Peace Heritage of the Church of the Brethren

There is much lively debate about the historic and contemporary Brethren commitment to peace and what form it will take in our time. Here are some contributions for your study and reflection. May they challenge you and touch your heart, that the Church of the Brethren and the Christian church as a whole may come to life as a people of peace for this time.

Question to Annual Meeting, 1865 (Civil War era):

"Can a brother be held as a member of the church who will, when put in the army, take up arms and aim to shed the blood of his fellowman?"

Answer: "He cannot."

Cited in D. Durnbaugh, "The Brethren and Nonresistance," in The Pacifist Impulse in Historical Perspective, Harvey L. Dyck, ed. (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1996), 131.

Church of the Brethren Annual Conference Statements:

• 1967: The Church, the State and Christian Citizenship
• 1968: A Statement to Government Leaders of the United States Government
• 1969: Annual Conference Statement Obedience to God and Civil Disobedience
• 1970: Amendments to the Church of the Brethren Statement on War
• 1977: Statement, Justice and Nonviolence
• 1991: Statement, Peacemaking: The Calling of God's People in History
• 1994: Statement on Violence in North America
• 1996: Statement, Nonviolence and Humanitarian Intervention

More Statements of the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference
http://www.cobannualconference.org/ac_statements/

Articles

Ronald Gordon: "Pacifism in the Mold"

Background on Brethren Belief

The Brethren Revival Fellowship provides five essays on Brethren peace testimony:

• The Historic Brethren Peace Position
• The Christian and Nonresistance
• Interpreting the Way of Peace
• Blessed Are the Peacemakers
• From Biblical Nonresistance to "Peace"

Church of the Brethren General Board

• Resolution on the Events and Aftermath of September 11, 2001