Henry Joel Cadbury (December 1, 1883 – October 7, 1974) was an American biblical scholar, Quaker historian, writer, and non-profit administrator. Life A graduate of Haverford College, Cadbury was a Quaker throughout his life, as well as an agnostic. Forced out of his teaching position at Haverford for writing an anti-war letter to the Philadelphia Public Ledger, in 1918, he saw the experience as a milestone, leading him to larger service beyond his Orthodox Religious Society of Friends. He was offered a position in the Divinity School at Harvard University, from which he had received his Ph.D., but he first rejected its teacher's oath for reasons of conscience, the Quaker insistence on telling the truth, and as a form of social activism. He later accepted the Hollis Professorship of Divinity (1934–1954). He also was the director of the Harvard Divinity School Library (1938–1954), and chairman (1928–1934; 1944–1960) of the American Friends Service Committee, which he had helped found in 1917. He delivered the Nobel lecture on behalf of the AFSC when it, together with the British Friends Service Council, accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947 on behalf of the Religious Society of Friends. He was also awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws (LL. D.) degree from Whittier College in 1951. Controversial remarks In 1934, Cadbury encouraged Jews to engage Nazis with good will, according to The New York Times, which characterized his stance as, "Good will, not hate or reprisals, will end, or offset, the evils of Hitler government's persecution of Jews." The suggestion was repudiated by the rabbis he made it to, led by Stephen S. Wise. Select works Thesis Books Edited by Journal articles References Further reading Bacon, Margaret H., Let This Life Speak: The Legacy of Henry Joel Cadbury. U of Pennsylvania P, 1987. . Padilla, Osvaldo. "The Wirkungsgeschichte of Henry Joel Cadbury as an Objective Historian: An Exploration of America’s Premiere Luke–Acts Scholar." Bulletin for Biblical Research 29, no. 4 (2019): 499–510. External links Philadelphia Inquirer obituary Biography was prepared by Sarah DeSantis, Spring 2009 Nobel Peace Prize lecture Award Ceremony Speech re "The Nobel Peace Prize, 1947, to the Friends Service Council, American Friends Service Committee" Henry Joel Cadbury Papers from Swarthmore College Peace Collection 1883 births 1974 deaths Writers from Philadelphia American pacifists American agnostics American Quakers Quaker writers Nontheist Quakers American biblical scholars New Testament scholars American historians of religion Haverford College