Reading Material
Please find some links below to reading material on the Quaker Peace Testimony.
Buried inside the Peace Testimony is the strong feeling that positive social change can only come about through nonviolent means: not only do violent means seem counterproductive in practice, the ‘promptings of love and truth’ just rule them out.
An interesting article on Grappling with the Peace Testimony
This article and the responses which followed have shown that Friends are not of one mind or of one heart on our “ancient” testimony. Indeed, our peace testimony has even been spoken of as a continuum ranging from total pacifism to something very akin to the idea of “justified war.” In every great crisis we seem to have to discover anew that our commitment to this testimony does not rise to the pure unity we have allowed ourselves to imagine during times when we can avoid putting that testimony to the test. The present crisis is marked by the words “war on terrorism.” This essay is written to help Friends to think and feel clearly about this crisis and their testimony in the hope that this can lead us to meaningful witness.
What faces peacemakers?
Friends Peace Testimony in Times of Terrorism
After September 11th, I agreed to come to Philadelphia, on loan from FCNL to work as the Coordinator of the No More Victims Campaign, AFSC’s response to September 11th and the emerging war. In the months since then, I found that many Friends in the U.S. have struggled with the peace testimony because they were not sure what we should do instead of going to war. So I had decided to respond to that need and to talk also about the need to end the bombing of Afghanistan. That was when I picked my title, and I will do some of that tonight.
Both my little world and the world around us have changed again.
Can Love Really Overcome Violence and Hate?
Reflections On Friends’ Peace Testimony