George Fox Essay Research Paper Who is

George Fox Essay, Research Paper

Who is George Fox?Looking into the eyes of the congregation he could see open hearts and minds as he spoke of the Christ he had so long lived for. There was no greater passion for George Fox than to seek to follow the will of God by seeking to be pure of all that was not of the Heavenly Father. It had been sixty-eight years since the birth of the man who would later be known as the founder of the Quaker movement. To be exact, George Fox entered this world in July of 1624 in the town of Leicestershire, England. This town would later prove to be the birth site of a man who would be remembered forever. It was then and there that his parents began to instill a passion to be like Christ by seeking purity in all aspects of life. Fox s parents were very godly people. There is no doubt that his morals and values were developed through his parents. George Fox was different. He was mature in his Christian walk as he sought to avoid all evils of the world. Many times he had opportunities to step over the line, yet he had the integrity and wisdom of Christ. As Fox grew up in his teens and early twenties he felt alienated from the rest of the world, as he could not relate to what they were doing with their lives, nor did he agree with the choices they made. Fox did a lot of traveling searching to find a comfortable place for himself where he fit in. At the age of 20 he Began to converse frequently with a priest about theological issues. Of course, the priest was amazed at George s maturity and wise answers. A new light was lit for George as he had now discovered God s will for his life: he was supposed to preach the purity of Christ to all that could hear. I believe it is evident that with the firm opinions and idea Fox held he would soon get himself in trouble with those whom disagreed with him. It wasn t long before Fox came upon a church that was teaching false doctrine. He immediately felt the Lord leading him to condemn the men for worshipping the false idols. He did so he was arrested. This was much of the story of George Fox. He was so determined to get the teachings of Christ out into the open that he was willing to do it at any cost. Fox begins to travel all over preaching to all that would listen. He has new ideas which people were grabbing onto. He stressed the idea of living and being like Christ through all actions and thoughts. When you look at the Quakers today, it is evident how and where they were sparked. Fox was close to being judgmental to everyone just because he was so passionate about his God. George went on preaching for several years. Being imprisoned several times never stopped his pursuit to spread the gospel. Near the end of Fox s ministry he visited Lancaster in which he made many people uneasy, including the king. In fact, they became so uneasy that they had Fox taken out of the city by horse and he was not allowed to return. George s beliefs, teachings, and convictions were accepted by many, but the few who disagreed seemed to be the few who could remove him from wherever he was. Preaching what would be his last sermon, Fox feels as though he is doing everything he can for Christ. He has lived the life he has always taught everyone to live. He is confident that he is completing what needs to be completed in the Lord s eyes. After this sermon, Fox meets with his friends afterward to tell them he is sick and the end to his mission is coming quickly. January 13, 1691 was the last day George Fox ever preached. It was the last day he ever spoke of the purity of Christian living. It was the first day he walked with Christ. George Fox s Contribution to Church History/Thought Many, many people have influenced and impacted church history. George Fox is a hero for many people who have accepted his preaching. Fox s main conviction is purity. There is no question that Fox as different right from the beginning. Look at his focus. At the early age of eleven he was concentrating on his walk with Christ and looking for ways to develop and mature his relationship with Him. Fox wasn t egotistical, but he was confident that what he was doing was right. He wasn t shy in telling people to watch what he did and listen to what he said because he was doing the will of the Lord. Fox was the founder of the Quaker movement. He taught that Christianity was an inner light by which Jesus directly illumines the believing soul. Through the many imprisonments he attracted many people simply because of the simplicity of what he was preaching. The idea was simple in that if you had Christ in your heart then your actions were nothing more but proof that you, in fact, did have an intimate relationship with Christ.

Fox impacted the church in a major way. For so long the Catholic Church had taught a Christianity that was more impersonal than an ATM machine. The people only knew a God that was far away and unwilling to relate. You have to appreciate the closeness which Fox spoke of so often. You see, George Fox sought to live a relationship. His desire to be like Christ, to know Christ, was so evident. The former beliefs and ways of the Catholic Church were losing their steam because a new type of Christianity was being brought forward and Fox was one of the men bringing it to the people. A lot of thought was put into the ways a Christian should live. Fox dealt with the way people spoke, the way people acted, and the way people thought. The focus was no longer on repenting, repenting, and repenting. It was now focused on living, living, living the right life so repentance was rare. He stressed what we now call being real. I think this idea was so well accepted because of how different it was. George Fox was on the cutting edge. He had a belief and sought to express to others not just so they could hear, but so that they might live it to the fullest. Throughout George s life his goal was to demonstrate Christ through his actions. However it wasn t a conscious decision. Fox was walking so closely with Christ that his natural actions and thoughts were like those that are taught in the Bible. He influenced the Church by the fact that he took what the Bible said about Christian living and preached it his whole life helping the people learn how to develop lives which adhered to Biblical teachings. My ideas about his ideas I like George. There are some issues that we might disagree upon, but I like his passion for Christian living. I want to spend my whole life learning and attempting to be like Christ. Right now I am the manager/sound technician for a band. The Lord is blessing us in ways that never even thought of to ask. Our name is Paradigm. So many people ask what that means. It s a word used in a few different contexts, but chose it because of the definition found in Webster s Dictionary. It states, example, pattern especially: an outstandingly clear or typical example or archetype. We want to show the example or pattern of how we are to worship as Christians. We want to show and demonstrate what a relationship with Christ is all about. I think Fox was right on the nail when he preached purity. Our world has lost her morals and values. We are falling further and further away from the example Christ laid out for us. Fox was attempting to keep us from going to where we are now. I do think George went overboard in a since in the area of separation. He wanted to be different and he took it further than it needed to be. Fox would care less about your own personal opinion or if what he did affected you negatively or not. He had good intentions. Maybe it s because I m young and our generation views things differently, but loving people is so important now. Fox was the type of person who would call you out in front of everything telling you how you re living wrong. Like I said earlier, he meant well, yet his approach it completely off. His love for Christ was evident, but his love for the people seemed to trail off. There are many ways to interpret Fox s ideas. He felt the light we had shining was directly related to our soul and where our relationship with Christ was. I agree. You can see the joy in a person s face when they re walking side by side with Christ. Fox blazed a trail. Usually when that happens it means they may have stepped over the line a bit so someone needs to come by, put the fire out, and direct the confused people. Fox essentially taught that if you aren t living that perfect life than you re not walking with the Lord. I see where he s coming from, but that doesn t mean I agree. I admire his heart and passion to stress purity. I admire Fox for his perseverance. This is all why he had made a influential mark on Church history. This is why he will always be in the books. Bibliography George Fox. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Fifth Edition. 1995 ed. Taylor, Mendall. Exploring Evangelism. Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1964. Mark Terry, John. Evangelism, A Concise History. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.