"The Most Serious Dissention": Implications of a Theological Reading of the Keithian Controversy

The Keithian Controversy was one of the most explosive disputes in seventeenth-century Quakerism, but has been neglected in the historiography. Where it has attracted attention, it has usually been assumed that Keith himself was the problem, and the theological contours of the controversy have there...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Pennington, Madeleine 1992- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Liverpool University Press 2022
In: Quaker studies
Year: 2022, Volume: 27, Issue: 1, Pages: 93-100
IxTheo Classification:FA Theology
KAH Church history 1648-1913; modern history
KDG Free church
NBF Christology
Further subjects:B Keithian Controversy
B Hicksites, theology
B Christology
B George Keith
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Summary:The Keithian Controversy was one of the most explosive disputes in seventeenth-century Quakerism, but has been neglected in the historiography. Where it has attracted attention, it has usually been assumed that Keith himself was the problem, and the theological contours of the controversy have therefore been given little consideration. Nonetheless, the heart of the controversy was a critical spiritual issue for the Religious Society of Friends: what is the relationship between the Light within and the historical Jesus? This research note reflects on some of the implications of this view for our wider understanding of Quakerism. Above all, it suggests that the Keithian controversy points to intrinsic tensions within Quaker thought, and was the first in a series of Quaker schisms that confronted these issues explicitly. The benefits of studying the Controversy for a more contextualised understanding of all periods of Quakerism are therefore significant.
ISSN:2397-1770
Contains:Enthalten in: Quaker studies
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.3828/quaker.2022.27.1.8