George Fox was born in Fenny Drayton, Leicestershire, in 1624. Apprenticed to a Nottingham shoemaker, Fox developed strong opinions about religion. Fox rebelled against the state control of the Church of England and in 1643 began toured the country giving sermons where he argued that consecrated buildings and ordained ministers were irrelevant to the individual seeking God. Three years later Fox had a divine revelation that inspired him to preach a gospel of brotherly love. Fox formed a group called the Friends of Truth. Later they became known as the Society of Friends. Fox's central dogma was that of the inner light, communicated directly to the individual soul by Christ. George Fox's Journal (1694) describes his visions, his teachings and his frequent imprisonments.