Proclaim Peace
Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for
what is noble in the sight of all.
If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live
peaceably with all.
Romans 12:17–18
An Historic Peace Church
The Church of the Brethren is an Anabaptist denomination
of 142,000 members that consists of 23 districts that span
most of the United States. It was formed in 1708 when the
Brethren movement began in central Germany. We celebrate our 300th anniversary in 2008.
To quote from the Brethren
Witness—Peace and Justice page on the Church of the Brethren General Board website:
The Church of the Brethren is known as a Historic Peace
Church. In other words, since the beginning Brethren have
turned away from violence as a means of solving interpersonal
or international problems. The basis for this conviction
is firmly rooted in the New Testament, and more specifically
in Jesus' teachings on loving our enemies and Paul's admonition
that Christians seek to live peaceably with all and that
they strive to “overcome evil with good.” Brethren
also knew firsthand of the brutality of war; the church
came into existence in the aftermath of Europe's Thirty
Years
War. …
Today members of our denomination follow Christ in
his work for peace in many ways. Details about these efforts
can be found on the Peace
and Justice page. Highlights
include:
Brethren Witness/Washington Office
The
Brethren
Witness/Washington Office of the Church of the
Brethren “seeks to resource and call to action the larger
church in relation to issues of peace, justice and the
global community.” Its Witness to Washington newsletter is available for online reading.
Conscientious Objection
The Church of the Brethren continues to encourage its young
men and women to refrain from participation in the military,
counseling
conscientious
objection to war instead and providing conscientious
objection
resources.
As Phil Jones, Brethren Witness/Washington Office Director,
says in his letter Conscientious Objection:
Living out the convictions of our faith:
The Church of the Brethren, since its beginning in 1708,
has repeatedly declared its position against war. Our understanding
of the life and the teachings of Christ as revealed in the
New Testament led our Annual Conference to state in 1785
that we should not “submit to the higher powers so
as to make ourselves their instruments to shed human blood.” In
1918 at our Annual Conference we stated that “we believe
that war or any participation in war is wrong and incompatible
with the spirit, example and teachings of Jesus Christ.” Again
in 1934 Annual Conference resolved that all war is sin. We,
therefore, cannot encourage, engage in, or willingly profit
from armed conflict at home or abroad. We cannot, in the
event of war, accept military service or support the military
machine in any capacity.” This conviction, which we
reaffirmed in 1948 and now reaffirm again, grew out of such
teachings of Christ as the following:
Love your enemies, do
good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you,
pray for those who abuse you. To him who strikes
you on the cheek, offer the other also (Luke 6:27, 28).
“So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do
so to them; for this is the law and the prophets” (Matthew
7:12).
“Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the
sword will perish by the sword” (Matthew 26:52).
As Brethren COs throughout history have discovered,
making a committment to peace in a time of war is not easy.
Brethren peacemakers have put their lives on the line working
unarmed in war zones to help the victims of war; in
World War
II some Brethren COs volunteered for dangerous military
medical experiments, others were imprisoned for their resistance.
But Brethren and other historic peace denominations
consider these challenges to be an opportunity to offer a witness
of conscience to Christ’s way of peace. Decade
to Overcome Violence
As we enter the 21st century, The Church of the Brethren joins
Christians around the world in calling for a Decade
to Overcome Violence. Our hope is that Christians will
take the lead in setting a different, more peaceful course
for the
next century.
The Church of the Brethren, through its representatives to
the World
Council of Churches, was instrumental in calling
on global Christianity to set this theme for the years 2001-2010.
The Decade is not organized around set programs, but rather
is an invitation for all Christian bodies to offer their own
gifts for peacemaking according to their own calling.
On Earth Peace Assembly
The On
Earth Peace Assembly, founded in 1974 by M.R. Zigler,
is “a movement grounded in the Church of the Brethren
dedicated to following
the teaching
of Jesus Christ in renewing and living out our biblical and
denominational heritage of peace.” Through programs such
as Peacemaker Formation, Peace Witness, Conflict Transformation,
OEPA seeks to “empower people to discern the things that make
for peace…seeking
the realization of God's will on earth as in heaven.”
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