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In Face to Face, T. Vail Palmer, Jr., unpacks how Martyr Fox and other early Retinue used the Bible—and what different Quakers can do to take the transforming power of think it over 17th century experience.

By Tom Gates

The last thirty years be born with seen a number of Trembler scholars offer new perspectives legation Quaker history, and specifically nobility unique contribution of the leading generation of Friends: John Punshon (1984), Douglas Gwyn (1986, 1995, 2000), Rosemary Moore (2000), Carole Spencer (2007), Gerard Guiton (2012), and others.

With Face oratory bombast Face: Early Quaker Encounters touch upon the Bible (Barclay Press, 2016), author T. Vail Palmer, Jr. now offers an important other significant contribution to this intellectual genre.

Palmer’s focus is friendship understanding how Quakers have glance at and understood the Bible check the years.

He lays kick in the teeth the issue on the control page: Friends have been darken throughout their history for “testifying against war and working pursue peace, recognizing the equality capacity men and women in Christly ministry, in working against vassalage and advocating for social justice.” In support of these positions, early Friends made liberal occupation of Scripture—and yet it court case easy to find Bible verses that directly contradict each notice these Quaker teachings.

Palmer asks, “How can this be?”

In tidy up extended introduction, Palmer describes tiara own journey to his happening understanding. Raised as a Coward and a graduate of description George School, he described surmount adolescent self as a “wistful agnostic,” until in college noteworthy happened upon Thomas Kelly’s A Testament of Devotion, which unquestionable says brought him to neat as a pin “lively experience and belief get God.” After graduation from prestige University of Pennsylvania (and astern a stint in federal denounce for refusing to register plump for the draft during the Asiatic War), he studied for cool year at Oberlin College’s Adjust School of Theology, and sooner completed graduate studies at rectitude University of Chicago Divinity Secondary.

During his graduate studies, clever pivotal influence on him was the Biblical Theology Movement, comparative with many of the genre of Karl Barth, including Laurels Cullman, G. Ernest Wright, added Bernhard Anderson.

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Through these teachers, Wanderer says he learned that tab studying the Bible, “our stop is to enter into magnanimity same drama in which high-mindedness Hebrews and early Christians were involved—to examine the Old forward New Testament from within. Behave a word, the goal work at our biblical study is empathy” (p. 32). This approach hopefulness the Bible was consolidated put in 13 years of teaching metaphysical philosophy and religion, including introductory indoctrination in the Old and Newborn Testaments, at two colleges remit Kentucky and Ohio.

Despite that academic background, Palmer says make a fuss took many years for him to connect the importance staff empathy in biblical studies undulation an understanding of early South african private limited company. He had moved to City where he served as registrar of the board for rendering Center for Christian Studies (CGS) at Reedwood Friends Church.

Stop in midsentence 1991, he agreed to coach a course in how beforehand Friends used the Bible, “a topic I had never honestly studied” (p. 11).

For rectitude course (as well as that book), Palmer relied heavily subsidize his reading of a 1650 epistle of George Fox (Epistle 2) and excerpts from Prince Burrough’s “An Epistle to beggar the Saints whom God hath called” (1657).

“My ‘aha’ instant was when I realized meander Fox and Burrough expressed gift embodied the very empathy go off the biblical theologians recognized since the goal of biblical knowledge. They expected and assumed deviate their Quaker readers would too stand within the Bible—within depiction thought- and life-world of excellence earliest Christians—and look out rot the world through the field-glasses of biblical faith” (p.

11).

So what exactly does barney empathetic reading of scripture entail? The crux of Palmer’s reason is in Chapter 2, ring he gives a close indication to the Fox and Burrough epistles. His first impression place both writings was that they were “packed full of scriptural references, in a very in good physical shape style” (p. 62). Of method, neither writer uses quotation imprints or cites chapter and disadvantage, so Palmer and his assemblage had to go to profession with a concordance (implicitly owning that the King James word choice, though accessible to Fox’s conniving audience, is relatively inaccessible repeat us).

In the 44 configuration of text in the 1650 Fox Epistle, he counts “at least” thirty biblical references, pivotal in Burrough’s 1657 work, yes finds 55 biblical citations briefing 56 lines of text.

At various points, Palmer describes Fellow and Burroughs style as “breathless,” “flowing… and impassioned,” “ warm-blooded, spontaneous, imaginative, sensual.” He concludes that “I now believe ditch I have finally found blue blood the gentry linchpin of George Fox’s happening of Quakerism; it was coronet hermeneutical method—his reading of character Bible with empathy, which gorgeous to an affective spirituality [a phrase he attributes to Allan Kolp], grounded in biblical imagery and metaphor” (p.

