Richard Finch was a merchant in London and a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

. In 1746, he wrote a pamphlet entitled ''The Nature and Duty of Self-Defence: Addressed to the People called Quakers'', which argued against Quaker beliefs on

pacifism Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

. His opposition to pacifism takes the form of two arguments, one theological and the other not. The theological argument is that man has a right to self-defence which was not abolished by Jesus in the gospels. The second argument draws an analogy between defending against an external aggressor and the right for a government to defend against a civil rebellion or a criminal. Finch mentions in his pamphlet a number of Quaker soldiers who deserted their duty.

Peter Brock Peter Geoffrey Brock (26 February 1945 – 8 September 2006), known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain", or simply "Brocky", was an Australian motor racing driver. Brock was most often associated with Holden for almost 40 years, al ...

supposes that these may have included Joseph Harwood and two of his fellow soldiers. While in hospital, Harwood had slept alongside a soldier who had been raised a Quaker and who lamented his non-adherence to the pacifism of his faith. Harwood and two other soldiers he had influenced were convicted under martial law for laying down his arms during battle. (Harwood and his two companions were later pardoned by King George II.)Brock, p. 315–316. Responses to his booklet against pacifism came from a number of Quaker writers including

Joseph Besse Joseph Besse (c. 1683–1757) was an English Quaker controversialist. He quantified the sufferings and persecution undergone by the Quakers. Biography Besse was born about 1683 and lived in Colchester, where he was a writing master. There he mar ...

and from an unknown and anonymous author who wrote a response called ''A Modest Plea in behalf of the People call'd Quakers''. In 1755, Finch published a second pamphlet recanting his anti-pacifist views titled ''Second Thoughts concerning War, wherein that great subject is candidly considered, and set in a new light, in answer to, and by the author of a late pamphlet, intitled "The Nature and Duty of Self Defence, addressed to the People called Quakers"''. In the text, he states that his previous views were due to a period of doubt and unbelief. The historian Peter Brock draws a parallel between Finch's (albeit later recanted) anti-pacifism and the views of the banker and abolitionist

Samuel Hoare Jr Samuel Hoare Jr (9 August 1751 – 14 July 1825) was a wealthy British Quaker banker and abolitionist born in Stoke Newington, then to the north of London in the county of Middlesex. His London seat was Heath House on Hampstead Heath. He was one ...

who similarly expressed some anti-pacifist beliefs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finch, Richard English Quakers 18th-century English people English religious writers Quaker theologians Quaker writers English Christian pacifists