Peace churches are
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
churches, groups or communities advocating
Christian pacifism
Christian pacifism is the theological and ethical position according to which pacifism and non-violence have both a scriptural and rational basis for Christians, and affirms that any form of violence is incompatible with the Christian faith. Chri ...
or Biblical nonresistance. The term historic peace churches refers specifically only to three church groups among pacifist churches:
*
Church of the Brethren
The Church of the Brethren is an Anabaptist Christian denomination in the Schwarzenau Brethren (german: link=no, Schwarzenauer Neutäufer "Schwarzenau New Baptists") tradition that was organized in 1708 by Alexander Mack in Schwarzenau, Germ ...
, including all daughter churches such as the
Old German Baptist Brethren
The Old German Baptist Brethren (OGBB) is a conservative Plain church which emerged from a division among the German Baptist Brethren in 1881 being part of the Old Order Movement. Like the church it emerged from, it has roots both in Anabaptism ...
,
Old Brethren
The history of the Old Brethren Church dates back to Germany in 1708, when the Schwarzenau Brethren were formed in Berleburg under the leadership of Alexander Mack. Soon they moved to Pennsylvania to escape religious persecution in Europe. As th ...
and
Dunkard Brethren Dunkard may refer to:
*
* Dunkard Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania – administrative territorial subdivision in the United States
* Dunkard Creek – stream in Greene County, Pennsylvania and Monongalia County, West Virginia
{{disambi ...
;
*
Religious Society of Friends
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...
(Quakers); and
*
Mennonites
Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...
, including the
Amish
The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churc ...
,
Beachy Amish
The Beachy Amish Mennonites, also known as the Beachy Mennonites, are an Anabaptist group of churches in the Conservative Mennonite tradition that have Amish roots. Although they have retained the name "Amish" they are quite different from the O ...
,
Old Order Mennonite
Old Order Mennonites (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania German: ) form a branch of the Mennonite tradition. Old Order Movement, Old Order are those Mennonite groups of Swiss people, Swiss German and south Germans, German heritage who pract ...
s, and
Conservative Mennonites
Conservative Mennonites include numerous Conservative Anabaptist groups that identify with the theologically conservative element among Mennonite Anabaptist Christian fellowships, but who are not Old Order groups or mainline denominations.
Con ...
In addition to the Schwarzenau Brethren and Mennonites, other Anabaptist Christian fellowships, such as the
Hutterian Brethren,
River Brethren
The River Brethren are a group of historically related Anabaptist Christian denominations originating in 1770, during the Radical Pietist movement among German colonists in Pennsylvania. In the 17th century, Mennonite refugees from Switzerlan ...
,
Apostolic Christian Church
The Apostolic Christian Church (ACC) is a worldwide Christian denomination from the Anabaptist tradition that practices credobaptism, closed communion, greeting other believers with a holy kiss, a capella worship in some branches (in others, s ...
and
Bruderhof teach pacifism as well.
This phrase has been used since the first conference of the peace churches in Kansas in 1935.
[Concise Encyclopedia of Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites p6 Donald B. Kraybill – 2010 "In 1935, BRETHREN, Mennonites, and Quakers met in North Newton, Kansas, for a conference on peace. The term HISTORIC PEACE CHURCHES was developed at this conference in order to distinguish between the groups' biblically based peaceful ..."]
The definition of "peace churches" is sometimes expanded to include
Christadelphians
The Christadelphians () or Christadelphianism are a restorationist and millenarian Christian group who hold a view of biblical unitarianism. There are approximately 50,000 Christadelphians in around 120 countries. The movement developed in the ...
(from 1863) and others who did not participate in the conference of the "historic peace churches" in Kansas in 1935.
