT AILS THE WORLD?
People
are not in the Kingdom of God.
are out of the image of the Creator.
behave in an evil way.
live in the power of darkness, not in the power of the Light.
set up strange gods, come to trust graven images.
follow inventions and imaginations which are just the creation of man.
Neither God nor Christ are the author of this confusion, but the devil.
WHO ARE THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD?
The people of the world are those who
set up strange gods.
live in the power of darkness and sin.
are out of the image of the Creator.
The Devil went out of the Truth and leads the people of the world out of it. He rules in the hearts of some men and women.
WHO ARE WILL– WORSHIPERS?
Will-worshipers are those who worship their own wills and quench the Spirit of God in themselves. They also worship the world and "stand not in the Spirit but in their wills."
[Note: Self may mean an individual’s essential being that distinguishes him or her from others. However, Fox uses the word in the sense of being self-centered, preoccupied with oneself and one’s affairs. Self-absorbed persons don’t follow Christ, don’t own the Light.]
HOW CAN ALL THE PROBLEMS OF THE WORLD BE HEALED?
Everyone must answer and witness to the God and the good within everyone. In this way we may understand others and get along with them.
Everyone must see the good in themselves and in others.
Everyone must know and believe in the Light.
Everyone is created in God’s Image so may live peaceful and constructive lives.
God’s Kingdom on earth is a peaceful and joyful one. He shows us how to answer the God in others, that which is good in them.
WHY?
Why are there so many sects?
Why do men (women too) kill one another over the way they worship?
Why do men (women too) err in knowledge and wisdom?
Why do people act in such a terrible way?
Fox gives the same answers to all these questions.
People do not believe in Christ the Light who enlightenes them.
They do not obey Christ’s command to love their enemies.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE CREATED IN GOD’S IMAGE?
[Note: The biblical underpinning for this belief is Genesis 1: 27: So God created man in His own Image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. This means that we may be like God, pure, holy, perfect and righteous. These are moral characteristics. What Fox seems to be saying is that we may be like God in that we may live good moral lives.
An image is a copy, not the real thing. For we certainly are not God; God is radically different from us. However, we are in God's Image in that we know right from wrong, good from evil. God is Love. One way in which we are in the Image of God is that we may love Him in return.
Part of being in the Image of God is that we share in the day-to-day process of creation, have children, do a job well, write a story, have a garden. We have a responsibility for the environment, are kings and queens over creation and all creatures.
We may lose or fall from the Image of God, if we turn away from His pure spirit. But if we dwell in the Light and wait upon God, He will renew His Image. Then we may be made like God, created anew in His Image, pure, holy, perfect and righteous. Sinners may be healed if we dwell in the Light and wait upon God for He may renew His Image. Christ Jesus restores faithful men and women into the Image of God and makes them as kings and priests to reign upon the earth. Everyone may be renewed into the Image of God by the Seed Christ. For He redeems man and woman up into the image of God as we were before we fell.
To have a complete life "Friends should know the Power and Life of Christ’s resurrection, have fellowship with Him in His death so that we will be comfortable to His Image."]
WHAT IS THE TRUE CHURCH?
It is the "pillar and ground" that is, the solid support and foundation "of the Truth" with Christ Jesus as its Head, the Rock upon which it is built. Everyone who is turned to the Light is turned to the Church which is in God the Father. Mat 16.18, 2 Thes. 1.1 Heb. 2
The Church is in God. It is not
a great house.
an invention or a creation of something in the mind of man.
a company of people who are full of pride.
The world’s soldiers claim that they are the church and its ministers. But they do not worship God, are not the soldiers of Christ the Prince of Peace.
WHAT IS THE TRUE CROSS?
The true Cross of Christ is the Power of God.
The true Cross is not
a creation of someone’s mind.
an imagined thing.
made of wood or stone or any other thing that is visible.
on top of a building.
on a flag.
WHAT IS THE GOSPEL?
The Gospel is Christ, the everlasting power of God.
The Gospel is not Matthew, Mark and Luke.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE PURE?
[Note: Purity is
more than just everyday goodness.
all that is virtuous.
innocence, untouched by evil.
Chaste is a synonym for pure. It means purity in conduct and intention. Holiness is also a synonym for purity. If something is pure, it's not contaminated in any way.
The basic underlying precept of all of George Fox’s beliefs and the one that makes them work is purity. Purity is absolutely essential to being a Friend:
to know God.
to follow our conscience.
to live a good life.
to get into heaven.
to have faith.
to look for that which is pure in others and watch over them in love.
God is Pure, Holy, Perfect, Righteous.
The Light leads us to purity and holiness
Christ purifies us as He is pure.
Pure and undefiled religion is free from any contamination.
We should
dwell in purity.
grow up in that which is pure,
mind that which is pure which will guide us to God.
wait in, stand still, in the pure life of God.
live in purity.
obey, pay attention to, and be guided by that which is pure in us.
As we are created in the Image of God, we may be made pure like Him. Purity will guide us into immortal life.]
HOW MAY WE STAY OUT OF TROUBLE?
Believe in the Light and have our deeds made in God.
HOW MAY WE LIVE A MORAL LIFE?
We may live a moral life because the Light
admonishes us.
condemns us.
teaches us to give up our sins.
saves us from sin.
WHAT IS IT TO LOVE MY NEIGHBOR AS MYSELF?
We love our neighbor because he or she is enlightened with the same Light as we are.
ARE WE EVER JUSTIFIED IN LYING?
No. We may not lie to bring ourselves gain, or for any other reason, because this is what the devil does.
[Note: Christ said "Swear not at all." So if Friends would not swear, they had to always tell the truth or they would never be believed. They refused to take an oath because this created a double standard and they must always tell the truth.]
MAY WE GO INTO TAVERNS TO DRINK?
No. Unless the individual is going among these drinker to reprove them. Fox is very hard on drunks for they are out of the Light.
WHO IS THE ANTI-CHRIST?
An anti-Christ
is a false prophet, the beast and the well favored harlot.
does not confess the Light
is a deceiver who hates the Light.
goes from the Light so is against Him in others.
acts contrary to the Light, is turned from Him.
opposes the Light, calls Him a natural conscience, a natural light.
hates the Light.
The Light understands the anti-christ and condemns him.
WHO IS THE DEVIL?
