Penn’s Influence: The Birth of Pennsylvania by Roberts Liardon
Posted on April 19, 2011
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Roberts Liardon tells us that William Penn, the famous Quaker leader who founded Pennsylvania, was now also in the picture, and he did all in his political power to get Fox released.
Penn was a strong supporter of Fox. He was the son of Admiral Sir William Penn and had moved to Ireland to manage his father’s estate when he came in contact with the Quakers there and was converted.
His admiral father had great plans for Penn, and, when he chose to be a Quaker, it broke his father’s heart. All the dreams he had for his son were lost. The admiral had no idea that God had other plans for William and that his son would go down in history a greater man than even his father had dreamed. He carved his way into history when he persuaded Charles II (who owed his father money) to allow them to set up a colony in America solely for the use and freedom of Quakers. The king granted his request, instead of giving him the money, and the colony became known as Pennsylvania.
Roberts Liardon tells us that Penn’s strong influence, coupled with countless letters from Quakers around the region, finally persuaded the magistrates to allow Fox to appear before the courts, convincing them that he had no sinister purpose against the government in all his itinerant travels. But after refusing to take an oath or to swear, he was put back in prison.
By now, Margaret was desperate. Fox’s bad health was constantly plaguing him, and she feared she would never see him again. Finally, pulling the strings of high authorities, a judge ruled there were numerous errors in Fox’s indictment, and he was freed.
The Emblem of Unity: Marriage by Roberts Liardon
Posted on April 14, 2011
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Roberts Liardon tells us that Margaret Fell was constantly involved with the many facets of the Quakers, and she and Fox met as regularly as possible. I stated before that the two had great admiration for one another. Margaret was now a widow, and Fox confided in his journal that, for some time, he had wished to marry her. He had left the matter with the Lord, fully persuaded that the time would “come for accomplishing that thing whereof I had long sought.”
I believe Fox and Margaret’s admiration had grown into a genuine love; but true to their beliefs, they waited and kept it before the Lord. Up until then, the growing cause of the Quakers had been the only mate necessary for Fox.
There is no record of the conversations they had with each other, but they must have known of each other’s feelings. We do know that in 1669, when Margaret joined Fox in London, the two decided it was clear they should marry. Their mutual affirmation and time together was brief, for Fox was again called away by the Yorkshire Quakers to help them establish a monthly meeting. So, Fox and Margaret parted ways, still unmarried but at least with the promise of it in their hearts.
Roberts Liardon tells us that from Yorkshire, Fox followed the immediate leading of his heart and headed for Ireland. After making a clockwise circuit around the county, Fox was thrilled at his reception in Dublin. He saluted their faithfulness to God and admonished them to treat all men fairly so that the Lord would be honored through their lives. With that successful visit, he headed home to England and his future wife. Being reunited with Margaret, he went beyond his guidelines for marriage, taking great pains that every Quaker be involved with it.
If All in England Had Been There by Roberts Liardon
Posted on April 7, 2011
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Roberts Liardon tells us that before the judge returned home, Margaret had already invited Farnsworth and Nayler to Swarthmoor as guests. The children were excited about their guests, but the household was unsettled, waiting for the return of the judge.
To the judge, it was always an exciting time to see those last few miles that stretched to his home. I’m sure his thoughts were on Margaret and the children, when suddenly he noticed the minister and a group of prestigious men riding out to intercept him in his journey.
Fearful of their news, he assumed that someone must have died or become seriously ill.
Roberts Liardon tells us that to the men riding to meet him, their news was worse than death or illness. They were bearing the news that his wife had been involved in witchcraft while he was gone and that she had been seduced by a wandering preacher who had been staying in his home. They told him how this insane preacher had caused havoc in the church and disrupted the entire community. They pleaded with the judge to send these preachers, Nayler and Farnsworth, on their way before it could get any worse.
The judge was a man of character, a man who would never blindly believe ill reports about his family. 52 He continued on his journey, but I’m sure his mind was racing.
