'Fox also insisted that, though the Bible contained the word of God, the Word in its full sense was synonymous with Christ and the light.' Photo: by Jessica Delp on Unsplash
Brought to book: John Wattis on early Friends and the Bible
‘It is not just that we are to be peaceful, we must be peacemakers too.’
Sometimes we forget that early Quakers were among the first people in Britain to have reasonably-easy access to the Bible in the vernacular. It informed a great deal of early Quaker thinking, and it was foundational to George Fox’s understanding, along with a personal encounter with Christ as ‘one who can speak to my condition’. Fox also insisted that, though the Bible contained the word of God, the Word in its full sense was synonymous with Christ and the light, as at the beginning of John’s gospel. Early Quaker theologian Robert Barclay maintained that while scripture was inspired by the Spirit, it could only be understood by someone inspired by that same Spirit.
