Isaac Penington

Isaac Penington (* 1616 ; † 1679 ) was an influential figure in early Quakerism and the author of several books. Theologically and in terms of appearance, he is considered the opposite pole to George Fox .

Life

Isaac was the eldest son of Sir Isaac Penington. He was Mayor of London from 1642 to 1643 . Penington's childhood home was puritanical . In 1654 he married the widow Mary Springett. Both initially belonged to the Seeker movement. The marriage had six children: John, Mary, Isaac, William, Edward. Another boy, whose name is not known, died early.

During his life he changed places of residence: Chalfont St. Peter , London, Bury House near Amersham and Goodneston in the county of Kent.

Penington cultivated friendships with well-known literary greats of his time such as John Milton , John Locke and Thomas Ellwood .

In 1658, the Penington couple joined the new Quaker movement. This was followed by a number of stays in prisons. Five in Aylesbury and one in Reading . He spent a total of about five years in prison. During this time he also wrote most of his works. In it he interpreted Quakerism mystically , for which he was criticized by Quaker authors in the 19th century. In recent times this position has become more popular again (e.g. with Rufus Jones ). Penington died in Bury House in 1679.

Works

• The outer Jew, a mirror for those who profess Christianity of the present age. Ludwig Seebohm, Friedensthal 1803, OCLC 681967644 . (Digitized at google books)
• Some comments made to the Jews. OCLC 80121035 .

literature

• Claus Bernet (Ed.): Deutsche Quäkerschriften. Volume 1: German Quaker writings of the 17th century. Olms, Hildesheim u. a. 2012, ISBN 978-3-487-13569-4 .