"A Declaration of Peace" containing Universal Principles of Peace, articulates a particular viewpoint and stance that individuals, families and organizations may wish to adopt in order to promote world peace. Local, state and national governments may wish to adopt the declaration as a "Resolution" in their legislative body.

The Declaration was written by Peter Falkenberg Brown. Formatted PDF versions of the document are available for free, at
[1801].

Anyone may freely distribute or sell copies of the document as long as the text and attribution notice are left intact. Newspapers, Periodicals and Websites have carte blanche permission to reprint the document, per the copyright note at the bottom of the document.

The text reads:

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A Declaration of Peace

We Stand Together Now, at the Springtime of the World. We are crossing into a new era, leaving behind centuries of violent change. The frontier ahead of us today is the long neglected arena of the human heart.

Millions of silent victims bear witness that it is only our love that can halt the bitter cycles of war, starvation and oppression. Our children mutely ask us to teach them how to love; how to care; and how to rise above the mistakes of their ancestors.

We have entered the Age of Illumination. The advance of scientific truth has brought us forward to the edge of the invisible world of thought and spirit. We can no longer ignore the Creative Origin of love. We can no longer dismiss the commonality of heart that binds us together as human beings. The love between parents and children, brothers and sisters, and husbands and wives melts the barriers that have separated the human family for thousands of years. Heart must and will become our common language.

The Logic of Heart allows us to understand and agree that parental love must indeed flow from the Invisible Source that we call God. We are not animals fighting to survive. Our common traits of love of family lead us to the inescapable conclusion that we are all children of the same God of Love.

Walls of separation have no place in the springtime of God's world. Race, culture, language and theology must bow to the tears of love flowing from our Creator's heart. The Creator of Parental Love could only wish for his children to finally live in peace.

As Leaders and Individuals of Faith, we stand together, joined by the unchanging love of the God who cared for all of us throughout our lonely and tragic history. We reject the ignorance and coldness of heart that has separated people of faith. We declare with boldness and courage that men and women of God must march together into a new world of peace and true love. We affirm with pride that all people are created by God and are thus our brothers and sisters. We honor and respect the worldwide family of humankind and its many religious traditions.

Therefore, we declare that the 21st Century marks the Springtime of the Human Family, a family that will flourish and grow based upon Universal Principles of Peace.

Universal Principles of Peace

1. God is the Creator of life and the Source of unselfish family love.

2. Human beings are spiritual in nature, and live beyond the death of their physical body.

3. The core ethic and guiding principle of life is unselfish love for others, which by definition brings eternal joy to others.

4. Active love and service toward others, including one's "enemies", will create a world of peace without boundaries.

5. All people without exception are God's children, and inherit their human rights from God.

6. All men and women are created by God as equals, with the inherent right and opportunity:

- to become mature in their unselfish love for others;

- to marry as husbands and wives and create a marriage of true love;

- to become parents of true love to their children and;

- to love and care for the world and environment as an extension of their own family and home.

7. Sexual abstinence before marriage, and sexual fidelity within marriage, combined with unselfish love, will enable husbands and wives to create an eternal and Triune marriage with God at the center.

8. God's love is expressed and learned in the family school of love -- the building block of a world of true peace.

9. All aspects of society, including political systems, legislation, the economy, environmental management, the media, the arts, and culture and traditions, should reflect and resonate with the ethical paradigm of God's unselfish love.

10. Freedom of religion, speech, the press and of assembly and petition1 are essential liberties for all individuals and groups. All human rights must be rigorously protected, for a society of true love cannot be forced.

11. The freedom of an individual or group should not be allowed to harm others. Freedom should be governed by the ethical principle and heartistic responsibility of unselfish love.

12. The World of True Peace is a world of family relationships under God. Nations will live in peace when the overriding desire of each nation is to serve the citizens of all nations as true brothers and sisters, bound together by a common heart of love.

Thus, for the noble cause of a World of True Peace, united under the transcendent love of God, we commit ourselves.

May God Bless the World!

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Ref. 1: Paraphrased from the Constitution of the United States, Amendment 1, "the Bill of Rights".

This document owes its inspiration to many sources, including the Bill of Rights and principles, language and concepts articulated by The Interreligious & International Federation for World Peace & the Ambassadors for Peace Initiative.

Permission is granted worldwide to distribute or sell copies of this document, royalty free, in any size, as long as the text, design and this notice are left intact. Free PDF copies at http://worldcommunity.com/peace/

Written by Peter Falkenberg Brown, December, 2004 ~ peterbrown@worldcommunity.com