The devil is the prince of the air and of darkness who
denies the Light.
does not abide in the Truth.
seduces and deceives.
lost his Dominion over all the creatures.
went out of the Truth and led others out of the Truth. John 8.44.
is full of darkness
[Note: An anti-christ is an evil person; the devil is an evil fallen angel or a supernatural being. But Fox is not consistent in his usage of the terms and the context will have to provide the proper identification.]
WHAT IS SIN?
It is a sin to enter into temptation.
It is not a sin to be tempted.
WHENCE COMES ALL WARS AND FIGHTINGS?
The origins of outward war are human sin:
lust
pride
ambition
disobedience.
The great act of betrayal which led to war occurs when men and women go from the Light within.
The devil is also a major cause of war.
WHAT IS THE WAY OF PEACE?
Christ the Light is the first step of peace, the way of Peace. Fox names Christ the Light the Prince of Peace and Life.
ARE WE TO LOVE OUR ENEMIES?
Yes. Christ the Light says that we are to love our enemies and overcome evil with good. His weapons are spiritual:
armor of God
feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel
a helmet of Salvation.
Other spiritual weapons are
kindness
love
truth
persuasion
propaganda
non-resistance
Then two which are spiritual but confrontational: rebuking powerful individuals and fearless preaching.
ARE WE SOLDIERS OF THE LIGHT?
Yes. We are soldiers of the Prince of Joy and Peace, soldiers of the Light who stand against spiritual wickedness, sects, and opinions.
There are also soldiers of the prince of darkness who destroys God’s workmanship. The Devil’s soldiers fight with God’s Creatures. They make houses of correction where God’s Creatures are imprisoned.
WHAT ARE HOUSES OF CORRECTION?
Houses of correction are prisons where early Friends are confined
for not swearing allegiance to the king.
for not paying to maintain Anglican priests.
for holding Quaker Meetings.
Fox believes that the secular authorities, magistrates, imprison Friends for the way they worship God.
DO WE LIVE IN A COVENANT OF LIGHT AND PEACE?
Yes. Christ, the Covenant of Light, is
an everlasting covenant.
a covenant of promise.
the new covenant.
Everyone must become acquainted with the Covenant of promise and the Covenant of God through which men have peace. The Light Christ, the Prince of Peace, reigns as ruler of the universe, is the answer to all human ills.
HRIST
FOX’S CHRISTOLOGY OR WHAT HE BELIEVES ABOUT CHRIST
Fox owns and believes in Jesus the beloved and begotten Son of God, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary, and who is the express image of the invisible God by whom all things were created.
He ascended up into heaven and now sitteth on the right hand of God.
He is our wisdom and righteousness, our prophet.
He is the Quickening Spirit, the second Adam, the Lord from heaven.
He brings the oaths of God, the new covenant of light, life, grace and peace.
He alone is our Redeemer and Savior.
Fox, an orthodox Christian, believes that Christ is God’s Son, the way to God, the Second Adam, who never fell, and is eternal life. He is the Light who has enlightened every man and woman who has come into the world. He is the Life, the Word, who brings the glad tidings of salvation; the Life that was with the Father before the world began. He is all virtue.
Christ bore the sins and iniquities of all mankind, and was an offering for the sins of the whole world so that we may have Life through Him. He did not die as he was God, but as he was man. Fox’s phrase, "as he was man," is entirely orthodox. The human nature of Christ, not the divine nature, was crucified and rose. For Christ, the man, said as he hung on the cross,"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" There is no suggestion that Christ is God at some times, but not at others.
In one paragraph in letter 399 written on the 4th of the 4th month in 1685 Fox writes a summary of Christianity, the one, pure, undefiled Religion.
From one God, the Creator of all, Father of all
Christ is the Man. Christ is the Mediator between God and man.
One body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, bond or free.
One Spirit even as we are called to one hope.
One Faith, which Christ Jesus is the author and finisher of.
One baptism by which we are baptized into one body and by one Spirit.
Fox has a passionate love of Christ and one of the ways that he shows this is by the many beautiful and inspiring names that he calls Him. Here are some of these names from His
Catechism for Children, 1660.
Fox witnesses to Christ’s
ascension into heaven
believer’s rest.
binder of Satan
birth
bright morning star.
conception
death
forgives us
glorified
His giving His flesh and blood as the Lamb slain.
His life of suffering
judge of all
Lamb as victorious conqueror
mediator
mortification
opener
our election
Peace
quickening spirit
resurrection
root and offspring of David
salvation
sits at the right hand of God
speaks from heaven
Sun and moon
well of the water of Life
Author of thy faith
Covenant of Light
Everlasting Covenant
Head of the Church
Hope of Glory Col. I.27. I Pet.
Jesus
Life
Light
Power
Prince of Joy
Prince of Life
Prince of Peace
Prince of Power
Quickener
Savior
Second Adam
Teacher, who is the way to the Father
The Way Rom. 10. 20
Wisdom of God
Word of Life
Word of God.
