Changes

===Founding===

===Founding===

[[image:Georgefox.jpg|right|thumb|250px|George Fox, drawing c.1834]]

[[image:Georgefox.jpg|right|thumb|250px|George Fox, drawing c.1834]]

The origin of the Friends can be traced to the mid-17th century in England.  When [[Henry VII]] severed ties with the [[Roman Catholic Church]] and formed the [[anglicanism|Anglican Church]] in 1534, it instigated a new era of religious dissent.  [[Oliver Cromwell]]'s victory in the [[English Civil War]] gave the [[Puritans]] control of Parliament and furthered the atmosphere of dissent.  The Quakers emerged from the radical fringe of the [[Puritan]] movement.  Although impossible to link the formation of the Quakers to any one person,  George Fox is seen as the driving force behind the movement.  Fox, who was raised in the Anglican Church until the age of 19, set out to find a greater spiritual understanding of God in 1643.  He wandered the countryside for three years meeting with religious leaders in search of this understanding, but did not find the answers he was seeking.  This led him to become disillusioned by these external teachings and he began seeking answers inside himself.  In 1647, he believed to have heard the voice of God, which said to him "there is one, even Christ Jesus, who can speak to thy condition".  It redefined his beliefs on the nature of the relationship between God and man, such as the idea that Christ lived inside all men and women, a church was a meeting of fellowship instead of a building, and that academics was not important to be a minister.  These new ideas were radically different from the elaborate ceremony of the Church of England and the belief in Biblical authority of the Puritans.  Fox spent the next several years preaching throughout the northwest, experiencing great success in convincing (converting) new followers to his cause.  His followers took the name  "Friends of Truth", based off of the Bible verse John 5:15 in which Jesus stated "I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you."  Although there is no official founding date for the Quaker movement, it is often attributed to 1652 Fox's trip to Pendle Hill in which he received a vision that let him "see in what places he had a great people to be gathered."

The origin of the Friends can be traced to the mid-17th century in England.  When [[Henry VIII]] severed ties with the [[Roman Catholic Church]] and formed the [[anglicanism|Anglican Church]] in 1534, it instigated a new era of religious dissent.  [[Oliver Cromwell]]'s victory in the [[English Civil War]] gave the [[Puritans]] control of Parliament and furthered the atmosphere of dissent.  The Quakers emerged from the radical fringe of the [[Puritan]] movement.  Although impossible to link the formation of the Quakers to any one person,  George Fox is seen as the driving force behind the movement.  Fox, who was raised in the Anglican Church until the age of 19, set out to find a greater spiritual understanding of God in 1643.  He wandered the countryside for three years meeting with religious leaders in search of this understanding, but did not find the answers he was seeking.  This led him to become disillusioned by these external teachings and he began seeking answers inside himself.  In 1647, he believed to have heard the voice of God, which said to him "there is one, even Christ Jesus, who can speak to thy condition".  It redefined his beliefs on the nature of the relationship between God and man, such as the idea that Christ lived inside all men and women, a church was a meeting of fellowship instead of a building, and that academics was not important to be a minister.  These new ideas were radically different from the elaborate ceremony of the Church of England and the belief in Biblical authority of the Puritans.  Fox spent the next several years preaching throughout the northwest, experiencing great success in convincing (converting) new followers to his cause.  His followers took the name  "Friends of Truth", based off of the Bible verse John 5:15 in which Jesus stated "I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you."  Although there is no official founding date for the Quaker movement, it is often attributed to 1652 Fox's trip to Pendle Hill in which he received a vision that let him "see in what places he had a great people to be gathered."

====Persecution and growth in England====

====Persecution and growth in England====

Small groups of Quakers (who were known as the "Camp of the Lord in England," and later the "First Publishers of Truth" and "the valiant sixty") began preaching their message across the entire country in the 1650's.  They were a disruptive group, frequently interrupting church services to spread their message.  They taught heretical ideas that minimized the importance of the historic Jesus in lieu of the Spirit and the rejection of the Trinity.  The refused to play tithes, take oaths, or treat the aristocracy with customary social respects.  This led to persecution in the forms of jailing, beatings, and loss of employment.  Margaret Fell began organizing "Monthly Meetings" in order to assist persecuted Quakers, which were their first "formal" gatherings.  In 1655, [[James Nayler]], an early leader, brought unwanted attention to the Quaker movement when he rode into Bristol in a reenactment of Jesus' ride into Jerusalem.  He was arrested, tried before Parliament, tortured, and imprisoned and the event led to greater levels of persecution among the Friends.  This led to the need for more organizational control and Fox called for group confirmation to support individual "leadings" (messages from the Spirit) and advised more experienced Friends to be watchful over the actions of others.

Small groups of Quakers (who were known as the "Camp of the Lord in England," and later the "First Publishers of Truth" and "the valiant sixty") began preaching their message across the entire country in the 1650's.  They were a disruptive group, frequently interrupting church services to spread their message.  They taught heretical ideas that minimized the importance of the historic Jesus in lieu of the Spirit and the rejection of the Trinity.  The refused to play tithes, take oaths, or treat the aristocracy with customary social respects.  This led to persecution in the forms of jailing, beatings, and loss of employment.  Margaret Fell began organizing "Monthly Meetings" in order to assist persecuted Quakers, which were their first "formal" gatherings.  In 1655, [[James Nayler]], an early leader, brought unwanted attention to the Quaker movement when he rode into Bristol in a reenactment of Jesus' ride into Jerusalem.  He was arrested, tried before Parliament, tortured, and imprisoned and the event led to greater levels of persecution among the Friends.  This led to the need for more organizational control and Fox called for group confirmation to support individual "leadings" (messages from the Spirit) and advised more experienced Friends to be watchful over the actions of others.