Quaker Theology

Anti-War

  • Theology & Peace Witness by Chuck Fager

    This post is a detailed letter about the unique theological and practical challenges faced by the Director of Quaker House at Fayetteville-Fort Bragg, a peace witness mission operating within a military culture. It explores the enduring military-industrial complex as a pervasive spiritual and cultural influence, the isolation experienced by peace activists, and the need for…

  • From “The Church, the Draft Board, and Me” by George Amoss, Jr.

    This article recounts George Amoss Jr.’s journey from his early years as a Catholic seminarian faced with moral and institutional failures to his evolving pacifist stance during the Vietnam War draft. It culminates in his transition to Quakerism, where he finds a faith centered on direct spiritual experience, love, and social witness without reliance on…

  • Joseph Southall & The Ghosts of the Slain:

    The post highlights Joseph Southall, a British Quaker artist and pacifist who used his art to protest World War One and militarism. It focuses on his 1917 allegorical pamphlet “The Ghosts of the Slain,” which condemned politicians, munitions makers, and churches supporting war, emphasizing the Quaker commitment to peace and draft resistance.

  • “Many Friends Do Not Know ‘Where They Are’”: Some Divisions in London Yearly Meeting During the First World War”

    This article explores the divisions within London Yearly Meeting during the First World War, focusing on differing Quaker responses to the conflict and their peace testimony. It contrasts the experiences of two Friends, Wilfrid E. Littleboy, a steadfast pacifist and conscientious objector who endured imprisonment, and Walter Trevelyan Thomson, who supported the war and served…

  • Everyday/Extraordinary Resistance: Two True Stories from the Vietnam Years

    The post details two true stories of Quaker resistance during the Vietnam War era. Marion Anderson recounts her bold act of delivering anti-war literature directly to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, while Ken Maher describes his involvement in a clandestine network helping draft evaders escape to Canada, known as the Vietnam Era Underground Railroad.

  • “No Country for Jewish Liberals,” “The Half Life of a Free Radical”* Two Reviews

    This article reviews two autobiographical memoirs that, despite different cultural backgrounds, resonate with themes relevant to Quaker concerns such as war, social justice, and exile. Both authors grapple with the personal and political impacts of the Vietnam War and Israeli-Palestinian conflict, highlighting issues of militarism, occupation, and the struggle to maintain hope in polarized societies.

  • “Remaking Friends: How Progressive Friends Changed Quakerism & Helped Save America, 1822-1940″* A Review

    This review of Chuck Fager’s *Remaking Friends* examines the historical role of the Progressive Friends, a radical nineteenth-century Quaker group influential in shaping modern liberal Quakerism. The book highlights their activism in abolition, women’s rights, and liberal theology, while also noting tensions with mainstream Hicksite Quakers and connections to Unitarian and broader reform movements. Despite…

  • “Climate Wars” & “The Green Zone”* Reviewed

    This article reviews Gwynne Dyer’s book *Climate Wars*, highlighting its military-strategic analysis of climate change and the urgent need for a global political deal to replace carbon-based energy usage. It contrasts Dyer’s expert perspective with Barry Sanders’s *The Green Zone*, which inadequately addresses the environmental impact of U.S. militarism despite raising important points about military…

  • “Hostage In Iraq” & “118 Days: Christian Peacemaker Teams Held Hostage in Iraq”* Reviewed

    This review critically examines two books about the kidnapping of Christian Peacemaker Teams members in Iraq, focusing on the theological, strategic, and practical issues around martyrdom and peace activism. It highlights the recklessness of some peaceworkers, contrasts preparedness between hostages, and addresses the profound challenges faced by one gay captive and the LGBT community’s need…

  • Four Publications on Torture

    This article reviews four publications that examine the history, methods, and ongoing use of torture by the CIA from the Cold War to the War on Terror, highlighting the institutional and psychological mechanisms behind it. It also details local North Carolina activism against the “Torture Industrial Complex,” including Quaker efforts to educate and witness against…

  • Abolishing War? An Appeal to Christian Leaders and Theologians

    This article is an appeal by Christian theologians Stanley Hauerwas and Enda McDonagh calling for the abolition of war as a means of resolving political conflicts. Drawing on the teachings of Jesus Christ and early Christian pacifism, it critiques the just war tradition and urges Christians to lead a global effort towards peace through non-violent…

  • Editor’s Introduction, # 7

    This issue of Quaker Theology covers diverse themes including a call for interfaith collaboration to end war, the importance of rebuilding strong Quaker meeting communities through eucharistic practices, personal spiritual journeys from Quakerism to Orthodoxy, and ethnographic insights into indigenous ceremonies in Mexico. It emphasizes the intellectual and communal work needed to sustain Quaker peace…