******************************************************************************
CHRIST’S NAMES from the Pastoral Letters
And therefore my desires are that you may all be settled in Christ Jesus, who was dead and is alive again and lives forevermore, a Prophet, Counsellor, Priest, Bishop, Shepherd, a Circumciser and Baptizer, a living Rock and Foundation forevermore, the Beginning and Ending, the First and Last, the Amen. 352
So, let all bow at the name of Jesus, to His Power, Light, and Spirit for there is no Salvation in any other Name under heaven, but in the Name of Jesus, whose Name is above every name, who is the first born of every creature and the first begotten from the dead, whom God now speaks to His people by His Son. All are to hear Him, the great Prophet, the great Prophet, and every tongue is to confess to Christ Jesus, to the Glory of God the Father. 355
AN ABC OF SOME OF THE NAMES OF CHRIST JESUS
Amen Anchor Author Baptizer Bishop Bridegroom Comforter Counselor Covenant Cross, Crown Day Star Emmanuel Foundation First and Last Governor Green Tree Guide Head Holy Heavenly Instructor Heavenly and Spiritual man Holy Pattern Head Hope of Glory Husband Inward Judge Justice Judgement Joy King Lamb Leader Life Light Living Stone Lord Mediator Mountain New Covenant One Head Orderer Overseer Peace Prophet Priest Quickening Spirit Ransom Redeemer Refreshment Reconciler Reason Reconcilor Resurrection Rest Revelation Righteous Rock of Ages Root Rose Ruler Sanctuary Savior Second Adam Seed Shepherd Sun of Righteousness Shield and Buckler Sign and wonder Son of God Stone Sufferer Teacher Topstone Tree Truth Unchangeable Unity Universal Vine Victory Wings Way Wisdom Word Example Yoke Zeal
Christ T,15, 19,71, 65, 42 , 52, 56, 6, 16, 355
Amen 194
Anchor 188
Author and finisher 270,(Heb. 12:2)
BISHOP
Bishop of the soul 300
Bishop to oversee you 333
be not ashamed of your Bishop 393
Baptizer 222, 366
Beginning 222, section 8
BELOVED
beloved and begotten Son of God GOB
beloved Friend 355
Bridegroom 16, 35
BRIGHT MORNING STAR
bright morning Star in their hearts to expel darkness 280
COMFORTER 414
comforter, Cross and Crown 414
Chief Shepherd of your souls 355, 393
Comforter Cross and Crown 414
Counselor to council 274, 311, 333, 399
CHRIST THE KING
Christ the King, the sovereign ruler of the universe, has authority, jurisdiction and power over all men. Everyone owes Him allegiance. Christ begins his rule in the hearts of his saints, and through them he will reign over all the world. Christ, as King, will judge all nations, send the wicked to eternal torment, bring immediate joy, and deliver the righteous to his kingdom. Christ the King, the Lamb will be victorious. 9
shall reign. (Friends also will reign.) 16
Day Star arises in your hearts. 270, (2Peter 1:19)
Emmanuel 402
end of the Prophets 71
The everlasting command of the Everlasting Commander, Christ, is to "Love your enemies." (Matt,5:34) Fox demands this of himself and expects it of Friends. 74
first and last 194, 222, section 8
first love 35
Governor, who governs his Church in Righteousness 308
Grace 355
Green Tree 344
Head 46, 51, 90, 222, section 8, 399
Heavenly Counselor 313
Heavenly Light Christ 20
Heavenly man 230 265
heavenly Overseer 300
heavenly Priest breaks the peace of all the earthly priests 300
heavenly Shepherd 300
Heavenly and spiritual man 260, 345
Heavenly Teacher 300
high Priest 355
holy one 35
Holy Pattern 188
Hope of Glory 188
Husband 257,337
high Priest 355
Joy 9
Jesus 13, 55, 61, 206, 266
Jesus Christ 355
joy everlasting 206
Light +
Judge 9
JUST
You are betrayers of the Just. 25
the Just one 35, 37
King 9
Leader 306
Life 65
Life and Power 76
Lord 2
one Leader 306
one Leader 306
Peace 71
Power of Christ T , 41
Christ has all power. Power is Christ’s name: the Name of Christ who is Power and Light in all of us. Christ has all Power in heaven and earth given to Him, that we may feel his living and divine Presence among us. 355
Prince of Peace 300
Prophet and Preacher who keeps in His Gospel Order 308
Salvation 65
SAVIOR OF OUR SOULS 33
Christ the Savior of our souls, comes from the Light and is in our midst. 33
Second Adam T, 71, 232 +
Seed +
Son of God 206
Son, Jesus Christ, who is eternal Life T
Son to be revealed 232
Substance 71
Teacher 305, 393
Teacher within 12
Unchangeable 76
Way T
Word 65
Zest
CHRIST JESUS
Christ Jesus15
substance of all 15
Light of God 15
Blood cleanses from all sin; Blood of the New Covenant. 15
Lamb of God 15
Seed 15
CHRIST’S NAMES
Christ T,15, 19,71, 65, 42 , 52, 56, 6, 16, 355
Son, Jesus Christ, who is eternal Life T
Son to be revealed 232
SOME REFERENCES TO CHRIST FROM THE PASTORAL LETTERS
ABIDE
abide in the Vine to become heirs of the Power of the world where there is no end 84
abide in Him (Christ) and learn of Him 226
abide in the Root 306
abide in the Light of Christ 380
ABILITIES
Christ also has given to everyone ability according to his measure. 51
ADULTS
affirm their faith only in Christ’s words 6
AFFIRM
Friends should affirm their faith only in Christ’s words. 6
ALIVE
Christ Jesus who was dead but is alive again 222
AMEN
Christ the Amen 194
ANSWER
Christ answer to all human ills 9, 414, 230, 420
All we have to do is stand and wait; Christ is the answer, he does the rest. For the voice of the Bridegroom is heard; Christ comes amongst the prisoners. He pays the debt so that all may come out freely. 16
ANTI-CHRIST
denies the Light I John 3.22.
anti-christ says that Christ is not within everyone. 19,
anti-christ says that Christ is not the teacher within. 19
acts contrary to the Light, is turned from It. 42
opposes the Light, calls it a natural conscience, a natural light. 42
hates the Light. 42
ARISE
arise at the hearing of the heavenly Voice of the Bridegroom 300
ASCENDED
ascended up into heaven GOB
ASHAMED
ashamed of Jesus Christ 355
ashamed of Christ, your Teacher 393
ashamed of your Bishop 393
ATHENIANS SPIRIT
Athenian’s spirit is spending your time in hearing and telling of news, which the world is full of, but in Christ we have Peace. 401
Count on the Excellency of the Knowledge of Jesus Christ and keep out of the Athenian spirit 401
ATTITUDE TOWARD WAR (FOX’S)
Wars originate among Christians when they act as traitors to Jesus Christ. 9
Christ suffered so Friends should not be surprised that they have to suffer. 9
Christ, the Lamb will be victorious 9
live with Christ in His Kingdom forever. 9
AUTHORITY
authority of the Son. 69 (1Thess. 5:19)
authority of the Meeting is the Power of Christ 320 section 4
AWAKE
awake to the righteousness of Christ 63
BIBLE
The Bible, the Word of God, Christ, the Word, human speech all have power. 41
BARE
stand naked bare and uncovered before the Lord 11
BLOOD 264 Section 8
Blood (Christ’s) cleanses from all sin 15
BORN
born of the Virgin Mary GOB
BOW
bow to Cross of Christ, the Power of God 222 section 2
bow at the name of Jesus 355
BREAK(S)
break the commands of Christ 6
break not wedlock with the Lord Jesus Christ 37
BRETHREN
Dear Friends and brethren in Christ Jesus 417
BRIDE’S CLOTHING
bride’s clothing by which she adorns herself for her husband, Christ Jesus 154
BRIDEGROOM
Fox uses marriage in a symbolic way and writes that Friends should be married and joined to Christ the Royal Seed, the Lamb. Christ has Truth and Power, so we should keep marriage with Him our first love, the holy one, the Just One, the Light, the Truth and Power of God, who makes an end to all unholiness.
