Friday, November 16, 2007

What Christian Peacemaker Teams Are All About

CPTers are dedicated to establishing peace through non-violence. They make their homes in countries experiencing conflict, and offer themselves as third party mediators. The hope is that their presence will be enough to force those involved (particularly the oppressors) to rethink the situation and their tactics. To recognize the humanity of their victims, and to protect their own humanity by not implementing violence.

In Palestine (or the Occupied Territories), CPTers work in at-Tuwani and Hebron. Among other activities, they act as human shields when needed and walk children to school.

Here's some info gleaned from their website:
  • Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) was started in 1984.
  • It arose from a call for Christians to devote the same discipline and self-sacrifice to nonviolent peacemaking that armies devote to war.
  • It began out of Mennonite, Brethren, and Quaker roots.
  • It's "Biblically-based and spiritually-centered."
  • It believes in risking injury and death in unarmed attempts to transform lethal conflict by the power of God’s truth and love.

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