The peace churches agree that
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
advocated
nonviolence. In the Gospels Jesus explicitly taught his followers not to kill, but rather to love, bless, and pray for those who make themselves to be your enemy. He taught that if struck we should not physically strike back, but rather turn the other cheek. He told Peter to put away his sword. He explained that his Kingdom is spiritual, not earthly; therefore members of the Kingdom of God will live by spiritual principles, primarily Love. He told Pilate that his Kingdom is not earthly, therefore his followers do not use earthly weapons to fight. The weapons of our warfare are to be Love and Prayer. The Epistles and the Early Church continued this teaching, instructing that we should be willing to suffer as Jesus did rather than do evil to anyone. In the Plain Peace Churches today, no one in the military is accepted as a member, due to their divided loyalties. Stepping in between those who are being attacked and their attacker has been a long-practiced principle. Some believers have given themselves to serve a sentence of punishment, banishment, or death to deliver those who are weaker or younger. Jesus' suffering love and unwillingness to use force on others is their example in all things.
Whether physical force can ever be justified in
defending oneself is controversial. Most believers adhere strictly to a moral attitude of
nonresistance Nonresistance (or non-resistance) is "the practice or principle of not resisting authority, even when it is unjustly exercised". At its core is discouragement of, even opposition to, physical resistance to an enemy. It is considered as a form of pri ...
in the face of violence. These churches generally concur that violence on behalf of nations and their governments is contrary to
Christian morality
Christian ethics, also known as moral theology, is a multi-faceted ethical system: it is a virtue ethic which focuses on building moral character, and a deontological ethic which emphasizes duty. It also incorporates natural law ethics, whic ...
, but agree that the teachings of Jesus were to explain the principles of the Kingdom of God rather than and contrasted with the ways of any earthly government.
History
![Blessed are the Peacemakers](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Blessed_are_the_Peacemakers.gif)
Among all Christian denominations, there have always been groups of members who advocate nonviolence, but certain churches have consistently supported it since their foundation. Besides the three historic peace churches, they include the
Amish
The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churc ...
,
Old Order Mennonites
Old Order Mennonites (Pennsylvania German: ) form a branch of the Mennonite tradition. Old Order are those Mennonite groups of Swiss German and south German heritage who practice a lifestyle without some elements of modern technology, who still d ...
,
Conservative Mennonites
Conservative Mennonites include numerous Conservative Anabaptist groups that identify with the theologically conservative element among Mennonite Anabaptist Christian fellowships, but who are not Old Order groups or mainline denominations.
Con ...
,
Holdeman Mennonites
The Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, also called Holdeman Mennonite, is a Christian Church of Anabaptist heritage. Its formation started in 1859 under its first leader John Holdeman (1832-1900), who was a baptized Mennonite. The Church of ...
,
Hutterites
Hutterites (german: link=no, Hutterer), also called Hutterian Brethren (German: ), are a communal ethnoreligious branch of Anabaptists, who, like the Amish and Mennonites, trace their roots to the Radical Reformation of the early 16th century ...
,
Old German Baptist Brethren
The Old German Baptist Brethren (OGBB) is a conservative Plain church which emerged from a division among the German Baptist Brethren in 1881 being part of the Old Order Movement. Like the church it emerged from, it has roots both in Anabaptism ...
,
Old Order River Brethren
The Old Order River Brethren are a River Brethren denomination of Anabaptist Christianity with roots in the Radical Pietist movement. As their name indicates, they are Old Order Anabaptists.
History
The denomination began about 1778 in Pennsy ...
, the
Brethren in Christ
The Brethren in Christ Church (BIC) is a River Brethren Christian denomination with roots in the Mennonite church, Radical Pietism, and Wesleyan holiness. They have also been known as River Brethren and River Mennonites. The Canadian denominat ...
,
and others in the
Anabaptist tradition;
Doukhobors
The Doukhobours or Dukhobors (russian: духоборы / духоборцы, dukhobory / dukhobortsy; ) are a Spiritual Christian ethnoreligious group of Russian origin. They are one of many non-Orthodox ethno-confessional faiths in Russia a ...