We are to keep our Faith in the Power of God, which brings us to the Marriage of the Lamb, by which Power we may have oil in our lamps, that our lamps may burn always.
Friends should get oil in our lamps so that we may arise at the hearing of the heavenly Voice of the Bridegroom and enter with Him. (Oil in our lamps refers to the parable in Matthew of the ten virgins, some of whom were prepared with a reserve supply of oil and could celebrate the bridegroom’s late arrival.)
For the voice of the Bridegroom is heard in our Land. Christ is come amongst the prisoners to visit in the prison houses. They have all hope of release, free pardon and to come out freely, for the debt is paid. And he that comes out of prison shall reign . Letter 16, 1652
This short passage, one of the most beautiful in all the letters, shows clearly that all we have to do is stand and wait. Christ is the answer; he does the rest. It has two messages. First, in encapsulated form, it contains all of Christianity; the second is a clear message of hope to Friends who are held in prison.
Remembering Revelation 20, Fox writes "the Seed of the Lamb and his marriage is known." In the Biblical account the Lamb’s people celebrate; the condemned are not there. Fox has pulled the event forward into his own time. Theologians would call this "realized eschatology" Eschaton is Greek for ultimum which is Latin for very last. This is a very fancy way of saying that he makes events present here and now.
BRIDEGROOM
Christ the Bridegroom 37, 206, 265
MARRIAGE
Our true marriage to Christ, the Heavenly Man, our first love, the holy one,the Just one, the Truth and Power of God who makes an end to all unholiness. 37
Our true marriage to Christ 206
Marriage of the Lamb 265
SUFFERINGS
Friends, who are married to the Lamb, need not fear prisons, fetters, dungeons, sufferings because He will break their bonds asunder. 206
VOICE
Voice of the Bridegroom 16
Voice of the Lamb 300
BRING(S)
brings us to Christ’s yoke. 65
brings us to Christ. 380
BURIED
buried, rose again the third day by the power of His Father. GOB
CANDLE OF THE LORD
candle of the Lord is lighted to search every corner of your house 244
CHANGE
Christ, the Son of God that does not change411
CHILDREN
Children of the Light are lambs T
Children of God will be redeemed out of this world, if they love Christ. 2
Christ is their Lord, follow His cross. 2
Children of God love Christ who is their Lord, follow His cross. 2
Walk as Children of the Day and of the Light. 20
Children of the Light believe in the Heavenly Light Christ. 20
walk in the Light to receive Christ. 25
in unity with the Light 25
children of Light are joined together with the Light, are joined together in God in marriage 26.
seek to turn many to the Light 49
Children of the Light and the Day 138
Children of Light, Children of the Day, Children of God 170
Children of the day. 206
Children of the Light and the Day live moral lives. 227
Children of the Light must turn from darkness. 355
Children of the Seed are of the Kingdom of God. 402
CHILDREN OF THE SEED
God translates them(Children of the Seed) from darkness to Light into the Kingdom of His dear Son 316
Children of the Seed, Friends, who are of the Kingdom of God. 402
CHRIST T,15, 19,71, 65, 42 , 52, 56, 6, 16, 355
all Power in heaven and earth T,189, 355
an offering for the sins of the whole world GOB
the Light 6
answer 16, 414
answer to all human ills. 420
answer, the purifier. 230
ascended up into heaven
at the end of the world. 33
be comfortable in His death 19
beginning 222, section 8
begins his rule in the hearts of his saints 9
bore the sins and iniquities of all mankind GOB
bring immediate joy and deliver the righteous to his kingdom 9
bring them to Christ’s yoke 65
brings Salvation 305
bruises the head of the devil 314
casts out the strong man 232
comes to be manifest in people’s hearts 232
comes from the Light. 33
comes amongst the prisoners to visit in the prison houses16
Cross 51
crucified as he was man GOB
crucified the flesh 44
deliver the righteous to his kingdom 9
destroys the devil 143
died GOB
dwell in the Son of God shall inherit all things 206
end of the Prophets 71
enemies His footstool 206
enlightens everyone who comes into the world T, 42
entered not into the temptation 44
example 64
feeds his sheep and none is able to pluck them out of His hand 355
feel his living Presence 355
fellowship with Him in His sufferings 19
first and last 194, 222 section 8
first love 35
free from evil 16
gave us the Light 29
given to everyone ability 51
glorious gospel 65
God has given to you 306
grow up in the power of His Resurrection. 19
holy one 35
immediate joy 9
in all males and females 56, 320 section 12
in our midst 33
inward (spiritual ministry) 233
joy everlasting 206
judge all nations 9
know T
Life through Him GOB
Life and Power, is unchangeable; earthly things are changeable 76
Light of the world 42
Light justifies you. 62
keep in the Lord’s Light 355
keep your meetings gathered into the fold of Christ Jesus 206
Kingdom is everlasting 201
Kingdom of Christ 245
Light justifies you 62
make you free 16
manifest in people’s hearts 232
mortifies all evil desires 44
never fell 71
not of this world. 33
our first love 35
paid the debt so that the prisoners have a free pardon. 16
power of His Resurrection. 19
Prince of Peace 300
purifier. 230
redeems. 47
restores man and women up into the Image of God. 320, section 12
righteousness 63
rules in the hearts of his saints 9
rules in the hearts of Adam and Eve’s sons and daughters 232
Savior of our souls. 33
send the wicked to eternal torment 9
shall reign 16
Substance 71
suffered, so Friends suffer. 30
sufficient if there were no Scripture 320, section 12
tempted but he entered not into the temptation 44
tread on Deceit 19
unchangeable 76
way to God T
yoke 65
CHURCH
sovereign over the church by virtue of His resurrection. Colossians 1:18.
