The Mind of Brian

I just finished the biography of John Woolman (The Beautiful Soul of John Woolman, Apostle of Abolition by Thomas P. Slaughter), a Quaker who lived 1720-1773 in America. As the title might indicate, he was known for his itinierant ministry against slavery at a time when it was not on the forefront of many minds in America. Having he learned about this ministry from my American church history class, it was interesting to see how he did it and his overall life (as well as the Quakers). Interestingly, very little is known about his family life and marriage. Perhaps a different time. In some ways, though, I found a kindred spirit in Woolman in the attempt to be an asectic in the modern world, as well as the attempt to look beyond the problem to the roots of the problem. He saw that slavery came from a love of self and overlove of family–which caused them to mistreat people and the institution of slavery. He gave up his shop because he knew that items he sold were tainted by slavery. He had problems accepting hospitality when it meant extra work for the slaves; he paid them or refusal things. He wore white in his attempt to live a pure life. In many ways, he was an Old Testament prophet but in America–often forgotten. Maybe a bit extreme at times but he believed in his message–something to admire. In fact, one might wonder if he has much to challenge us in our capitalist society. I am glad to have looked at his life a little bit through this book.