,
Molokan
The Molokans ( rus, молокан, p=məlɐˈkan or , "dairy-eater") are a Spiritual Christian sect that evolved from Eastern Orthodoxy in the East Slavic lands. Their traditions—especially dairy consumption during Christian fasts—did not ...
s,
Dunkard Brethren Dunkard may refer to:
*
* Dunkard Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania – administrative territorial subdivision in the United States
* Dunkard Creek – stream in Greene County, Pennsylvania and Monongalia County, West Virginia
{{disambi ...
, ''Dukh-i-zhizniki'',
Bruderhof Communities
The (; 'place of brothers') is an Anabaptist Christian movement that was founded in Germany in 1920 by Eberhard Arnold. The movement has communities in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Paraguay, and Australia.
The Bru ...
,
Schwenkfelders,
Moravians, the
Shakers, and even some groups within the
Pentecostal
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement movement. The largest Pentecostal church, the
Assemblies of God
The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination."Assemblies of God". ...
, abandoned pacifism around the time of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. These groups have disagreed, both internally and with each other, about the propriety of
non-combatant
Non-combatant is a term of art in the law of war and international humanitarian law to refer to civilians who are not taking a direct part in hostilities; persons, such as combat medics and military chaplains, who are members of the belligerent ...
military roles, such as unarmed medical personnel, or performing non-battlefield services that assist nations in wartime, such as manufacturing munitions. One position might argue that Jesus would never object to helping people who are suffering, while another might object that doing so contributes indirectly to violence by freeing other people to engage in it. Most peace churches support alternative service options such as service to refugees or in hospitals, as long as they are not associated with the military.
In America the first conference of historic peace churches was held in 1935 in Kansas.
Five years later in Canada, the Conference of Historic Peace Churches was formed in Ontario in 1940, headed by
Harold Sherk to represent Mennonite, Brethren, and Quaker churches as they sought exemption from military service.
At one time, active membership in and acceptance of the beliefs of one of the peace churches was required for obtaining
conscientious objector
A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
status in the United States, and hence exemption from military
conscription
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
, or for those already in the military,
honorable discharge. But after a series of court rulings, this requirement was dropped. In the United States, one may now claim conscientious objector status based on a personal belief system that need not be Christian, nor even based on religion.
Peace churches, especially those with sufficient financial and organizational resources, have attempted to heal the ravages of war without favoritism. This has often aroused controversy, as when the Quakers sent large shipments of food and medicine to
North Vietnam
North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...
during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, and to U.S.-
embargo
Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual. Economic sanctions are not necessarily imposed because of economic circumstances—they m ...
ed
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
. The
American Friends Service Committee and the
Mennonite Central Committee
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is a relief service, and peace agency representing fifteen Mennonite, Brethren in Christ and Amish bodies in North America. The U.S. headquarters are in Akron, Pennsylvania, the Canadian in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
...
are two charitable denominational agencies set up to provide such healing.
In the 1980s, the Quakers, Brethren, and Mennonites came together to create
Christian Peacemaker Teams
Community Peacemaker Teams or CPT (previously called Christian Peacemaker Teams) is an international organization set up to support teams of peace workers in conflict areas around the world. The organization uses these teams to achieve its aims ...
, an international organization that works to reduce violence and systematic
injustice
Injustice is a quality relating to unfairness or undeserved outcomes. The term may be applied in reference to a particular event or situation, or to a larger status quo. In Western philosophy and jurisprudence, injustice is very commonly—but n ...
in regions of conflict. This was motivated by the desire for Christians to take peacemaking as seriously as soldiers and governments take war-making.
Other Christian pacifist groups
Christadelphians, 1863
The
Christadelphian
The Christadelphians () or Christadelphianism are a restorationist and millenarian Christian group who hold a view of biblical unitarianism. There are approximately 50,000 Christadelphians in around 120 countries. The movement developed in the ...
s are one of only a small number of churches whose identity as a denomination is directly linked to the issue of Christian pacifism. Although the grouping which later took the name "Christadelphian" had largely separated from the
Campbellite Campbellite is a mildly pejorative term referring to adherents of certain religious groups that have historic roots in the Restoration Movement, among whose most prominent 19th-century leaders were Thomas and Alexander Campbell. Members of these g ...
movement in Scotland and America after 1848, it was
conscription in the American Civil War which caused their local church in
Ogle County, Illinois
Ogle County is a county in the northern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 53,497. Its county seat is Oregon, and its largest city is Rochelle. Ogle County comprises Rochelle, ...