True Christ is the True Church. 19
true Church of Christ does not change 411
CLOTHED
clothed with Christ’s Zeal 54, 55
COME(S)
comes amongst the prisoners to visit in the prison houses. 16
comes from the Word. 25
comes from Christ 25, 42
comes from the Light. 33
come to rule alone in his saints 38
come to you 63
comes from Jesus. 85
COMFORTABLE
Be comfortable in Christ’s death. 19
COMMANDS
No one is justified breaking the commands of Christ. 6
CONCEIVED
conceived by the Holy Ghost GOB
CONDEMN(S)
Christ condemns those Friends who are opposed to the Spirit. 6
condemn all that is contrary to the Light 33
condemns presumptuous and proud boasters 34
Light condemns 52
condemns all who hate Him 54
CONDEMNATION
Light is the condemnation of all them that walk contrary to it. 6
Light will be thy condemnation. 44
CONFESS
If Friends confess Christ in the world, He will confess them before His Father and His angels. For He gave them Power to become "sons of God ... born by the will of God." 45
confess Christ in his Death, Sufferings and Resurrection 303
CONSCIENCE
mind the Light of God in your conscience 4
CONTRARY
Light is the condemnation of all them that walk contrary to it. 6
contrary to the Light 28
CONQUERORS
For through Him (Christ) the captives have been made more than conquerors. 414
COUNSELOR
Counselor to council. 274, 311, 333, 399
CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF GOD.
32, 320, section 12, 344, 360, 390, 397, section 1, section 2, Second Corinthians 3:18, 408, Gen. 1:28, 410
CROSS(ES) 2, 51,100, 222, section 2, 231, 414
Friends will find a cross to that will which meddles with the things of God. 2
Light will show Friends their daily Cross. 19
to crucify the carnal mind. 19
endured our Cross. 45
Cross of Christ, the Power of God 51
Cross of Christ overturns the world in the heart. 51
We must take up the Cross and follow Christ into the world without end. 51
Dwell in the Cross by which the Love of God is spread abroad. 51
Cross of Christ is the Power of God. 51, 130
The Cross of Christ. 100
Feel Christ and His Cross which is the Image of God. 100
CROWN 63, 231
crown laid down at the feet of Jesus 63
Crown that was immortal 63, 231
all come to see and receive 63
joy and my crown in the Lord 64
CRUCIFY
crucified for us in the flesh GOB
don’t crucify the Son of God afresh. 49
DAY (Children of)
Walk as Children of the Day and of the Light. 20
light is the day, good and shining; darkness is night and evil. Fox also names Friends: Children of Light, Children of the Day, Children of God, sons of God 170
DAY OF THE LAMB
day of th Lamb’s Power 169, 192
DEAR(LY)
Dear hearts and Babes of Christ. 11
Dearly Beloved Friends, 71
Dear Son of God 80
Dear Friends, my love to you all in the Seed of Life and Peace which flow as a river. 354
DECEIT 28
keep to Christ within and Tread on Deceit 19
DESTROY
Christ destroys the devil 143
DEVIL
Christ bruises the Serpent’s head and destroys the devil and His works. 409
DISCIPLE
disciples of Christ, if you love one another and are passed for death into life John 5:24 quoted in 226
disciple of Christ Jesus 360
DWELL
dwell in the Power of both God and Christ 7
Dwell in the Light 32, 41,42, 46
Dwell in the Light in Love. 48, 54
dwell in this immortal Seed of God 61
Dwell in the Son of God shall inherit all things. 206
ELECT
Friends to you all, my brethren, the elect, who dwell in the Light and love Him. 41
ENCAPSULATION OF CHRISTIANITY 16, 27
For the voice of the Bridegroom is heard in our Land. Christ is come amongst the prisoners to visit in the prison houses. They have all hope of release, free pardon and to come out freely, for the debt is paid. And he that comes out of prison shall reign . 16
Encapsulation of Christianity in a paragraph. 27
glorious Resurrected Christ 27
Light 27
immortal Christ who brings forth life out of death. 27
Friends have hope of pardon for Christ has paid our debt; we are purchased by His blood. 27 Christ came into the prison house and the redeemed Christian sings in hope of eternal freedom. 27
ENLIGHTENS(ED) 85
enlightens T
enlightened by the Light that comes from Jesus 28
enlightens everyone who comes into the world. 42
EQUALITY
Christ in the male and the female 56
ETERNAL 54
Jesus Christ is eternal Life T
EVERLASTING 184, 226, 280, 253
everlasting command of the Everlasting Commander, Christ, is to "Love your enemies. Matt,5:34
everlasting Priest. 29
everlasting Seed 71
Everlasting Commander 74
Christ’s everlasting Kingdom is the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of the Dear Son 80
universal and everlasting. 184
everlasting arms and hands 226
Christ’s Kingdom is everlasting 239
everlasting Seed of God who never changes 252
EXALT(ED) 264
exalt Christ in land and in your assemblies. 189
innocent sufferers for the Truth and the Name of Jesus and Power may be exalted 264 Section 8
EXAMPLE
take Christ for your example 64
Take Christ for your example that I may hear of no strife among you. 64
Christ is our Teacher and our Example. 93
EXPRESS IMAGE
Express image of the invisible God by whom all things were created GOB
FAITH 233, 240
live by faith in Christ Jesus 143
keep the faith and testimony of Jesus. 307
in him (Christ) let your Faith stand 393
FAITHFUL
Rev. 13:8: faithful, who is your crown. Let no man take your crown from you. Yea, I say, be faithful to him, who was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
FALL
live in the Seed which was before the Fall 61
Christ presents men and women perfect to God out of the Fall 232
FATHER AND SON
Father and Son 25
fellowship with the father and Son. 25
FEED(S)
Christ does feed his sheep 393
FEEL
feel Christ’s presence and Power in our midst 33
feel the Seed of God 99
feel Christ and His Cross which is the Image of God 100
feel the Seed, raised up in one another. 239
FELLOWSHIP 206
brings fellowship with the Father and Son. 25
See if they have fellowship with Christ in His sufferings. 45
To have fellowship with Him in His temptations. 45
fellowship with Him (Christ) in His death 306
FEMALE AND MALE
all males and females are One in Christ Jesus. 320, section 12
FLESH
Flesh. (Man) 29
All Power is given to the Son of God, one Head, Christ the Seed. We will inherit God’s promise and feel the Seed of God, in both men and women; we will come to be flesh of His flesh. 99
FOOD
Dear hearts and Babes of Christ. Wait to feed on the immortal food, and walk in the Truth. 11
FREE
Christ will make you free from that which the Light discovers in you to be evil. 16
GROW UP
Grow up as Trees of Righteousness which the Lord has planted. 24
HEAD
head of the body. 45
head of the Church. 45
HABITATION
Keep in your Habitation 402
Heathens
Christ will pierce hearts of heathens. 87
Heathen will know the Glory of the risen Lord. 87
HEAVEN(LY)
Fox and Friends will live with Christ here and in heaven. 415
Christ is our Passover, our heavenly feast. He is the heavenly unleavened Bread of Sincerity and Truth. He purges all the old leaven of malice and wickedness and we may become a new lump in Him. 416
Christ is the bond of heavenly peace. 416
HEARTS OF PEOPLE
So here you may see the veil that was spread over the hearts of people, is done away by Christ; and all they that are turned to the Lord, with open face, behold, as in a glass, the Glory of the Lord, and be changed into the same Image, from Glory to Glory, even by the Spirit of the Lord.
