John Woolman, Quintessential Quaker

on God. Woolman is generally viewed as an excellent example of living out this concern. When his business steadily increased, instead of rejoicing he "felt a stop in my mind." He felt his business grew too cumbersome, interfering with his faithfulness to the callings of God upon his life. So he withdrew from retail trade and decided to rely solely on tailoring and orchard-tending to earn his livelihood.

Other Aspects of Faithfulness

The aspects of his life outlined above are probably those for which Woolman is best known. However, his faithfulness to God manifested itself in many ways, and I would like to briefly touch on a few more of them:

• His concern over oppression extended beyond slavery to others of humble circumstance. For example, on his voyage to England for what proved his final journey, he felt led to travel in steerage with the sailors rather than to have a cabin. He explained, "I was now desirous to embrace every opportunity of being inwardly acquainted with the hardship and difficulties of my fellow creatures..."
• He also had a concern for native Americans and was moved to take a difficult and dangerous journey among them. He explained, "Love was the first motion, and then a concern arose to spend some time with the Indians, that I might feel and understand their life and the spirit they live in, if haply I might receive some instruction from them, or they be in any degree helped forward by my following the leadings of Truth amongst them."
• He felt the Quaker peace testimony deeply. During the French and Indian War, he argued against any compromise with the warmakers. He signed an epistle with 13 others presenting the case for refusing to pay taxes levied to support the war.
• His compassion extended beyond humans to other living creatures. He was deeply concerned about overworking of oxen and horses. In his final travels in England, he walked rather than use "those coaches which run so fast as oft to oppress the horses."
• While Friends in their earliest days wrote and spoke harshly about other groups of Christians, Woolman felt a stop about that. As a teenager, he "found no narrowness respecting sects..." As an adult he believed "All true Christians are of the same spirit but their gifts are diverse." He cited both the Dutch Catholic monk Thomas à Kempis and the Protestant martyr John Huss as "of a true Christian spirit."

The Book

Go To Page: 1 2 3 4

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic