“All War is Contrary to the Mind of Christ:” The Bible and the Fellowship of Reconciliation

Abstract This article examines some of the stages in the engagement of members of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FoR) with the Bible. FoR was formed in 1914 and became the leading interdenominational pacifist Christian body in Britain. The article shows the influence of the Bible in the beginnings of FoR, traces the way biblical convictions shaped the views of conscientious objectors to military conscription, analyses pacifism and the Bible in the aftermath of war, and argues that FoR’s pacifist approach, with a focus on the teaching and example of Jesus, gained greater acceptance in the 1930s.