410
HEED
Friends, who are enlightened by the Light that comes from Jesus, should heed it. 28
INHERIT GOD’S PROMISE
All Power is given to the Son of God, one Head, Christ the Seed. We will inherit God’s promise and feel the Seed of God, in both men and women; we will come to be flesh of His flesh. 99
IMAGE OF GOD
It is possible to lose the Image of God but it can be renewed and restored by Christ Jesus. 32
IMMORTAL
The immortal Christ who brings forth life out of death. 27
JUDGE
The Lord is coming in power to gather his chosen ones to Himself, and to judge and condemn the wicked one, i.e., the devil. 22
Judge yourself first in the Light of Christ. 48
JUSTIFIES
Christ’s Light justifies us. 62
KNOWLEDGE
Knowledge of Christ Jesus, Lord. 401
LAMB
Lamb’s war 81
LEARN
Learn of Christ who is Life and know the Spirit of Life in you. 47
LIFE
Life 29
LORD
Fox calls both God and Christ "Lord." 29
LORD JESUS CHRIST
The Grace of God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, be with your spirits! Amen 14
LOVE
redeemed out of this world, if they love Christ. 2
Those who love Christ and have Him for their Lord are redeemed out of the world. 2
If Friends love the Light, they love Christ; if they hate the Light, they hate Christ. 12
MALE AND FEMALE
Christ in the male and female 56
MANIFEST
Seed Christ is manifest, readily seen and understood. 45
MEASURE
Christ has given to everyone ability according to his measure. 51
MIND
mind the steadfast guide (Christ) to the Lord. 31
LEARN
Learn of Christ who is Life and know the Spirit of Life in you. 47
MYSTERY
1 Tim. 3:16: Deep is the mystery of godliness. But we have Life so we can learn of Christ who
NEVER FELL
Live in the Power of God, in Christ that never fell. 71
Second Adam who never fell. 71
Friend are to keep their meetings in the name of Christ Jesus who never fell. 71
Seed of God, Christ Jesus, who was the Father before the world began.... This would seem to mean that Christ and the Father are One. He may be misquoting John who wrote that Christ was with the Father. For earlier in this letter he wrote that Friends should not sit down in Adam in the Fall, but in Christ Jesus never fell that was with the Father before the world began. 71
Friends should be faithful in the everlasting Seed. For Christ Jesus is in the Second Adam that never fell. He is blessings and righteousness and ends all types, figures and shadows. They should come to Christ the Substance, the end of the Prophets live in the Seed, the Life in whom they will have riches that never fade away. 71
Friend are to keep their meetings in the name of Christ Jesus that never fell, sit down in Him and all will be found in the endless Life. ? 80
OBEDIENCE
The Lord keep you all in his fear and in his obedience now and evermore! 22
ONE
One Christ calls everyone to repentance. 46
One Head calls the repentant up to Himself. 46
One Power raises up the Seed. 46
Seed Christ is One, so all who are in the Spirit are One. 46
Pure wisdom which comes from above is to know Jesus Christ. 20
Know the Seed of God in one another. 50
PARDON
Christ paid the debt so that the prisoners have a free pardon. 16
Friends have hope of pardon for Christ has paid our debt; we are purchased by His blood. 27
Christ came into the prison house and the redeemed Christian sings in hope of eternal freedom. 27
PEACE
In Christ we have Peace. 401
POWER
Power. 29
The Name and Power of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you! 55
PRAY FOR HIS ENEMIES
Christ loved and prayed for His enemies. 30
PRIEST
The Priest who never changes, and the hireling priest, who is changeable, you walk in Judas’ steps. 25
The unchangeable Priest. 29
The everlasting Priest. 29
PRISONERS
Christ is come amongst the prisoners to visit in the prison houses.16
PROPHETS
Substance of the Prophets. 45
PRINCIPALITIES AND POWERS
ascended above all principalities and powers. 45
PROTECTS
The Light of Christ discovers all sandy bottoms of Friends knowledge of God and shows it to them and protects them. 24
PROUD BOASTERS
The Light of Christ condemns presumptuous and proud boasters. 34
REQUIRE OF ME
What does the Christ require of me.
To practice justice.
To love mercy.
To walk humbly with God.
To live a godly, righteous, holy life.
To answer the just God of Truth in my life.
To show that there is something of the invisible God of Power in me. 351
RESURRECTION/RESURRECTED
Friends grow up in the power of His Resurrection. 19
The glorious Resurrected Christ 27
REST
We must heed It so that with the Light of Christ, the Savior of our souls, we may all come to enjoy rest. 85
RIGHTEOUS
The Children of God are to be righteous as Christ is righteous. 45
SAFE SITTING
Christ is a holy, pure and – again– a safe sitting. 416
SANCTUARY
God’s people suffer troubles, afflictions, imprisonments, spoiling of goods, and many perils so it is good for them to keep in Christ their Sanctuary, in whom they have eternal Rest and Peace. 401
Seed, who is our Sanctuary and in whom we have Life and Wisdom in this day of Christ. 413
SAVIOR
Concerning the Light, in which they may see their Savior, and the deceivers 42
SECOND COMING?
