Quaker Peace Testimony (testimonies, virgin, America, churches, Holy Spirit)

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Quaker Peace Testimony

"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."

From "A Declaration to Charles II," 1660. Full text here.

The Peace Testimony is the most static testimony; it is also the best known testimony of Friends. The belief that violence is always wrong has persisted to this day, and many conscientious objectors, advocates of non-violence and anti-war activists are Friends. Because of the peace testimony, Friends are often considered as one of the historic peace churches. In 1947 Quakerism was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the prize was accepted by the American Friends Service Committee and Friends Service Council.

Quakers have no formal creed. There is no top clerical authority that can speak for all Friends. So there is never a single, absolute answer to any question that begins, "What is the Quaker position on . . . ?"

Nontheless, certain principles are marked by the vitality with which they return again and again, in different times and situations, to lead Friends in their efforts to live lives that are faithfully guided by the Light of the Holy Spirit.

Friends call these principles "testimonies." There is no definitive list of the testimonies, but under different names they have continued to reappear with both consistency and fresh variation in the lives of the Friends who adhere to them. "They are not optional extras, but fruits that grow from the very tree of faith" (Harvey Gillman, 1988).

The best known of these testimonies is the Peace Testimony. Yet since there is no single authoritative expression of it, perhaps the best way to understand it is to look at some of the different ways it has been expressed by individual Friends and Friends communities.

Below are only a few of the many ways that Friends have spoken on the subject of peace:

The Peace Testimony in the words of some early Friends:

• Historic expressions of the peace testimony
  
  
• Virginia Memorial and Petition (an 1810 argument for fair treatment of conscientious objection)

More resources, courtesy of the Quaker Information Center, as well as Wikipedia.