When the judge reached his home, the atmosphere was tense as Margaret warmly greeted him, then introduced Nayler and Farnsworth. Fell said very little but just stared at the men, judging their intent. They tried to assure him, but sensing the awkward moment, they made a decision to leave. Margaret, however, begged them to stay until Fox arrived once again.
Fox addressed the demon spirit that had her bound by Roberts Liardon
Posted on March 31, 2011
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Roberts Liardon tells us that another woman who hadn’t been able to eat or drink for some time was brought to him. Fox addressed the demon spirit that had her bound; she then ate, spoke, and was made completely well.
Fox stated throughout his journal that people suffering from insanity, mental imbalances, and deliriums were brought to him many times, and each one was delivered and restored to his or her right mind while in his presence. He also spoke of several cases where men and women were near death, and he was brought in to give them comforting words. But Fox’s words went past comfort; they produced the life of God. Each time these deathbed cases were raised and restored to health, entire towns were astonished at such great power.
Roberts Liardon tells us that although he strongly believed in divine healing, Fox never ignored the use of natural remedies for healing as well. He combined prayer and the use of medicinal herbs for many of the people he ministered to. We’ve read from his journal how God gave him the knowledge of how mankind and animals were created. From that divine knowledge, Fox had an incredible insight whereby he concocted herbs to use medicinally, depending on the ailment. We know that many healings also came as he prescribed the use of certain herbs to aid or strengthen the physical body. Later in his ministry, he planned for the medicinal use of herbs to be included in the Quaker education.
His Second Revelation: True Authority by Roberts Liardon
Posted on March 23, 2011
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Roberts Liardon tells us that His second revelation was directly connected with the new birth. Fox had been troubled with the “authority” question: Where did it come from, who acquired it, and who possessed it? As he read the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit illuminated them, and Fox realized that, contrary to the popular and accepted belief of the day, an education at Oxford or Cambridge—or any college—was not enough to make a man a minister. When he tied this revelation with the first one, he saw that if a minister didn’t have the new birth, he couldn’t be a true minister. A college education didn’t make the difference. Just like church membership didn’t make one a Christian, college didn’t make one a minister. A true minister was born again from within, sensitive to the help of the Holy Spirit, ever searching the Scriptures for edification and advice. A true minister sensed that calling in his heart, and God enabled him to perform it. He didn’t rely on his education or his intellect as prerequisites for that calling.
Fox believed that no man could approve an ordination; only the divine action of God’s grace could set the man apart and accomplish it. To this day, Quaker ministers show their papers as “recorded” by the church; they are not ordained or licensed. They believe that only God ordains; the people merely record it.
Fox’s revelations were revolutionary. They totally undermined the social and religious precepts of the day. The pulpit had been used as a controlling power, giving the minister an air of superiority and all others a sense of inferiority. Fox would see other truths that had been hidden or distorted by man’s greed and lust for control, but, for now, these two main themes—the new birth and the true call of God— would remain the central mark of his ministry.
Roberts Liardon tells us that once the Holy Spirit revealed these first two truths, Fox set his face like a flint, vowing to shout them from the housetops. He immediately cornered his parents and relatives and, citing Scripture after Scripture, stung them with the accusation that their Presbyterian minister lacked the qualifications to hold his position.
His parents were shocked at the behavior of their son. Embarrassed by his adamant statements, they tried to console him and make excuses for him, hoping to weaken his boldness. But Fox never wavered from these revelations nor backed away from their truths; instead, he grew bolder. This word from God would eventually cause him severe persecution, including years of torturous imprisonments.
A Reformer Is Born by Roberts Liardon
Posted on March 16, 2011
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Roberts Liardon tells us that the year was 1624. The place was Leicestershire, England. Mary Fox, probably in her early twenties, was thrilled to be carrying her first child. Her husband, Christopher, a man of strong, honest character and religious Presbyterian belief, was several years older than her. The name Fox was well-known in the region. Several centuries earlier, a Fox had been mayor, and another displayed a coat of arms, or heraldry. Heraldry was a system where families could show their reputation for bravery and the importance of their lineage, proving their name’s social status. The Fox heritage had also been known to support the Lollards, a group of people living throughout Europe who vowed to read the Bible for themselves and expound on its Scriptures within an established church, despite opposition from state authorities.
