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Resistance and Obedience to God: Memoirs of David Ferris, 1707-1779
Book by Ferris, David, Grundy, Martha Paxson
- GenresSpirituality
145 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 1, 2020
I do not think I would recommend this to many people, but it is an excellent book for what it is and for the purpose I needed it. It is part of the assigned reading for a 13-month Quakerism course I'm taking through School of the Spirit, and speaks well to the historical examples of how God can show up in people's lives, and the choices one has around responding. I am not an 18th-century Quaker, and complete obedience is not where I am right now, but the memoir raised so many excellent queries about how to live a moral and spiritual life that I think I will be mulling it over for a long time. If God is nudging you toward a ministry, it is worth a read.
FGC did a great job reissuing this from the 1855 version, with historical context and additional letters put in. The letters, not part of the assigned reading, were actually the most interesting part of this for me. David Ferris, once he'd accepted his ministry, traveled widely and visited Friends all over the US. He was very clear that slavery was against the gospel order, and the way he approached it was to approach slaveholding Quakers and tell them, in friendship, that he feared their souls were in danger. He is not as well-known as John Woolman or Anthony Benezet, but he was part of the generation that moved Quakerism into the continuing revelation that we could not engage in this practice: even though slavery was Biblical, it was not Christian. Which, while stunningly obvious to us today, was not in the early 1700s.
One letter was to a high-ranking Quaker who had institutional position within the Religious Society of Friends and was an elder. My heart stopped when I read the next sentence: "He owned 80 slaves." Now technically that is not really different than owning one slave, but somehow the extent of 80 slaves versus one, by someone who was a named elder (perhaps particularly galling for me as this is something the Spirit seems to be calling me toward), really got to me. The amazing thing is, though, that there is a followup letter a few years later that makes it clear that this person heard the Truth calling him home; he freed all of his slaves and made provisions such that they would not be immediately enslaved by his neighbors (a frequent argument against freeing your slaves in those days, as it was legal for anyone to enslave an un-owned person of color). It made me really think through what a covenant community, such as the Quakers of the second generation in the early 1700s, really could do and be.
I would not have read it if it were not assigned, and I'm glad I read it. I wish I were the type of person who would just read this on my own, but I suppose that's why I need this course.
FGC did a great job reissuing this from the 1855 version, with historical context and additional letters put in. The letters, not part of the assigned reading, were actually the most interesting part of this for me. David Ferris, once he'd accepted his ministry, traveled widely and visited Friends all over the US. He was very clear that slavery was against the gospel order, and the way he approached it was to approach slaveholding Quakers and tell them, in friendship, that he feared their souls were in danger. He is not as well-known as John Woolman or Anthony Benezet, but he was part of the generation that moved Quakerism into the continuing revelation that we could not engage in this practice: even though slavery was Biblical, it was not Christian. Which, while stunningly obvious to us today, was not in the early 1700s.
One letter was to a high-ranking Quaker who had institutional position within the Religious Society of Friends and was an elder. My heart stopped when I read the next sentence: "He owned 80 slaves." Now technically that is not really different than owning one slave, but somehow the extent of 80 slaves versus one, by someone who was a named elder (perhaps particularly galling for me as this is something the Spirit seems to be calling me toward), really got to me. The amazing thing is, though, that there is a followup letter a few years later that makes it clear that this person heard the Truth calling him home; he freed all of his slaves and made provisions such that they would not be immediately enslaved by his neighbors (a frequent argument against freeing your slaves in those days, as it was legal for anyone to enslave an un-owned person of color). It made me really think through what a covenant community, such as the Quakers of the second generation in the early 1700s, really could do and be.
I would not have read it if it were not assigned, and I'm glad I read it. I wish I were the type of person who would just read this on my own, but I suppose that's why I need this course.
November 5, 2018
“After resisting for many years , at the age of forty-seven, Ferris finally began to offer vocal ministry.” (p v)
Friends (Quakers) have a long history of sharing their spiritual journeys as a way to shine light on the Divine Presence that, in our understanding is too big for words. We often hear about the most wonderful and faithful and outstanding Friends of each generation. David Ferris was a sort of reluctant minister (Friends’ definition of such) and avoid following “the Guide” for as long as possible. His careful and prayerful consideration is a lesson for all of us in modern times who challenge the concept of “God’s time is not our time,” and want things and want them now. Martha Grundy provides context for the modern, and a platform for exploration of the spiritual life of this Friend in an open and wonderfully direct way.
A great read, and, especially with Grundy’s material before and after the text, would be a wonderful discussion group book read for Quakers or interfaith reading groups.
Friends (Quakers) have a long history of sharing their spiritual journeys as a way to shine light on the Divine Presence that, in our understanding is too big for words. We often hear about the most wonderful and faithful and outstanding Friends of each generation. David Ferris was a sort of reluctant minister (Friends’ definition of such) and avoid following “the Guide” for as long as possible. His careful and prayerful consideration is a lesson for all of us in modern times who challenge the concept of “God’s time is not our time,” and want things and want them now. Martha Grundy provides context for the modern, and a platform for exploration of the spiritual life of this Friend in an open and wonderfully direct way.
A great read, and, especially with Grundy’s material before and after the text, would be a wonderful discussion group book read for Quakers or interfaith reading groups.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews