Description

Book Synopsis
"As the Oracles of God" examines how Quakers in colonial America sought to control both the written and spoken word in their religious communities. It looks at the ways in which American Friends set up committees to censor texts deemed heterodox, as well as the ways Quakers sought to moderate the words of believers through encouraging self-censorship as a way to access personal revelation, while also paying particular attention to the experiences of those who ran afoul of Friends' rules in these regards, either by publishing works without the consent of their meetings or speaking in un-Quakerly fashion. Debates over freedom of speech, the work asserts, defined early modern religious communities just as much as it did more formal legal institutions.

Table of Contents
Acknowledgements Abstract Keywords  Introduction  1 Policing Quaker Speech  2 Policing Quaker Print Ways  3 Disputing the Word  Conclusion  References

As the Oracles of God : Policing the Word in Colonial Quakerism

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    A Paperback by S. Spencer Wells

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      Publisher: Brill
      Publication Date: 25/01/2024
      ISBN13: 9789004693975, 978-9004693975
      ISBN10:
      Also in:
      Ethical issues: censorship Quakers

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      "As the Oracles of God" examines how Quakers in colonial America sought to control both the written and spoken word in their religious communities. It looks at the ways in which American Friends set up committees to censor texts deemed heterodox, as well as the ways Quakers sought to moderate the words of believers through encouraging self-censorship as a way to access personal revelation, while also paying particular attention to the experiences of those who ran afoul of Friends' rules in these regards, either by publishing works without the consent of their meetings or speaking in un-Quakerly fashion. Debates over freedom of speech, the work asserts, defined early modern religious communities just as much as it did more formal legal institutions.

      Table of Contents
      Acknowledgements Abstract Keywords  Introduction  1 Policing Quaker Speech  2 Policing Quaker Print Ways  3 Disputing the Word  Conclusion  References

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