Does the phrase "see Christ with us at the end of the world" mean that we will see Him at the second coming or does it mean that He is here and now and will also be with us at the end of the world? 33
SHADOWS
Dear Friends should be faithful in the everlasting Seed for He is blessings and righteousness and ends all types, figures and shadows. 71
STAND UP
Stand up, you prophets of the Lord, for the Truth upon the earth. 35
SUBSTANCE
in whom we will have Peace. 71
the Life in whom we will have riches that never fade away. 71
end of the Prophets. 71
SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
Receive Christ Jesus, the Sun of Righteousness and walk in Him to the praise and glory of God. Amen
TEMPTED
Christ was tempted but entered not into temptation. 44
tempted in the wilderness. 45
overcame temptations. 45
able to succor all who are tempted. 45
SUBSTANCE
in whom we will have Peace. 71
the Life in whom we will have riches that never fade away. 71
end of the Prophets. 71
SUFFER
Those that live in Christ Jesus must suffer. 8
If Christ suffered, Friends should not be surprised that they must also suffer. 8
to have fellowship with Him in His sufferings. 19
Christ suffered, so we must suffer, too. 30
TEACHER WITHIN; TEACHER WITHOUT
Christ, the Light, is the Teacher within; the teacher without is worldly with invented forms. 12
TRANSLATES
God translates us from darkness to Light into the Kingdom of His dear Son 316
TRUTH
Friends keep in the simplicity of the truth in Christ Jesus. 19
VICTORY
Friends should dwell in the Seed who gives Victory. 95
We will have victory over the world because we know the Word who reconciles us to God 98
Christ is the answer to all human ills and through Him, who overcomes and will have the Victory, Friends have become conquerors. 414
WAIT
wait for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. 31
Wait in the Light to receive Power and Wisdom from Christ. 33
Wait in the Light that you may see Jesus. 90
WALK
Friends walk in the Light to receive Christ. 25
So all Friends are to love Christ and walk in the Light. Then there will be no occasion of stumbling. 37
walk in the Life, i.e., God, Christ, the Quaker path of holiness. 47
Walk in the Light of Christ. 62
We should live and walk in Christ; we should abide in Him who is our Life eternal and everlasting. 406
Walk in Christ Jesus, the Sun of Righteousness to the praise and glory of God. Amen. 411
WOMEN
Women, as well as men, were to administer spiritual refreshment to all because all are one in Christ Jesus. 35, 320
WORD
The Word is Christ, the Word of God within. 19
WORLD
The world didn’t know Christ, doesn’t know His followers. 2
The world would have a Christ, but not to rule over them. 2
Those who love the world are enemies of Christ. 2
Christ is not of this world. 33
overcame the world. 45
Follow Jesus out of the world. 51
YOKE
Christ’s Yoke 65
Yoke the oxen, bridle the horses, tame the wild heifers, bring them to Christ’s yoke refers to the sinful, wolfish, animal nature of Friends which can be tamed by Christ’s love. 65
ONSCIENCE
FOLLOWING OUR CONSCIENCE
What guidelines does Fox give on how to follow our conscience? Primarily he gives us the example of his life, for he always follows his conscience even if it is the hard thing to do. He is amazingly consistent. We do not lack direction from Fox! The more than 400 pastoral letters tell us how we should behave, how we should follow our consciences. There are no ambiguities but perfect clarity about what Fox believes.
One way to follow our conscience is to pay attention to the Light within to lead us to the Truth. Dwell in the truth, keep it and a pure conscience so to triumph in glory. Following our conscience means doing what God wants us to do rather than what most people are doing. Following our conscience frequently involves doing something when most other people think that we are wrong and are doing just the opposite. Unfortunately, following our conscience is not necessarily the popular thing to do. We should do what is right no matter how hard the decision or how much it inconveniences us. We should care enough about these things to change our lives.
We do not want to be an anti-christ who opposes the Light. Fox calls him a natural conscience. We are to answer that of God in our conscience, mind the Light of God in our conscience which shows us all deceit. Then we know what is contrary to that of God, contrary to Christ’s teaching.
The two sins Fox gives to illustrate his point in this quote from Letter 33 are interesting. He seems to be equating lust, sexual sins and sloth, laziness. He is particularly hard on lazy Friends.
If we have a genuine concern, we should think it out carefully, go with our experience. We should behave in a decent, honest way, with integrity. When we have accepted a certain way of behaving, we must follow it through, be consistent. If it gets hard, inconvenient, unpleasant, we can’t stop even if we make up some elaborate, self-serving explanation to do so. Fox believes that if we listen to God the Light within, not the devil, we will do what is right.
The right to conscience must not be trivialized. An opinion, no matter how strongly held, is not conscience.
How am I to follow my conscience? How do I know what God wants me to do with my life? One way is to pay attention to the Light in my conscience which leads me to the Truth. Following my conscience means doing what God wants me to do rather than what most people are doing. Following my conscience frequently involves doing something when most other people think that I am wrong and are doing just the opposite. Unfortunately, following my conscience is not necessarily the popular thing to do.
Every day I follow my conscience, decide what is right, what is wrong. Most of the time I don't even think about it. I don't have a deep philosophical discussion with myself about whether I should do the laundry or go to the grocery. These chores are part of my share of the household duties. So without thinking about it, I just do them. When I have to make a hard decision, an unpopular decision, is the only time I think about my conscience.
John Woolman followed his conscience no matter how hard the decision or how much it inconvenienced him. He went to Meeting, visited Friends, worked in his tailor shop but all this time he was concerned about slavery. When he worked for the freeing of the slaves, he followed his conscience. He believed that men and women, children should not be bought and sold like cattle. He was especially concerned about the children of slaves. Slave owners should not make children slaves just because their parents were slaves.
When John traveled in the south, he would walk in the sun instead of riding on his horse. In this way he experienced, in some small way, how hot it was for the slaves working in the fields. Sometimes he would be the guest of Friends who owned slaves. In a friendly, quiet talk with the father of the family he would tell him his objections to slavery.
John cared enough about these things to change his own life. Sometimes he wrote wills for other Quakers. This seems to have been a nice source of income for him. When he was asked to write a will leaving slaves to a slave owner's children, he could not do it. On several occasions after he had explained his reasons for this to the Quaker slave owners, they set their slaves free.
Slave labor produced sugar and dye so he wouldn't use either. His clothing, made of undyed cloth, looked very different from other Friend's. Although he didn't want to look different from everyone else, he did want to show people that he did not approve of making any person a slave. By wearing clothes made of undyed cloth, he spoke not only in words, but by his actions.
He also cared that people thought him disrespectful to slave owners, who were older than himself. He didn't like confronting slave owners or wearing undyed clothes. I don't know if he had a sweet tooth. But even if he didn't, not eating sugar, which was important in preserving food, would have greatly limited the kinds of food he could eat.
When John had a genuine concern, he thought it out carefully. He went with his experience. There was nothing faddish about the way he behaved. A decent, honest man, a man of integrity, once he accepted a certain type of behavior, he followed it through, was committed for the long haul. If it got hard, inconvenient, unpleasant, he didn't stop or make up some elaborate, self-serving explanation so that he could stop.
