Theological counsel in the early Quaker movement
Abstract
Early Quakers have not typically been noted for their espousal of political counsel. This article proposes that its cohort powerfully made the case for the ‘counsel of God’ in politics. This counsel was, perhaps paradoxically, both intensively inward, deriving from the light of God within, and universalistic and external, given that counsel could emanate from any individual. This was distinct from most contemporary applications of conciliar rhetoric, although some conceptual and practical similarities are considered. This article explores, finally, the diversity of seventeenth-century conceptions of theological and political counsel alongside that of the Quakers, suggesting further directions for research.
Citation
McArthur , E D 2023 , ' Theological counsel in the early Quaker movement ' , Journal of Ecclesiastical History , vol. 74 , no. 1 , pp. 68-89 . https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022046922001038
Publication
Journal of Ecclesiastical History
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0022-0469Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © 2022 Cambridge University Press. This work has been made available online in accordance with publisher policies or with permission. Permission for further reuse of this content should be sought from the publisher or the rights holder. This is the author created accepted manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022046922001038.
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