Bulls Head-Oswego Monthly Meeting

Minute on the War on Iraq

March 30, 2003

The government of the United States has launched a preemptive war against the people of Iraq. Members of Bulls Head-Oswego Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) are grateful for the crescendo of voices across the country and the world opposing this war. Those voices come from people of diverse backgrounds and understandings but say one thing clearly: we must create a better future for humankind than war will bring.

As Quakers, our opposition originates in our religious belief in the existence of the Light ("that of God") within each person irrespective of their beliefs and in the possibility that that Light may be reached. Guided by the teachings of Jesus, we believe that to go to war is to forsake the hope of reaching that of God in all.

17th century Quakers spoke in another time of crisis to Charles II of England. The logic of their words remains powerful for us today:

The spirit of Christ, by which we are guided, is not changeable, so as once to command us from a thing as evil and again to move unto it; and we do certainly know, and so testify to the world, that the spirit of Christ, which leads us into all Truth, will never move us to fight and war against any man with outward weapons, neither for the kingdom of Christ, nor for the kingdoms of this world.

We note the worldwide perception that a war against Iraq is neither moral nor lastingly effective. We pray that this speaks to a commitment to a common good. Let us devote ourselves to dealing in peace with the terribly serious problems that the world faces.