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    Quaker Quicks - Why I am a Pacifist: A Call For A More Nonviolent World
    Quaker Quicks - Why I am a Pacifist: A Call For A More Nonviolent World
    Quaker Quicks - Why I am a Pacifist: A Call For A More Nonviolent World
    Ebook103 pages2 hours

    Quaker Quicks - Why I am a Pacifist: A Call For A More Nonviolent World

    By Tim Gee

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    About this ebook

    Tim Gee tells the story of why he became a pacifist and what it means to him. Gee reflects on the lives of peacemakers past and present to provide responses to questions like “Don’t we have to hit back if we're hurt?”, “Don’t we need war to respond to evil?” and “Doesn’t religion justify wars?”. This is a critique of war, but more than that, it stakes a claim for pacifism's feminist and anti-racist qualities. This is a call for a more nonviolent world.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJohn Hunt Publishing
    Release dateSep 27, 2019
    ISBN9781789040173
    Quaker Quicks - Why I am a Pacifist: A Call For A More Nonviolent World

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      Book preview

      Quaker Quicks - Why I am a Pacifist - Tim Gee

      What people are saying about

      Why I Am a Pacifist

      Why I Am a Pacifist combines personal reflection with a range of historical, philosophical and faith-based insights to give a concise but powerful answer to anyone who thinks that pacifism is about doing nothing in the face of injustice. If you’re drawn to pacifism but have doubts and questions, then this book is a good place to start.

      Symon Hill, Peace Pledge Union

      Tim Gee is wonderfully articulate in this informative, thought-provoking and moving account of why he, along with many other Quakers, is a pacifist.

      Chloe Scaling, The Young Quaker magazine

      This book is a short, clear, comprehensive explanation of pacifism that covers all the bases and doesn’t shy away from the difficult questions. As it moves effortlessly from the theory of a Just War to the practical successes of nonviolent protest, from the origins of pacifism to its links with the struggles against racism and sexism, the book highlights just how essential a peaceful approach is to us and the world.

      Oliver Robertson, Fellowship of Reconciliation UK

      Following Maria J Stephan’s insight that overall nonviolent campaigns are twice as likely to succeed as military ones, in Tim Gee’s hands pacifism becomes the ultimate campaign, in the sense that it offers resistance not only to conventional wars but also the violence of poverty and racism, gender based violence and inequality across the globe. Framed by the author’s personal reflections, interspersed with insights from the Quaker tradition on equality and peace, this excellent resource will encourage us to challenge our propensity to violence both as individuals and in our organisations.

      Henrietta Cullinan, Catholic Worker

      Pacifism is about the whole of life. Read this book to find out why.

      Hannah Brock, War Resisters’ International

      QUAKER QUICKS

      Why I Am a Pacifist

      QUAKER QUICKS

      Why I Am a Pacifist

      Tim Gee

      Winchester, UK

      Washington, USA

      First published by Christian Alternative Books, 2018

      Christian Alternative Books is an imprint of John Hunt Publishing Ltd.,

      No. 3 East St., Alresford, Hampshire SO24 9EE, UK

      office@jhpbooks.com

      www.johnhuntpublishing.com

      www.christian-alternative.com

      For distributor details and how to order please visit the ‘Ordering’ section on our website.

      Text copyright: Tim Gee 2018

      Cover photo: Quaker Climate Justice protest at the British Museum

      ISBN: 978 1 78904 016 6

      978 1 78904 017 3 (ebook)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2018953745

      All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publishers.

      The rights of Tim Gee as author have been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

      A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

      Design: Stuart Davies

      UK: Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY

      US: Printed and bound by Thomson-Shore, 7300 West Joy Road, Dexter, MI 48130

      We operate a distinctive and ethical publishing philosophy in all areas of our business, from our global network of authors to production and worldwide distribution.

      Contents

      Cover

      Half Title

      Title

      Copyright

      Contents

      Acknowledgments

      Preface

      Chapter 1: Why I am a pacifist

      Chapter 2: War is the greater evil

      Chapter 3: Thou shalt not kill

      Chapter 4: The power of nonviolence

      Chapter 5: Gender, sexuality and peace

      Chapter 6: Pacifism and anti-racism

      Chapter 7: Towards a nonviolent economy

      Chapter 8: Never again?

      Chapter 9: But what would you do if...

      References

      About the Author

      Series Page

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      Guide

      Cover

      Half Title

      Title

      Copyright

      Contents

      Acknowledgments

      Start of Content

      References

      About the Author

      Series Page

      Acknowledgments

      Thank you to my friends and family who have read over drafts and given feedback including Marcela, Maria, Paul, Sita, Yvonne, Clive, Chloe, Simon, John, Ahlya, Paul, Till, Oliver, Sasha, Dorothy, Hannah and Jonathan. Thanks also to Friends House library and its ever-helpful staff who helped me locate some of the source material. The cover picture is by Marcela Teran. The series was the idea of Jennifer Kavanagh. All mistakes are of course my own.

      Preface

      This book is about pacifism written from the perspective of a Quaker. On the basis that you might not have come across Quakers before, this preface att empts some words on the theme.

      Quakers (also known as the Religious Society of Friends – or Friends for short) are a grassroots faith community born three and a half centuries ago in the wake of the English Civil War. Quaker ideas are rooted in the principle of equality, especially the experience that every person has the ability to encounter the divine personally. This is represented by the idea of an ‘inward light’. Although styles of worship differ around the world, Quaker Meetings are often based on collective contemplation.

      The egalitarianism of the community has often led Friends to be pioneers in taking stands that would later become mainstream including promoting women’s ministry (1650s), campaigning against slavery (1750s), modelling fair dealing in business (1850s) and challenging homophobia (1950s onwards). Quakers today support programmes to promote environmental protection, economic equality and racial justice amongst other issues.

      What Quakers are probably best known for though, is persistently working for peace. That is the focus of the pages that follow.

      Chapter 1

      Why I am a pacifist

      I call myself a pacifist. I haven’t always done so and I sometimes hesitate to if I think I might be misunderstood. But with a short book ahead of me to explain what I mean, I say with confidence: I am a pacifist – by which I mean that I try to play my part in making peace by nonviolent means.

      Perhaps my pacifism hasn’t yet been fully tested. I haven’t been a soldier or a resident of a country invaded by another nor been forced in to the military through conscription. Nevertheless, as a resident of a country which drops bombs on other countries, sells weapons to governments engaged in human rights abuse and is complicit in climate change – causing perhaps the largest process of global violence imaginable – I feel a responsibility to speak out and do what I can to work for peace.

      I

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