Testimony to peace

There’s more to pacifism than refusing to fight. Helen Steven gives the broader picture

by Helen Steven 1st October 2009

For many people the peace testimony is what marks out Quakers, and it is often admired as a living example of putting faith into action. The basis of our peace testimony is a respect for the dignity and worth of all human life, and an attempt always to reach beyond differences in love to find ‘that of God’ in the other. If we are striving to find that deep core of the divine within all those with whom we have dealings, then war, violence and killing become unthinkable. ‘The spirit of Christ’ that commands us to love our enemies cannot then move us to bomb, maim and destroy when it fits in with national policy. Thus Quakers have become well-known for their pacifist stance.