Question about Fox quote

Comment by Ellis Hein on 10thMo. 4, 2020 at 2:43

Allan, First, to be fair, that text was put in place by Allistair Lomax of the UK. The reference is to Vol. 1, p. 84. You may also be interested in Vol. 6, p.8 (you may need to back up a bit for context).

Comment by Allan Halton on 10thMo. 5, 2020 at 21:53

Thanks, Ellis.

Another question. I was listening to an interview on Youtube in which the man commended the early Friends for waiting silently on God. The man quoted Barclay (I think he must have been referring to Robert Barclay) as saying, "We don't believe in silence, it's just that till God speaks we have nothing to say." Can this quotation be authenticated?

Comment by Ellis Hein on 10thMo. 6, 2020 at 19:06

Allan, the man is not quoting Barclay. Maybe some one has tried to modernize the text and that forms the basis of the quote you have. I believe what is being referred to is the following passage from proposition xi:

Many are the blessed experiences which I could relate of this silence and manner of worship yet I do not so much; commend and speak of silence as if we had bound ourselves by any law to exclude praying or preaching, or tied ourselves thereunto ; not at all : for as our worship consisteth not in words, so neither in silence, as silence:  but in a holy dependence of the mind upon God : from which dependence silence necessarily follows in the first place, until words can be brought forth, which are from God's Spirit. And God is not wanting to move in his children to bring forth words of exhortation or prayer, when it is needful ; so that of the many gatherings and meetings of such as are convinced of the truth, there is scarce any in whom God raiseth not up some or other to minister to his brethren ; and there are few meetings that are altogether silent.

Yet we judge it needful there be in the first place some time of silence, during which every one may be gathered inward to the word and gift of grace ; and we doubt not, but assuredly know that the meeting may be good and refreshful, though from the sitting down to the rising up thereof there hath not been a word outwardly spoken there being no absolute necessity laid upon any so to do, all have chosen rather quietly and silently to possess and enjoy the Lord in themselves, which is very sweet and comfortable to the soul that hath thus learned to be gathered out of all its own thoughts and workings, to feel the Lord to bring forth both the will and the deed ; which many can declare by a blessed experience.

(This is from a electronic copy of Views of Christian Doctrine Held By the Religious Society of Friends Being Passages Taken From Barclay's Apology, 1882, downloaded from archive.org, I think. It looks like the above text is found on pages 196-197. I do not have a physical copy of Barclay's Apology. Maybe I will look and see if it is available for download somewhere.)

Comment by Allan Halton on 10thMo. 7, 2020 at 2:29

Thanks Ellis, that's very good. I think the man I heard is quite knowledgeable, he may have known of this, and, pressed for time, tried to capture it in a very few words.   

Comment by Ellis Hein on 10thMo. 7, 2020 at 2:33

OK

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