Puritan Persecution of Quakers

[Bryan]

I've been slowly reading through The New Foxe's Book of Martyers and am curious about the extent of the persecution against the Quakers by the Puritans. The book makes it out the New England Puritians to be quite intolerant of the Quakers in any respect.

Bryan
SDG

 

[RamistThomist]

The Quakers would strip naked and run through the streets and disrupt churches. Does that fully justify a persecution against them? No, but it keeps the Quakers from being innocent-eyed religious free-thinkers.

That being said, William Penn had a better philosophy of government than most modern Conservative Christians. He wrote, "If men will not choose to be governed by God, then they condemn themselves to be ruled by tyrants."

 

[Contra_Mundum]

Quakerism is definitely an oddball outfit. Or should I say outfits, because you can find "evangelical" Quakers today, just down the street from the church my father pastors. And then there are the atheist Quakers who run a bunch of the "Friends" organizations and schools down in southeastern PA, where I lived when I was in HS. Fox (NOT the martyr's book Foxe) who founded the whole Quaker movement in England was a intollerant, irrascible fanatic, about 180 degrees different from Wm. Penn, a follower of the sect and founder of Pennsylvania.

Strict Quakerism isn't Christianity, although in practice some branches of Christianity without clearly defined beliefs can end up looking a lot like Quakerism. Quakerism proper is a species of Unitarian belief, but with immanence prominent, as opposed to Deism's trancendence. Hence, it's not too hard to make sense of it's historical advent into English religious history.

Without justifying whatever unwonted persecutions there may have been (and I do not know the facts--remember, some people's definition of persecution and even martyrdom are broad enough to include suicide bombers), I agree with Jacob that the Quakers weren't always nice quiet pagans next door, minding their own business, but were deliberately confrontational, desiring and seeking trouble and "persecutions," seeking the same sort of notoriety that modern day publicity hounds crave.

"There's no such thing as bad press," as the saying goes...

 

[VirginiaHuguenot]

Persecution is a loaded word. The Puritans didn't come to New England for the principle of religious freedom for everybody. They came to set up a commonwealth where God was Lord over the state and the church, ie., theocracy, as taught by the Westminster Standards. The same standards which teach:

IV. And because the powers which God hath ordained, and the liberty which Christ hath purchased, are not intended by God to destroy, but mutually to uphold and preserve one another; they who, upon pretence of Christian liberty, shall oppose any lawful power, or the lawful exercise of it, whether it be civil or ecclesiastical, resist the ordinance of God.(p) And, for their publishing of such opinions, or maintaining of such practices, as are contrary to the light of nature, or to the known principles of Christianity, whether concerning faith, worship, or conversation; or, to the power of godliness; or, such erroneous opinions or practices, as either in their own nature, or in the manner of publishing or maintaining them, are destructive to the external peace and order which Christ hath established in the Church, they may lawfully be called to account, and proceeded against by the censures of the Church,(q) and by the power of the civil magistrate.(r)

(p) Matt. 12:25; I Pet. 2:13, 14, 16; Rom. 13:1 to 8; Heb. 13:17.
(q) Rom. 1:32 with I Cor. 5:1, 5, 11, 13; II John ver. 10, 11, and II Thess. 3:14, and I Tim. 6:3, 4, 5, and Tit. 1:10, 11, 13, and Tit. 3:10 with Matt. 18:15, 16, 17; I Tim. 1:19, 20; Rev. 2:2, 14, 15, 20; Rev. 3:9.
(r) Deut. 13:6 to 12; Rom. 13:3, 4 with II John ver. 10, 11; Ezra 7:23, 25, 26, 27, 28; Rev. 17:12, 16, 17; Neh. 13:15, 17, 21, 22, 25, 30; II Kings 23:5, 6, 9, 20, 21; II Chron. 34:33; II Chron. 15:12, 13, 16; Dan. 3:29; I Tim. 2:2; Isa. 49:23; Zech. 13:2, 3.

 

[RamistThomist]

Originally posted by VirginiaHuguenot
Persecution is a loaded word. The Puritans didn't come to New England for the principle of religious freedom for everybody. They came to set up a commonwealth where God was Lord over the state and the church, ie., theocracy, as taught by the Westminster Standards. The same standards which teach:

IV. And because the powers which God hath ordained, and the liberty which Christ hath purchased, are not intended by God to destroy, but mutually to uphold and preserve one another; they who, upon pretence of Christian liberty, shall oppose any lawful power, or the lawful exercise of it, whether it be civil or ecclesiastical, resist the ordinance of God.(p) And, for their publishing of such opinions, or maintaining of such practices, as are contrary to the light of nature, or to the known principles of Christianity, whether concerning faith, worship, or conversation; or, to the power of godliness; or, such erroneous opinions or practices, as either in their own nature, or in the manner of publishing or maintaining them, are destructive to the external peace and order which Christ hath established in the Church, they may lawfully be called to account, and proceeded against by the censures of the Church,(q) and by the power of the civil magistrate.(r)

(p) Matt. 12:25; I Pet. 2:13, 14, 16; Rom. 13:1 to 8; Heb. 13:17.
(q) Rom. 1:32 with I Cor. 5:1, 5, 11, 13; II John ver. 10, 11, and II Thess. 3:14, and I Tim. 6:3, 4, 5, and Tit. 1:10, 11, 13, and Tit. 3:10 with Matt. 18:15, 16, 17; I Tim. 1:19, 20; Rev. 2:2, 14, 15, 20; Rev. 3:9.
(r) Deut. 13:6 to 12; Rom. 13:3, 4 with II John ver. 10, 11; Ezra 7:23, 25, 26, 27, 28; Rev. 17:12, 16, 17; Neh. 13:15, 17, 21, 22, 25, 30; II Kings 23:5, 6, 9, 20, 21; II Chron. 34:33; II Chron. 15:12, 13, 16; Dan. 3:29; I Tim. 2:2; Isa. 49:23; Zech. 13:2, 3.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[cupotea]

Willam Hathorne is renowned for whipping Quakers in the streets of Salem..

I think by the end of the the seventeenth century, the "Puritans" had sort of adjusted; they weren't thrilled that there were Quakers all over the place, but they also weren't thrilled about all of the Anglicans, and they were probably just glad that James hadn't converted everybody to Catholicism!