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Robert Barclay played a key role among early Friends. Better educated than most, with part of his education from Calvinists and part from Jesuits, he became the leading theologian of the Quaker movement. While a number of early Friends wrote doctrinal works, Barclay was the one who wrote more systematic theological treatises which stand to the present day as the most definitive expressions of early Quaker belief.
Barclay is best known for his Apology for the True Christian Divinity, which has remained in print since its first publication more than three centuries ago. However, his earlier work, A Catechism and Confession of Faith, was also widely used among Friends for hundreds of years.
Unlike the Apology, this earlier work had been out of print for a long time. Consequently, even its existence has not been widely known among contemporary Friends. But within the last few months, it has once again become readily available. It is now available in two ways:
- In print form edited in modern English by Dean Freiday and Arthur O. Roberts (Barclay Press, 2001)
- Online, in the original English of the Third Edition (1673).
It is no coincidence that both the modern English and original language versions became available at around the same time. The original language version was put online by Friends concerned that the modern English version would inevitably change to some degree the original meaning. They contend that 17th century English is understandable by contemporary English speakers, and thus a modern English version is undesirable. Personally, I think it is good to have both approaches available.
Both the catechism and confession formats were very common in Barclay's day. Usually the confession was placed first, but Barclay reversed that on the grounds that, "It is more orderly to begin with easier and more readily understood things and then progress to those that are more difficult and involved."
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