, to register as
conscientious objectors
A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to objecti ...
in 1863 under the name "Christadelphians." When the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
was imminent Christadelphians in the British Empire took the same stance, though frequently faced military tribunals. During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Christadelphians were exempted and performed civil work – though some of the small number of Christadelphians in Germany were imprisoned and one executed. The position was maintained through the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
,
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
and today.
Doukhobors
The
Doukhobors
The Doukhobours or Dukhobors (russian: духоборы / духоборцы, dukhobory / dukhobortsy; ) are a Spiritual Christian ethnoreligious group of Russian origin. They are one of many non-Orthodox ethno-confessional faiths in Russia a ...
are a
Spiritual Christian
Spiritual Christianity (russian: духовное христианство) is the group of belief systems held by so-called ''folk Protestants'' (), including non- Eastern Orthodox indigenous faith tribes and new religious movements that eme ...
denomination that advocate pacifism.
On 29 June 1895, the Doukhobors, in what is known as the "Burning of the Arms", "piled up their swords, guns, and other weapons and burned them in large bonfires while they sang psalms".
Holiness Pacifists
The
Emmanuel Association
__NOTOC__
The Emmanuel Association of Churches is a Methodist denomination in the conservative holiness movement.
The formation of the Emmanuel Association is a part of the history of Methodism in the United States. It was formed in 1937 as a res ...
,
Reformed Free Methodist Church
The Reformed Free Methodist Church (RFMC) was a Methodist denomination in the conservative holiness movement.
History
The formation of the Reformed Free Methodist Church is a part of the history of Methodism in the United States; it was founded i ...
,
Immanuel Missionary Church
The Immanuel Missionary Church (IMC) is a Methodist denomination within the conservative holiness movement.
The formation of the Immanuel Missionary Church is a part of the history of Methodism in the United States. The Immanuel Missionary Chu ...
,
Church of God (Guthrie, Oklahoma), First Bible Holiness Church and
Christ's Sanctified Holy Church are denominations in the
holiness movement known for their opposition to war today; they are known as "Holiness Pacifists".
The Emmanuel Association, for example, teaches:
Seventh-day Adventist Church, 1867
Adventists had sought and obtained exemption as conscientious objectors in 1864, and the
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...
from 1914 has a long history of
noncombatancy service within and outside the military. In practice today, as a pastor from the Seventh-day Adventist church comments in an online magazine run by members of the Seventh-Day Adventist church: "Today in a volunteer army a lot of Adventist young men and women join the military in combat positions, and there are many Adventist pastors electing for military chaplaincy positions, supporting combatants and non-combatants alike. On Veteran’s Day, American churches across the country take time to give honor and respect to those who “served their country,” without any attempt to differentiate how they served, whether as bomber pilots, Navy Seals, or Operation Whitecoat guinea pigs. I have yet to see a service honoring those who ran away to Canada to avoid participation in the senseless carnage of Vietnam in their Biblical pacifism."
Churches of God (7th day)
The different groups evolving under the name
Church of God (7th day)
The Churches of God (Seventh-Day) is composed of a number of sabbath-keeping churches, among which the General Conference of the Church of God, or simply CoG7, is the best-known organization. The Churches of God (Seventh Day) observe Sabbath on ...
stand opposed to carnal warfare, based on Matthew 26:52; Revelation 13:10; Romans 12:19–21. They believe the weapons of their warfare to not be carnal but spiritual (II Corinthians 10:3–5; Ephesians 6:11–18).
Molokans
The
Molokan
The Molokans ( rus, молокан, p=məlɐˈkan or , "dairy-eater") are a Spiritual Christian sect that evolved from Eastern Orthodoxy in the East Slavic lands. Their traditions—especially dairy consumption during Christian fasts—did not ...
s are a
Spiritual Christian
Spiritual Christianity (russian: духовное христианство) is the group of belief systems held by so-called ''folk Protestants'' (), including non- Eastern Orthodox indigenous faith tribes and new religious movements that eme ...
denomination that advocate pacifism.
