Quaker Statement against Paying for War ( & link to Peace Tax Fund Bill)

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Quaker Statement against Paying for War
Released by New York Yearly Meeting, April 7, 2006

Quakers from New York State and parts of New Jersey and Connecticut have issued a statement affirming that the use of their taxes to pay for war violates their religious conviction and their faith in the Power of the Living Spirit to bring peace and prosperity in this world.

Representatives of New York Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, the umbrella organization for Quaker meetings and churches in the tri-state area, approved the following minute at their Spring Business Sessions on April 1:

"The Living Spirit works to give joy, peace and prosperity through love, integrity and compassionate justice among people. We are united in this Power. We acknowledge that paying for war violates our religious conviction. We will witness to this religious conviction in each of our communities."

This statement reflects Quakers' steadfast testimony that any participation in war, including payment of taxes for war, is a violation of our faith. By compelling support of war making through taxation, our government and political leaders have forced many people of faith to subordinate God's Word to the dictates of the state. The statement seeks to uphold a foundational principle of our nation that freedom to practice our religious faith is a matter of moral imperative, and is not dependent upon the grace of rights or privileges granted by the legislature.

Continued @ http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/ncptf/tellafriend.jsp?tell_a_friend_KEY=752 (Please note the links @ the bottom of this page to write your Representative & write a LTTE)

The Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund Bill, H.R. 2631: http://www.peacetaxfund.org/thebill/