I believe that I must follow my conscience about abortion after ignoring it for much too long a time. I think that abortion is murder and not a Quakerly thing to do or to acquiesce in. If I were not the only person in my Meeting to believe this, I was in a very small minority. This does not mean that I'm wrong. But it does mean that I was either hollered at or shunned, called a murderer, sent hate literature in the mail. It didn't mean that I'm wrong, just lonely.
John Woolman had to follow his conscience, he always acted in a loving and kind way. He told people what he believed, but didn't put the other person down. I wish I could say the same thing for myself. But I was very angry and felt betrayed by my Meeting. But the world isn't a moral or peaceful place. So unfortunately I had to heed the Light in my conscience.
I was and am very concerned about what I perceive as the easy acceptance of abortion in my Meeting. Of course it is not just my Meeting. I saw and heard it at other Meetings I visited. I read of its easy acceptance in Quaker publications. I would like to see Friends let the traditional values of peaceful, nonviolent solutions work here.
Some of the important ideas in George Fox's writings are truth, purity, equality, responsibility and peace. He writes that the Light is chaste. Friends should be too. The traditional ways of limiting children and thus the population are chastity and abstinence. Today contraceptives are available that were unknown in Fox's time.
Friends should speak the truth. Merely saying that an unborn child is a nonperson and a nonentity does not make it so. The technique of attaching a false label to get rid of a troublesome individual has been used many times. Saying that the unborn child does not have the Light, does not have a soul, so it is all right to kill him or her is not the truth. Friends should stick to the truth.
God, the Light lives within the unborn child. So this unborn child is a person, a person of great value. Just because we are unable to control our children or ourselves, just because we see a growth in the population as threatening our standard of living are not sufficient reasons to justify killing an unborn child.
Abortion is not peaceful; it is an act of terrible violence. Friends should use peaceful, nonviolent alternatives to abortion. This would mean living up to the highest ideals of our faith. Live the simple life, take only our share of the world's bounty and share our abundance with others.
Give real and genuine support to Friends who are trying to live a Quakerly life. Support the family. Call on all the resources of the Meeting to help a husband and wife whose marriage is in difficulty. Support teen-agers. Let them be children fo awhile. Keep them safe. Protect them from all forms of sexual exploitation. Help them to see themselves as good and valuable.
The Quaker ideal of equality for women, equal access to God, equal responsibility in marriage and raising children and equal opportunity for using the gifts God has given her, should be the basis for any decisions for women. If you add to this a decent education and proper health care, this would greatly minimize this problem.
However this doesn't alter the fact that by Quaker standards men and women are equally responsible for their unborn child. One theme that Fox emphasizes over and over again is responsibility. To be a Friend means to act in a responsible way.
Friends should rely on traditional Quaker values of peace, nonviolence, purity, responsible equality for women, value of all individuals, to protect the unborn. They should develop new techniques based on these traditional values to protect the unborn.
I live in Dona Ana County, New Mexico, one of the poorest counties in the country. When I looked in the big fat El Paso, Texas phone book under "Abortion services," businesses that perform abortions, there were five. (El Paso is forty-five minutes down the freeway from my home.) I looked in the phone books that cover remote isolated communities in New Mexico. In the skinny Sierra County phone book there are two "abortion services" listed, as there are in the Western New Mexico phone book, which includes such small isolated communities as Mimbres and Gila. Each of these phone books gives either a local number or a toll-free 800 number to reach a business that performs abortions. All these services speak Spanish as well as English. If a call is placed to any of these numbers, it is not difficult to get an abortion.
As there are opportunities to get abortions even in poor and isolated communities, I don't understand why some Friends feel it necessary to form a group to help women get abortions. More abortions are performed each year. Current Supreme Court case law guarantees a woman the right to an abortion at least during the first trimester. However the newsletter of a Monthly Meeting in my Yearly Meeting told about the activities of a group within this Monthly Meeting who were "helping" Roman Catholic women get abortions. They had various money-raising activities to aid in this endeavor. It was the enthusiasm of this group for the whole business that seemed so terrible to me. For I see the same enthusiasm in a slightly different guise in my own Meeting.
In my experience, people are not usually vitally interested in other people's rights. Most people have a live and let live attitude about these. But to get involved and enthusiastic, they must have some interest in the matter themselves. Why should women, who are not personally in the market for an abortion, be interested and involved? Why should men?
A weighty Friend said to me that you can't separate abortion from ecology. Another person, maybe a bit more honest or a bit less self-protective, came right out and said that abortion is the best means of population control. This is not an altruistic, selfless position, but one that sees abortion as an answer to a problem, a way of maintaining a certain standard of living.
All major religious bodies in this country have come out against abortion as a means of birth and population control. Friends in the United States are so often white middle class or upper class professionals that I think it is unwise for us to give enthusiastic endorsement to a policy that can be viewed as both racist and genocidal.
Mother Teresa once said that the greatest destroyer of peace in the world is abortion. She could have been talking to us. We are called to be saints, not mass murderers. Our job is peace and life, not violence and death.
REFERENCES TO CONSCIENCE
5, 29, 33, 42, 54, 253, 265, 319, 342, 359
REATED IN THE IMAGE OF GOD
We are created in the image of God so we can be like Him: peaceful, loving and good.
In the beginning God Created male and female in his own Image and Likeness. God’s Power and authority create us in His Image.
We are in the Image of God in that we can be pure, holy, and righteous. These are moral characteristics. What Fox is telling us is that we can live good moral lives.
An image is a copy though, not the real thing. We certainly are not God who is radically different from us. However, we are in God's image in that we know right from wrong, good from evil. We are capable of loving others, of living a peaceful life.
To be created in the Image of God means that we are genuinely human and can be our best selves. We can live a full life and use the gifts that God has given us. Our decisions are not completely selfish and self-serving but do consider other people’s wants and needs.
Both men and women are created in the Image and Likeness of God. If we are married we are "meet helps,"working together in the image of God.
Part of being in the Image of God is that we can share in the day to day process of creation, as kings and queens over all creatures.
We are to be examples, "patterns," in the Image of the Son of God.
SOME REFERENCES TO CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF GOD
32
320 section 12
344
360
390
397 section 1
397 section 2
Second Corinthians 3:18
408
Genesis 1:28
410
39
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