Peace Testimony

The peace testimony is the belief held by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) that all war is wrong. Like the other Quaker testimonies, the belief is usually accompanied by a commitment to work for peace This core belief has led Quakers to be considered one of the traditional peace churches.

George Fox, perhaps the most influential early Quaker, made a declaration in 1651 that many see as the first declaration of the peace testimony:

I told [the Commonwealth Commissioners] I lived in the virtue of that life and power that took away the occasion of all wars and I knew from whence all wars did rise, from the lust, according to James's doctrine... I told them I was come into the covenant of peace which was before wars and strifes were. Fox 1651

The best-known version of this testimony was stated in a declaration to King Charles II of England in 1660. This excerpt is commonly cited:

We utterly deny all outward wars and strife and fightings with outward weapons, for any end or under any pretence whatsoever. And this is our testimony to the whole world. The spirit of Christ, by which we are guided, is not changeable, so as once to command us from a thing as evil and again to move unto it; and we do certainly know, and so testify to the world, that the spirit of Christ, which leads us into all Truth, will never move us to fight and war against any man with outward weapons, neither for the kingdom of Christ, nor for the kingdoms of this world. A Declaration from the harmless and innocent people of God, called Quakers

The peace testimony has inspired Quakers to protest wars, refuse to serve in armed forces if drafted, and to seek conscientious objector status when available, and even to participate in acts of civil disobedience. However, not all who call themselves Quakers embrace the testimony; a certain percentage of Friends fought in World War I and II, for example.

One way American Quakers testify to peace is by supporting the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a charitable organization that has worked for peace and social justice throughout the world. The AFSC, along with the UK's Friends Service Council was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947 on behalf of all of Quakerism for their work for peace.

External links

• Some Early Statements Concerning the Quaker Peace Testimony
• Pamphlet from Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, RSF, on the Peace Testimony