They have historically been
persecuted for failing to bear arms.
Partially pacifist groups
Community of Christ
Although non-credal and not explicitly pacifist, the
Community of Christ (formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) is emerging as an international peace church through such ministries as the
Community of Christ International Peace Award
The Community of Christ International Peace Award was established to honor and bring attention to the work of peacemaking and peacemakers in the world. It has been bestowed on an individual each year since 1993 (except 1996 and 2015).
Overview
T ...
, the
Daily Prayer for Peace
The Daily Prayer for Peace is a spiritual discipline unique to Community of Christ and practiced at the Independence Temple in the church's headquarters campus in Independence, Missouri. It falls within the most common category of Christian prayer ...
, and resources to support conscientious objection to war. However, in the United States and worldwide, many church members are active in military service and the church provides active duty chaplaincy for outreach and ministry to military personnel.
Churches of Christ
Once containing a relatively large nonviolence faction,
Churches of Christ are now more conflicted. Contemporary
Churches of Christ, especially those that hold with the teachings of
David Lipscomb, tend toward pacifist views. This means that they believe that the use of coercion and/or force may be acceptable for purposes of personal self-defense but that resorting to warfare is not an option open to Christians.
Fellowship of Reconciliation
As noted above, there are peace groups within most mainstream Christian denominations. The
Fellowship of Reconciliation
The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FoR or FOR) is the name used by a number of religious nonviolent organizations, particularly in English-speaking countries. They are linked by affiliation to the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR). ...
was set up as an organization to bring together people in these groups and members of the historic peace churches. In some countries, e.g. the United States, it has broadened its scope to include members of other religions or none, and people whose position is not strictly for nonviolence. However, in other countries (e.g., the United Kingdom) it remains essentially an organization of Christian nonviolence.
See also
*
American Friends Service Committee
*
Anglican Pacifist Fellowship The Anglican Pacifist Fellowship (APF) is a body of people within the Anglican Communion who reject war as a means of solving international disputes, and believe that peace and justice should be sought through non-violent means.
Beliefs
In 2015, ...
*
Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America
*
Brethren Volunteer Service
*
Catholic Worker Movement
The Catholic Worker Movement is a collection of autonomous communities of Catholics and their associates founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin in the United States in 1933. Its aim is to "live in accordance with the justice and charity of Jesus ...
*
Center on Conscience & War
*
Christian pacifism
Christian pacifism is the theological and ethical position according to which pacifism and non-violence have both a scriptural and rational basis for Christians, and affirms that any form of violence is incompatible with the Christian faith. Chri ...
*
Christianity and violence
Christians have had diverse attitudes towards violence and non-violence over time. Both currently and historically, there have been four attitudes towards violence and war and four resulting practices of them within Christianity: non-resistance ...
*
Civilian-based defense Civilian-based defense or social defence describes non-military action by a society or social group, particularly in a context of a sustained campaign against outside attack or dictatorial rule – or preparations for such a campaign in the event of ...
*
Civilian Public Service
The Civilian Public Service (CPS) was a program of the United States government that provided conscientious objectors with an alternative to military service during World War II. From 1941 to 1947, nearly 12,000 draftees, willing to serve their ...
*
Conscription
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
*
Diane Drufenbrock
Diane Joyce Drufenbrock (7 October 1929 – 4 November 2013), also known as Sister Madeleine Sophie, was an American religious sister as a member of the Catholic School Sisters of St. Francis. She was a Christian socialist who was the vice ...
*
Doukhobors
The Doukhobours or Dukhobors (russian: духоборы / духоборцы, dukhobory / dukhobortsy; ) are a Spiritual Christian ethnoreligious group of Russian origin. They are one of many non-Orthodox ethno-confessional faiths in Russia a ...
