Quaker Theology

1. Conscience, Military Service & 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.

  • 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…

  • Narrative Theology: from Psychological Warfare to Peace; My journey to/into Quakerism and nonviolence

    The article chronicles Jeanne-Henriette Louis’s intellectual and spiritual journey from researching American psychological warfare during World War II to embracing nonviolence and joining the Quakers. Through extensive archival research and reflection, she contrasts the ideology of psychological warfare with nonviolent approaches and finds profound alignment with Quaker philosophy and history. The study suggests that historical…

  • An Interview with David Gosling, Winter 2008

    This article is an interview with David Gosling, a U.S. Army Infantry Captain deployed to Iraq, who reflects on his Quaker background and how his military experiences led him to reconsider his views on war and peace. Gosling discusses his spiritual journey reconnecting with Quaker writings and pacifist philosophies amidst the challenges of combat and…

  • Milton Mayer, Quaker Hedgehog

    A Review and Profile, by H. Larry Ingle Reprinted from Quaker Theology #8, 2003 Oxford-educated political scientist Isaiah Berlin, in his minor classic “The Hedgehog and the Fox” (1953), divided people into two groups, those who understood one big thing like the hedgehog and those, like the fox, who knew many things. The subject of…

  • 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…