As a weaver, Christopher Fox had set himself up well in Leicestershire, obtaining a home for himself and his wife. His skilled occupation had placed him near the top, both financially and influentially, in their town, called Drayton-in-the-Clay. It was a small, rural town, nestled in rolling hills, located in the center of England.
Roberts Liardon tells us that the month of July finally arrived and, along with it, the birth of their first son. They named him George. The couple had other children, perhaps four, but most of the records are unreliable. In fact, legend says that the parish clerk’s wife used the page that would have recorded the birth of George Fox “for kitchen use.” However many children the couple had, it is sure that the weight of the family was placed on their oldest, George Fox.
If someone expected young Fox to be like all the other children, they were in for a surprise. He never played the games that other children played, nor did he take part in their jokes and pranks. He was probably awkward to be around because he was so different, yet he was not disagreeable. Young Fox would sit in a corner and think. Even as a small boy, he could size up people with his discerning eye. When he would observe the character of men who came to sit around the fire and visit with his father, he thought to himself, “If ever I come to be a man, surely I shall not do so or be so wanton.”
“Lying in St. Andrew’s, Half Dead” by Roberts Liardon
Posted on March 10, 2011
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Roberts Liardon tells us that by the end of 1568, Mary was gone and Knox focused his attention upon the advancement and establishment of the Protestant church in Scotland. Once again in Edinburgh, Knox felt the majority of his fight was over, writing to a friend that he had “quietness in spirit, and time to meditate upon death.”
In autumn of that year, Knox had a stroke that temporarily paralyzed the use of his tongue. For a few days, he was powerless to speak, and his enemies were greatly relieved. Rumors flew wildly that Knox would never preach again or that he was dead. But in a matter of days, Knox returned to the pulpit and preached as before.
Even though Mary had fled to England, Knox continued to preach against her. This disturbed many people, and, for a time, Knox was very unpopular because of it. One night, a shot came through his window and would have struck him had he been sitting in his usual place. His friends set guard around his house and begged him to leave Edinburgh. Knox resisted their advice for a while but eventually left for St. Andrew’s, reluctantly.
But St. Andrew’s offered no peace for the elderly Knox. The city seemed to be filled with enemies and supporters of the abolished Queen Mary. For the next fifteen months, he argued back and forth with them concerning his stand for God and their idolatries.
Roberts Liardon tells us that Knox was now so feeble from the stroke that, when he walked, he leaned on his ministry assistant, Richard Bannatyne, and supported himself with a cane. Sometimes, while he leaned on Bannatyne’s arm, Knox would walk in the courtyards and talk with the students, encouraging them to continue standing in the cause of Reformation. On Sundays he had to be lifted up into the pulpit. Although he was feeble in body, Knox became another man in the pulpit. One student wrote that Knox was so active and vigorous that he was likely to beat the pulpit into shreds and fl y out of it!
During this time, Knox began showing the signs of age in his letters. He mixed his exhortations with complaints about his bodily weakness. He signed his letters as, “lying in St. Andrew’s half-dead.”
The Unbridled Spirit by Roberts Liardon
Posted on March 1, 2011
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“Your will is no reason, madam,” countered Knox, “Neither doth your thought make the Rome harlot to be the true and immaculate spouse of Jesus Christ.” He then went on to explain, just as in all his sermons, how the Catholic Church had degenerated and to the point of opposing the early church.
“My conscience says that is not so,” Mary stubbornly replied. “Conscience, madam, requires knowledge; and I fear that right knowledge ye have none.”
Roberts Liardon tells us that when she asked whom she should believe, Knox told her she was to believe God, who plainly spoke in His Word. She abruptly cut him off and ended the meeting. Knox dismissed himself, saying that he prayed she would be as successful in Scotland as Deborah was in Israel.
After their first meeting, one of Knox’s friends asked what he thought of her. Knox replied, “If there be not in her a proud mind, a crafty wit, and an indurate heart against God and His truth, my judgement faileth me.” He later wrote to the adviser of Elizabeth I, “In communication with her, I espied such craft [slyness] as I have not found in such age.” To Knox, it was a battle between light and darkness.
