They are Hutterites, religious people who say their purpose is to eradicate capital punishment, treat children with love and kindness, build strong marriages and teach forgiveness across the globe.

They appear out of place inside a modern newsroom; when several of them visited me recently, heads turned and people frowned and stared.

Throughout their history, the Hutterites have taken on unpopular causes: defending the powerless, reaching out to the oppressed, and always preaching that war is wrong - always, without exception.

In that tradition they march in protest on behalf of death row prisoners, they celebrate the courage of those battling oppression, and they preach their principles about life, from infancy to the cusp of death.

The Hutterites take their name from their founder, Jacob Hutter, a 16th-century pacifist in central Europe who gathered people into a common life that took an uncompromising stand against violence and war. Hutter was tortured and martyred in 1536 for his religious beliefs.

After Hutter's death, his followers split many times over doctrinal differences during the years. Always they lived separated from the world, nurturing their children inside the commune's schools until age 14 and working hard to better the world through traditional values and Christian beliefs.

Some Hutterites, while living in Germany during World War II, were challenged by Hitler, who demanded that they allow Nazi teachers into their schools. Armed soldiers lined the Hutterites against a wall and demanded allegiance to Nazism. They refused.

The Nazis conscripted the Hutterite youths, burned their books and terrorized them for their faith. The Hutterites waited patiently, then left in the middle of the night, scattered across Europe with promises to meet in London. Neither the United States nor Canada would receive them as immigrants. They petitioned most free countries in the world for asylum. Only Paraguay would receive them.

So, following World War II, they lived in the jungles of Paraguay for more than a decade until they saved enough money to begin a migration to the United States. Today they have colonies in New York and Pennsylvania where they farm and build wooden furniture and play systems for day care centers.

But two years ago, members of the old branch of Hutterites decided decided they no longer could tolerate the calls for reform from some younger members. The old branch still preaches in German, sings from German song books and casts a suspicious eye toward some technology.

The more progressive Hutterites wanted to take a step into the future, retaining the most treasured principles of their religion but moving also into wider society to communicate their faith.

The two groups pulled apart. The old branch of Hutterites continue their traditions. The more progressive group is testing new freedoms. Its members call themselves the Bruderhof (Place of Brothers) Community Movement International.

They don't want to convert people, to drag them inside their communes and make them captives of their religious system. They just want you to listen and to think about peace and an end to violence and oppression.

One of their members, Johann Christoph Arnold, whose roots in the Hutterite movement can be traced through several generations, is writing books about their principles: love, forgiveness, responsible parenting, dying with dignity, living in purity.

In his latest book, "Seventy Times Seven: The Power of Forgiveness" (The Plough Publishing House, $13), Arnold writes about the miracle of radical forgiveness. He tells stories about people who have suffered incredible wrongs and have learned how to survive through the power of forgiveness.

It's a compelling book that takes us back to the things that matter. Arnold believes the world can be changed by our everyday actions.

"The question is: How can we encourage people to begin the spiritual search?" Arnold said in an interview. "I travel all over the nation because of my books, and I talk to so many young people. I tell them life is short and God has a plan for you. You must get busy finding out what God wants you to do.

"God does not expect big things from us," Arnold says, "just kindness and consideration, encouragement and love. A friendly hello or helping a handicapped person - that is our mission. It only takes one stone to start an avalanche, and it only takes one person to begin change."

Clark D. MorphewNovember 22, 1997