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| Friends base all our "testimonies" of how to live "in this
world, but not of it" upon the experience of Christ risen from the dead and
come to live in us and among us here and now. "The kingdom of heaven is at hand!" No matter what the earthly nation in which we may live, we are subjects of Christ and it is His government to which we owe supreme loyalty and obedience. At the time that Christ raised up the Society of Friends in Seventeenth Century England, there were recurrent civil wars between Catholics, Puritans and others, each trying to establish a civil government which would, in turn, establish its own version of ecclesiastical government. Once George Fox, an apostlic leader in the formation of Friends, was offered a commission in the army of one of these factions. He replied thus: "I told them[the Commonwealth Commissioners] I lived in the virtue of that life and power that took away the occasion of all wars.…I told them I was come into the covenant of peace which was before wars and strife were." This refusal to participate in military service for a worldly government was not new to Fox nor to his time. From the beginning, Christians accepted persecution, not in anger or hoping for an opportunity to get revenge, but in humble supplication to the Lord to forgive their tormentors and to show them the joy and power of Christ which surpasses any joy or power the this temporal world has to offer. Only when the clergy of the "church" became hireling agents of temporal governments did they start contriving arguments for "just wars." But Christ does not change. His Kingdom does not change. Today, as then, those who offer their ultimate allegiance to that Kingdom are forbidden to take up worldly weapons to fight for woldly governments. Our fight is not with other people but with satan himself, and the only weapons we can use against his lies and hate are truth and love. But young Christians who understand this must BEWARE! The United States has laws that will require, if Congress and the President deem it necessary, to draft our youth into the military, to requre them wear the uniform, to train to and, if the command comes, to kill other people. To take their lives rather than to lead them to salvation. In some past wars, those who, in obedience to Christ, the inner guide of their consciences, refused to participate in the military, were jailed or worse. Today, the law does make provision for one to claim to be a "conscientioius objector" to military work. A drafted person whose "CO" claim is accepted would be assigned to "alternative service" such as work in a hospital, smoke jumping on forest fires, or some other work that serves the nation without compromising the individuals conscience. That God for such an opportunity! But BEWARE again! The local draft board which would have the authority to recognize CO status also has much independence in deciding whether to grant it. From the draft board's perspective, a claim for CO status may be nothing more than a lie to cover up cowardice. No one will be allowed to avoid military obligation for cowardice. For this reason, draft boards in the past have rejected CO claims that came to light only after the draft notice was received, while honoring CO claims which could be supported by evidence that the Conscientious Objection to military work was long-standing and sincere. To help those young men and women (if there ever is another draft, it will surely include women) who have heard the inner voice of God, which we call Christ, forbid them to participate in worldly wars with worldly weapons, Ohio Yearly Meeting has developed a registry of CO statements. A person who feels that he or she would claim CO status if drafted can, NOW, WELL IN ADVANCE, complete this form and send it to our recorder. This form will be dated and kept secure by the yearly meeting, to be released, unopened, so that the registry date cannot be doubted, to a draft board or similar body upon the indivdual's request. If you or a friend has any questions about Conscientious Objector status, please contact Ohio Yearly Meeting. |