In the beginning, it seemed that Mary was winning over Scotland. A large part of the Protestants were mesmerized by her beauty and youthfulness and grew quiet about her Catholic faith.
Roberts Liardon tells us that however, those Protestants who remained true to the Reform terrorized her at every turn. When she appeared in public, they greeted her by burning the likeness of a priest on a cross. The Edinburgh Protestant nobles issued a proclamation ordering all drunkards, adulterers, priests, monks, and nuns to leave town. When she celebrated a Catholic holy day in one town, the priests there were mobbed and driven from the choir with bloody heads. Mary watched and cried helplessly.
The Reformation by Roberts Liardon
Posted on February 24, 2011
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Roberts Liardon tells us that after a week’s worth of negotiating, a truce was declared. While a truce was agreed upon, the conditions were still unresolved. The Protestants began wrecking more monasteries, overthrowing altars, and burning images while the monks and priests helplessly watched.
City after city became subject to this kind of looting. Knox and the other nobles tried to intervene and stop it, but the Protestants had been suppressed and endangered for too long. Momentum was on their side, and they seized the opportunity.
Realizing he could do little to stop their physical looting, Knox simply wrote, “The Reformation is somewhat violent, because the adversaries be stubborn….”
Many times, Knox would stand by and watch the sacking and looting of the monasteries. His assurance that all would be well came from an old woman’s testimony. She walked over to Knox as a monastery burned to the ground and told him, Since my remembrance, this place hath been nothing else but a den of whoremongers. It is incredible to believe how many wives hath been adulterate, and virgins deflowered, by the filthy beasts which hath been fostered in this den; but especially by that wicked man who is called the bishop. If all men knew as much as I they would praise God; and no man would be offended. After her statement, Knox held his peace, believing it was the just judgment of God.
Roberts Liardon tells us that the people had held a mystic reverence for the beautiful statues and images throughout Scotland, and the Protestants wanted to kill that misplaced reverence. They marched on to Edinburgh to continue their destruction, but the citizens there had beat them to it. Every Catholic work of art, every statue, and every image that stirred the affection of the people toward itself instead of toward God had already been destroyed.
Up until now, Knox had been the only Reformer of wide reputation who allowed the destruction of images and works of art. Like the prophets of old, Knox was a Reformer who believed in passionate action. He didn’t just suggest that the altars of Baal be destroyed, and he didn’t merely write about it; he destroyed them. Like David, he didn’t stop with merely knocking Goliath down to the ground—he cut the head off!
Was It All a Mistake? by Roberts Liardon
Posted on February 15, 2011
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Roberts Liardon tells us that Elizabeth I and her adviser knew that Knox was with Calvin, so they wrote Calvin, questioning him about First Blast. He vehemently denied having any association with the book or its contents, and he had it banned from the city of Geneva.
Did Knox make a mistake in writing it? I believe his timing was a little off. As he wrote, England already knew that Bloody Mary was near death and that a Protestant would soon be reigning. They were ready and waiting for their moment, which was sure to come. Knox’s First Blast seemed out of touch to them. However, although the timing may have been a little late, I believe his words against this evil queen were right!
Knox had no idea that Bloody Mary’s health was failing, but he did prophesy accurately to her in the book, stating that she would reign for fewer years in the future than she had already reigned in the past.
Although the book was written against the former queen, it severely hurt any friendship that Knox might have had with Queen Elizabeth I. A relationship with her might have opened the doors to the English Reformation. Instead, she slammed the doors of England on Knox. Elizabeth I never forgave him for his cruel words against women in general, and certainly not toward women rulers, since she was one. It would be years before Knox would be allowed to visit England again.
Roberts Liardon tells us that Knox was highly criticized for First Blast by almost everyone, even his friends, but he never backed down or apologized for what he had written. Knox defended it until his last breath. His feelings on Queen Elizabeth were contradictory. She was a Protestant, but had publicly attended Mass so as not to draw Bloody Mary’s fury. Knox counted her as an idolater for these actions. His only regret was that his traveling papers to England were denied.
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