*
Jewish Peace Fellowship
*
List of pacifist faiths
*
List of peace activists
This list of peace activists includes people who have proactively advocated diplomatic, philosophical, and non-military resolution of major territorial or ideological disputes through nonviolent means and methods. Peace activists usually work ...
*
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
*
Mennonite
Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...
*
Nonconformism
Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to:
Culture and society
* Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior
*Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity
** ...
*
Nonresistance Nonresistance (or non-resistance) is "the practice or principle of not resisting authority, even when it is unjustly exercised". At its core is discouragement of, even opposition to, physical resistance to an enemy. It is considered as a form of pri ...
*
Nonviolence
*
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
*
Pax Christi
Pax Christi International is an international Catholic peace movement. The Pax Christi International website declares its mission is "to transform a world shaken by violence, terrorism, deepening inequalities, and global insecurity."
History
...
*
Plain people
*
Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund Act
The Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund Act is legislation proposed in the United States Congress that would legalize a form of conscientious objection to military taxation.
Description
This act would establish a "peace tax fund" that parallels the ...
*
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
*
Leo Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
*
John Howard Yoder
John Howard Yoder (December 27, 1927 – December 30, 1997) was an American Mennonite theologian and ethicist best known for his defense of Christian pacifism. His most influential book was '' The Politics of Jesus'', which was first published in ...
*
Seagoing cowboys
Seagoing cowboys is a term used for men and ships used from 1945 to 1947 for United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration and the Brethren Service Committee of the Church of the Brethren that sent livestock to war-torn countries ...
*
Churches of Peace
The Churches of Peace ( pl, Kościoły Pokoju, german: Friedenskirchen) in Jawor (german: Jauer, link=no) and Świdnica (german: Schweidnitz, link=no) in Silesia were named after the Peace of Westphalia of 1648.
It permitted the Lutherans of Sil ...
, three buildings built by and for
Lutherans
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...
in
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
after granted permission from
Austrian Habsburgs
References
Further reading
*Driver, Juan (1970) ''How Christians Made Peace With War: Early Christian Understandings of War''. Scottdale PA: Herald Press.
:(1999) ''Radical Faith''. Scottdale PA: Herald Press.
*Friesen, Duane K. (1986) ''Christian Peacemaking and International Conflict: A Realist Pacifist Perspective''. Scottdale: Herald Press.
*Lederach, John Paul (1999) ''The Journey Toward Reconciliation''. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press.
*Ruth-Heffelbower, Duane (1991) ''The Anabaptists Are Back: Making Peace in a Dangerous World''. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press.
*Sider, Ronald (1979) ''Christ and Violence''. Scottdale PA: Herald Press.
*Sampson, Cynthia (1999) "Religion and Peacebuilding." In ''Peacemaking in International Conflict: Methods and Techniques''; edited by I. William Zartman, and J. Lewis Rasmussen. Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace Press.
*Trocmé, André (1961) ''Jesus and the Nonviolent Revolution''; Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2003.
*Wink, Walter, ed. (2000) ''Peace is the Way: Writings on Nonviolence from the Fellowship of Reconciliation''. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.
*Van Dyck, Harry R. (1990) ''Exercise of Conscience: A World War II Objector Remembers''. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books.
*McGrath, Willam (1980) ''Why We Are Conscientious Objectors to War''. Millersburg, OH: Amish Mennonite Publications.
*
Horsch, Joh (1999) ''The Principle of Nonresistance as Held by the Mennonite Church''. Ephrata, PA: Eastern Mennonite Publications.
*Brown, Dale (1985) ''Biblical Pacifism: A Peace Church Perspective''. Elgin, IL: Brethren Press.
External links
Historic Peace Churchesin ''
Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia''
Who are the Historic Peace Churches (HPC)?Every Church a Peace Church– organization working to create more peace churches
*
ttp://www.bibleviews.com/Biblicalnonresist.html Pacifism And Biblical NonresistanceNonResistance.OrgCascadia Publishing House– Anabaptist-related publisher of Historic Peace Church materials
{{anti-war
Christian terminology