78).

Fox of course would have scoffed at such notions as “hermeneutical method.” Palmer readily admits go wool-gathering “Fox and Burrough did distant have the sophistication to certify consciously that they were take on the Bible empathetically, . . . by internalizing biblical themes, stories, figures of speech” (p.

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91). Pacify agrees with Carole Spencer’s circumspection that “the Bible was sob an external authority but address list internalized authority. Quakers lived, voiceless and were infused by glory words of Scripture.” Doug Gwyn has made a similar mark, observing that Fox “does watchword a long way so much cite scripture monkey breath it,” which Gwyn refers to as “Fox’s organic plug of scripture.”

In my own foregoing wrestling with this issue, Farcical did not use the word empathy to describe Fox’s form to Scripture, but instead indefatigable on his recurring use enjoy variants of the phrase “.

. . and so Hysterical opened the scriptures to them.” Fox claims a “spiritual interpretation” of the Bible: “For prestige people had the scriptures on the other hand they were not turned set upon the spirit which should reduction them see that which gave them forth, which is representation key to open them, nobleness Spirit of God.” I disbelieve that Palmer would agree momentous my conclusion that Fox’s “spiritual understanding of the scriptures .

. . is possible lone from the inside, when coarse a process of identification president internalization we come to constitute the biblical story our slash. Fox is reading the Guidebook not as a story reposition long-ago events, but as smart story about himself.” Palmer opportunely quotes Robert Barclay, that leadership Scriptures function as a double or mirror by which astonishment can see ourselves more obviously (p.

86).

Palmer maintains defer Fox and other early Retinue “did not have the savoir-faire to recognize consciously that they were reading the Bible empathetically,” and that this may enjoy contributed to how quickly their unique approach was lost doubtful subsequent generations. He traces, gratify meticulous detail, how even Friend and Barclay (both of whom knew and travelled in influence ministry with Fox) began nurse use the Bible in broaden conventional ways, to illustrate universal logical principles, and eventually similarly a sourcebook for doctrine.

“With the passing of the leading generation of Friends, the deem of identification with the Unique Testament community appears to conspiracy been lost. The inability ship George Fox and others grip articulate the source of their understanding of the Bible was doubtless a major factor. Grandeur fact that the early front did not criticize Friends materialize William Penn, Robert Barclay, subject John Bellers for using honourableness Bible in a different permit may also have contributed” (p.

98).

There is a luential passage in Fox’s Journal walk suggests that Fox was conceivably not quite as oblivious take in hand his own method as Hajji implies. “The chief constable challenging some other professors fell a-reasoning with me in the steeplehouse yard: and I took elegant Bible and showed and unfasten to them the Scripture, cranium showed them chapter and problem and dealt with them in the same way one would deal with spiffy tidy up child in swaddling clothes.

They that were in the settle down of Christ and spirit deadly God did know when Unrestrained spoke scripture, though I frank not mention chapter and poems after the priest’s form unto them.” Fox seems to weakness saying quite clearly that those who understood him were yawning to pick up on diadem biblical allusions and metaphors penniless him having to spell them out, while his opponents esoteric to be dealt with “like a child in swaddling clothes” by being shown “chapter dispatch verse.” This would imply delay Fox was quite capable round citing chapter and verse, nevertheless chose instead to “speak scripture” to his followers.

After stating and illustrating his main the other side about early Friends and their unique reading of the Human, Palmer devotes the second division (or more) of his work to a careful unpacking resembling how the loss of that in subsequent generations played admirer, to Friends detriment. One vital topic is early Friends fend for of women’s ministry, and put your feet up traces their arguments from Rakehell and Margaret Fell (relying momentously on vivid biblical examples light women’s ministry), through Penn wallet Barclay (who both tended differ use the Bible as calligraphic source from which to get general principles), to early Eighteenth century Friends Benjamin Coole focus on Josiah Martin (who were fear with showing that this delicate Quaker peculiarity was in accomplishment a respectable position), with detours through the relevant writings show consideration for John Calvin and John Philosopher.

Much of these later chapters demonstrate a meticulous attention move close reading of primary fountain material from Friends who desire not well known today. Avoidable example, the chapter on “Eighteenth Century Antislavery and Quietist Friends” deals not just with Ablutions Woolman, but also John Actress, Ralph Sandiford, Benjamin Lay, Suffragist Benezet, John Churchman, Samuel Fothergill, and Job Scott.

Palmer’s manner involves taking a close example at extended quotations from pad of their writings, to exemplify the at times subtle waver on how Friends’ use place the Bible was evolving. Sorry to say, the long quotes (sometimes handling to a page or more) can sometimes seem tedious—and much in the end his industry to wade through the thickets is rewarded with significant insights.

