The Life and Times of Daniel Boone - Part Two
Daniel Boone's Religion
What is a Quaker?
During the 17th century Europe experienced a turbulent time of religious persecutions. Catholic and Protestant Churches maintained political power of their given country. Those who did not conform to the mainstream church were considered heretics, arrested, tortured and eventually killed. Both the Protestants and Catholic churches maintained there was only one true faith. In order to preserve the uniformity of the faith dissenters must be punished without mercy. For example, In 1630, one Puritan lay person had been found guilty of heresy and had been given the following punishment: life imprisonment, his property confiscated, his nose slit, an ear cut off, and his forehead branded "S.S." (sower of sedition). To evade religious persecution, different groups such as the Quakers soon migrated to American colonies where they could worship peacefully and begin better lives for themselves. The Quaker movement had been founded in 1652 by George Fox of England. Like, Martin Luther, he never sought to start a religious movement yet as he preached he began to gather a following. George's ideas at the time were radical. He believed: · Rituals can be safely ignored, as long as one experiences a true spiritual conversion.· The qualification for ministry is given by the Holy Spirit , not by ecclesiastical study. This implies that anyone has the right to minister, assuming the Spirit guides them, including women and children.· God "dwelleth in the hearts of his obedient people": religious experience is not confined to a church building Indeed, Fox refused to apply the word "church" to a building, using instead the name "steeple-house", a usage maintained by many Quakers today. Fox would just as soon worship in fields and orchards, believing that God's presence could be felt anywhere.· Though Fox used the Bible to support his views, Fox reasoned that, because God was within the faithful, believers could follow their own inner guide rather than rely on a strict reading of Scripture or the word of clerics.· As the Bible makes no mention of the Trinity, Fox also made no clear distinction between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (wikipedia)Quakers were pacifists, which meant they would not fight in any of the king's wars nor would they pay taxes if they believed the money was to aide in the military. They also believed in total equality. A Quaker would never bow down to a noble because they were equals. The belief in total equality also meant Quaker women found greater freedom than their Orthodox Christian counterparts. Women were allowed to preach, take part in politics, and speak in their meetings. To the nobles, a Quaker could never be trusted since Quakers did not believe in taking oaths. The Orthodox Church in England viewed the Quakers as a threat to the uniformity of the true faith and began to persecute them. During the 1650's a thousand Quakers were held in English prisons. During this time, George Fox's view of traditional and social practices within the church had become hardened. He outlawed water baptism, stating a person's conversion should be evident through an inner change and not marked by baptism. During this time, the Quakers grew in population and began to hold larger meetings. They also travelled to the different prisons where the other Quakers had been held in order to get the testimony of their sufferings. The various stories would be gathered then presented once a year at the Meeting for Sufferings. Twenty years later, the Quakers were still be persecuted in England while some of their members had begun a new life for themselves in New Jersey. According to the website Religion and Founding of America, "by 1680, 10,000 Quakers had been imprisoned in England, and 243 had died of torture and mistreatment in the King's jails." In 1681, William Penn, gave his fellow Quakers an opportunity of a lifetime. Leave England for a land of religious freedoms and no tax-supported churches. Four years later, there were as many as 8,000 Quakers in Pennsylvania. A quarter of the heads of households had been in English prisons.
The Quakers are alive and well in the United States. To learn more about the Quakers visit: http://www.quaker.org/ http://www.quakerinfo.org/
QUESTIONS
1) What else would you like to know about the Quakers?
2) What is your favorite color to wear?
3) What is the first thing you think of when you hear the word Quaker?
What is a Quaker?
During the 17th century Europe experienced a turbulent time of religious persecutions. Catholic and Protestant Churches maintained political power of their given country. Those who did not conform to the mainstream church were considered heretics, arrested, tortured and eventually killed. Both the Protestants and Catholic churches maintained there was only one true faith. In order to preserve the uniformity of the faith dissenters must be punished without mercy. For example, In 1630, one Puritan lay person had been found guilty of heresy and had been given the following punishment: life imprisonment, his property confiscated, his nose slit, an ear cut off, and his forehead branded "S.S." (sower of sedition). To evade religious persecution, different groups such as the Quakers soon migrated to American colonies where they could worship peacefully and begin better lives for themselves. The Quaker movement had been founded in 1652 by George Fox of England. Like, Martin Luther, he never sought to start a religious movement yet as he preached he began to gather a following. George's ideas at the time were radical. He believed: · Rituals can be safely ignored, as long as one experiences a true spiritual conversion.· The qualification for ministry is given by the Holy Spirit , not by ecclesiastical study. This implies that anyone has the right to minister, assuming the Spirit guides them, including women and children.· God "dwelleth in the hearts of his obedient people": religious experience is not confined to a church building Indeed, Fox refused to apply the word "church" to a building, using instead the name "steeple-house", a usage maintained by many Quakers today. Fox would just as soon worship in fields and orchards, believing that God's presence could be felt anywhere.· Though Fox used the Bible to support his views, Fox reasoned that, because God was within the faithful, believers could follow their own inner guide rather than rely on a strict reading of Scripture or the word of clerics.· As the Bible makes no mention of the Trinity, Fox also made no clear distinction between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (wikipedia)Quakers were pacifists, which meant they would not fight in any of the king's wars nor would they pay taxes if they believed the money was to aide in the military. They also believed in total equality. A Quaker would never bow down to a noble because they were equals. The belief in total equality also meant Quaker women found greater freedom than their Orthodox Christian counterparts. Women were allowed to preach, take part in politics, and speak in their meetings. To the nobles, a Quaker could never be trusted since Quakers did not believe in taking oaths. The Orthodox Church in England viewed the Quakers as a threat to the uniformity of the true faith and began to persecute them. During the 1650's a thousand Quakers were held in English prisons. During this time, George Fox's view of traditional and social practices within the church had become hardened. He outlawed water baptism, stating a person's conversion should be evident through an inner change and not marked by baptism. During this time, the Quakers grew in population and began to hold larger meetings. They also travelled to the different prisons where the other Quakers had been held in order to get the testimony of their sufferings. The various stories would be gathered then presented once a year at the Meeting for Sufferings. Twenty years later, the Quakers were still be persecuted in England while some of their members had begun a new life for themselves in New Jersey. According to the website Religion and Founding of America, "by 1680, 10,000 Quakers had been imprisoned in England, and 243 had died of torture and mistreatment in the King's jails." In 1681, William Penn, gave his fellow Quakers an opportunity of a lifetime. Leave England for a land of religious freedoms and no tax-supported churches. Four years later, there were as many as 8,000 Quakers in Pennsylvania. A quarter of the heads of households had been in English prisons.The Quakers are alive and well in the United States. To learn more about the Quakers visit: http://www.quaker.org/ http://www.quakerinfo.org/
QUESTIONS
1) What else would you like to know about the Quakers?
2) What is your favorite color to wear?
3) What is the first thing you think of when you hear the word Quaker?
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