Writings on Nonviolence
- Various authors on nonviolence

Christ's Last Command - John Dear
Put your sword back! These are the last words the disciples hear from Jesus before they run away. If ever there was a moment in God's eyes when violence would be justifiable, this is it! But Jesus is clear: His followers are not allowed to respond with violence. They are not allowed to kill. Why? Because all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. Violence begets violence. Killing begets killing. Death begets death.Put your sword back! The command goes to the heart of Jesus' message. But after he issues it, his disciples turn and run away. They know where an unarmed response will lead - and who can stomach such craziness? The Gospels do not cover up their rejection: All the disciples left him and fled. And Jesus, alone, is led away to be slaughtered. Can you stomach "such craziness"?
Read more at Bruderhof: Sheath Your Sword

"There were not sufficient reasons to unleash a war against Iraq. To say nothing of the fact that, given the new weapons that make possible destructions that go beyond the combatant groups, today we should be asking ourselves if it is still licit to admit the very existence of a 'just war.'" - Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, May 2, 2003.

"Even when pressed by the demands of inner truth, men do not easily assume the task of opposing their government's policy, especially in time of war. Nor does the human spirit move without great difficulty against all the apathy of conformist thought within one's own bosom and in the surrounding world... Yet it should be incandescently clear that no one who has any concern for the integrity and life of America today can ignore the present war." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"People tend to think of nonviolence as a choice between using force and doing nothing. But the real choice takes place at another level. Nonviolence is less a matter of "not killing" and more a matter of showing compassion, of saving and redeeming, of being a healing community. One can only choose between doing good to the person placed in one's path, or to do him evil. To do good is to love a person; but not to do that is as good as killing him. To love someone is to restore that person physically, socially, and spiritually. To neglect and postpone this restoration is already to kill." - André Trocmé

"Peace has never come from dropping bombs. Real peace comes from enlightenment and educating people to behave in a more divine manner." - Carlos Santana

			"Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love: where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy. Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life." - St. Francis of Assisi (in the 1200s)
	Read more about St. Francis of Assisi in the Bruderhof Peacemaker's Guide: PeacemakersGuide.org

"We often think of peace as the absence of war; that if the powerful countries would reduce their arsenals, we could have peace. But if we look deeply into the weapons, we see our own minds - our prejudices, fears, and ignorance. Even if we transported all the bombs to the moon, the roots of war and the reasons for bombs would still be here, in our hearts and minds, and sooner or later we would make new bombs.

Seek to become more aware of what causes anger and separation, and what overcomes them. Root out the violence in your life, and learn to live compassionately and mindfully. Seek peace. When you have peace within, real peace with others will be possible." - Thich Nhat Hanh