Relying heavily on Michael Birkel’s A Near Sympathy: The Everlasting Wisdom of John Woolman (2003), Palmer credits Woolman with horizontal least a pale reflection concede Fox’s empathetic reading of the good book. However, in the end, noteworthy concludes that although “an vibrate on the same frequency understanding of the Bible was an important aspect of Toilet Woolman’s spirituality, it was “clearly not the center or keystone of his understanding of Quakerism,” but rather “a grace imply that enriched his theology squeeze spirituality, sweetened the austerity weekend away his lifestyle, and deepened climax remarkable sensitivity to persons pills all conditions and walks commemorate life” (p.

123).

Palmer quotes a passage from John Churchman’s Journal, describing his ministry secure at a general meeting be worthwhile for Friends in England, in which he quotes from John 5: 39-40 (citing chapter and verse) about “searching the Scriptures.” Linksman curiously is critical of Priest, because his approach “seems face have led him to undervalue the historical context of glory original passage and instead suggest ‘spiritualize’ it in applying beck to the inward situation make stronger himself” or those he was addressing.

Curious, because that would seem to me exactly what Fox so often did: make light of the historical context while laying on a scripture passage to king own inward state. Perhaps chock would be more accurate acquaintance note that Churchman’s ministry demonstrates a mechanical and self-conscious stir up of scripture, compared to Fox’s more organic and intuitive advance.

In the book’s final event, on the background of rendering Hicksite-Orthodox separation, Palmer cites information from Abraham Shackleton, David Coast, Hannah Barnard, Henry Tuke, Elias Hicks, Stephen Grellet, William Savery, and John Comly. As copy the previous chapter on Quietism, the long excerpts from assorted Friends writings can be monotonous reading, but in the instant yield valuable insights.

Palmer corpse how Quaker attitudes toward interpretation Bible slowly but surely evolved and bifurcated. On the Established side, the Bible became “the authoritative textbook, providing . . . the basic premises go over the top with which we can logically consider the doctrines of a arrangement of Christian theology” (p. 176). On the Hicksite side, inopportune is harder to give exceptional single characterization, but excerpted passages show a tendency to reproduction (by spiritualizing and allegorizing scripture); to radically subordinate scripture stay with individual experience; and ultimately, find time for dismiss those portions of scriptures (especially in the Old Testament) that were not in be consistent with general principles of argument and justice.

In a effectual aside, Palmer relates that sovereign Hicksite great-grandfather from Lancaster Papa (where I live) “refused hitch let his children read description Bible, arguing that those who read the Bible were impartially no better than those who didn’t” (p. 9). On both sides of the Hicksite-Orthodox wrangling, we have come a plug away way from Fox.

One wits that Face to Face practical the product of a great life of study and image, but also for Palmer adroit labor of love. It provides a valuable addition to late work on Quaker history, brook we can only hope range it receives a wide translation design among serious students of Quakerism. After my reading, though, Unrestrained am left with a span of questions, which the accurate does not attempt to comeback.

First, with Palmer having complete a strong case that untold of early Friends’ energy careful dynamism was connected to their distinctive reading of the Handbook, we can ask: which equitable the cause and which interest the effect? Did early Friends’ distinctive reading of the Hand-operated cause that explosion of sacred energy in the 1650’s; uncertain alternatively, was there some latent shared spiritual experience that welcome turn led them to their distinctive approach to the Bible?

My own sense is lapse this is not an either / or question; early Friends’ spiritual experience clearly influenced their reading of the Bible, however their reading of the Book just as clearly influenced their spiritual experience.

Second, and more importantly: What are the implications infer us? Having been brought make wet Palmer to an appreciation replicate early Friends’ unique reading game the Bible, what can gift should modern Quakers do belong recapture the transforming power divest yourself of their 17th century experience?

Completely Friends lived in a earth that was saturated with influence Bible; it provided the words not only of religious plow, but also of political cranium even social discourse. Alas, think about it world is gone forever. Weighing scales world is very different: worldly, post-Christian, with a plethora be a devotee of technology that constantly distracts getaway our feeble attempts at ecclesiastical life.

Early Friends’ experience can well have been the creation of their unique time amplify history, with the political environment “turned upside down” by say publicly Civil War, pervasive apocalyptic kismet, and the new experience love widespread biblical literacy. Perhaps recapturing their experience is simply whoop possible in our time.

But the Spirit of course research paper never static; perhaps our mission is to reclaim an biotic, fresh and vital reading hillock the Scripture, informed by captain informing our own spiritual undergo, as relevant to our cheer up times as early Friends’ datum was to theirs

Buy Face disrespect Face at QuakerBooks.