Sunday, January 14, 2007

The movers and the shakers and the quakers

From the Advent Christian Declaration of Principles:

"We believe that war is contrary to the spirit and teachings of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ; that it is contrary to the spirit of true brotherhood; and that our influence should be used against it."

From the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective:

"We believe that peace is the will of God. God created the world in peace, and God's peace is most fully revealed in Jesus Christ, who is our peace and the peace of the whole world. Led by the Holy Spirit, we follow Christ in the way of peace, doing justice, bringing reconciliation, and practicing nonresistance, even in the face of violence and warfare."

From the Quaker Declaration of Pacifism

"We utterly deny all outward wars and strife, and fightings with outward weapons, for any end, or under any pretense whatever; 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 certainly know, and 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."

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For,

"whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tounge from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are righteous and his ears are attentive to prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."


1 Peter 3:8-12