Edward Grubb (Quaker)
Encyclopedia
Edward Grubb was an influential British Quaker who made significant contributions to revitalizing pacifism
and a concern for social issues in the Religious Society of Friends
in the late 19th century as a leader of the movement known as the "Quaker Renaissance." Like most pacifists of his generation, his absolute pacifist stance was born from the disillusionment with the Boer War
. He would later play a major role in the No-Conscription Fellowship
, an organization that united and supported conscientious objector
s in Britain during World War One
.
in York, England. Bootham was a boarding school for boys of the Religious Society of Friends
. Grubb had attended the school himself, beginning in 1868 at the age of fourteen. He would later move on to teach at a number of other schools, including other Quaker schools. He received his B.A. in 1876 and in 1877 married Emma M. Horsnail of Bulford Mill, who he had courted for seven years.
by London Yearly Meeting in 1888. Soon after, as a result of his regular participation in meeting for worship, Grubb was officially recorded as a minister in the Religious Society of Friends
. At the time, he still did not feel he had a firm basis for his faith, but was confident that it would come with time.
.
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
and a concern for social issues in the Religious Society of Friends
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
in the late 19th century as a leader of the movement known as the "Quaker Renaissance." Like most pacifists of his generation, his absolute pacifist stance was born from the disillusionment with the Boer War
Boer War
The Boer Wars were two wars fought between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics, the Oranje Vrijstaat and the Republiek van Transvaal ....
. He would later play a major role in the No-Conscription Fellowship
No conscription league
-Formation:The No Conscription League was founded by anarchist Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman in 1917 in response to the draft in WWI. It was enforced by the Selective Service Act of 1917, which granted the federal government the right to raise a national army...
, an organization that united and supported conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
s in Britain during World War One
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Early Career
Edward Grubb began his career as a teacher at Bootham SchoolBootham School
Bootham School is an independent Quaker boarding school in the city of York in North Yorkshire, England. It was founded by the Religious Society of Friends in 1823. It is close to York Minster. The current headmaster is Jonathan Taylor. The school's motto Membra Sumus Corporis Magni means "We...
in York, England. Bootham was a boarding school for boys of the Religious Society of Friends
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
. Grubb had attended the school himself, beginning in 1868 at the age of fourteen. He would later move on to teach at a number of other schools, including other Quaker schools. He received his B.A. in 1876 and in 1877 married Emma M. Horsnail of Bulford Mill, who he had courted for seven years.
Struggles with Faith and Science
While preparing for his M.A. examination in 1879, he had a crisis of faith resulting from his inability to reconcile science with the religious beliefs he had grown up with. He initially found it impossible to see how any serious intellectual could also be religious. He did not find any satisfaction in agnosticism; however, and remained open to a solution to his intellectual problems that included belief in God. In the 1880s Grubb began to develop an interest in social concerns, even cutting back on his teaching in order to devote time to the study of economics and to public work. In keeping with his desire to reconcile faith with science, Grubb was among those who vocally and successfully opposed the adoption of the Richmond DeclarationRichmond Declaration
The Richmond Declaration was made by 95 Quakers in September 1887, at a conference in Richmond, Indiana...
by London Yearly Meeting in 1888. Soon after, as a result of his regular participation in meeting for worship, Grubb was officially recorded as a minister in the Religious Society of Friends
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
. At the time, he still did not feel he had a firm basis for his faith, but was confident that it would come with time.
Major Contributions
Grubb would go on to be a major leader of British Quakerism, a prolific religious author, and a key member of a number of religious and social organizations, including the No-Conscription FellowshipNo conscription league
-Formation:The No Conscription League was founded by anarchist Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman in 1917 in response to the draft in WWI. It was enforced by the Selective Service Act of 1917, which granted the federal government the right to raise a national army...
.
Selected Writings
- Social Aspects of the Quaker Faith (London: Headley Brothers, 1899).
- Quakerism in England: Its Present Position (London: Headley Brothers, 1901).
- Authority and the Light Within (Philadelphia: J.C. Winston, 1908).
- The Silence of God (London: Headley Brothers, 1909).
- Notes on the Life and Teaching of Jesus (London: James Clark & Co.; Headley Brothers, 1910).
- The Personality of God and Other Essays in Constructive Christian Thought (London: Headley Brothers, 1911).
- The True Way Of Life (London: Headley Brothers, 1915).
- What is Quakerism?: An Exposition of the Leading Principles and Practices of the Society of Friends, as Based on the Experience of "the Inward Light" (London: Swarthmore, 1917).
- Christ in Christian thought: Notes on the Development of the Doctrine of Christ's Person (London: James Clark, 1919).
- The Bible; Its Nature and Inspiration (London: Swarthmore, 1920).
- The Meaning of the Cross: A Story of the Atonement (London: Allen and Unwin, 1922).
- Authority in Religion (New York: MacMillan, 1924).
- Quaker Thought and History: A Volume of Essays (New York: MacMillan, 1925).
- Christianity as Life (London: Swarthmore, 1927).
- The Nature of Christianity (London: Swarthmore, 1927).
- Christianity as Truth (London: Swarthmore, 1928).
- The Worth of Prayer: And Other Essays (London: James Clark, 1930).
- Thoughts on the Divine in Man (London: Friends Book Centre, 1931).