Tony sent the following via email--I thought it was too important to read and 'delete'...
Several weeks ago in our Tuesday night Bible study, John asked me where Quakers stand on the issue of abortion. While I cannot or would not presume to speak for all Quakers on this or any other issue, I would say that Quakers have a strong testimony regarding the sanctity of all life. The sticky point for some Quakers is the debate regarding when life begins. For me personally it is clear from Biblical references in Psalms and Jeremiah that life begins at conception. That said the fact that I have never voted for a pro-life candidate may seem strange to some people. There are two reasons for this. The first is that the candidates who have campaigned as pro-life including George Bush, have not been able to change the existing laws. If you look at the statistics on abortion, you will discover that a significant portion of them are economically driven. Yet the people who claim to be pro-life are the same people who have opposed national health insurance, increases in the minimum wage, and other benefits for the poor that would address some of the economic factors that contribute to the number of abortions in America. More importantly, however, I agree with Tony Campolo's approach to choosing the right candidate. For me like him, there are too many difficult issues facing our country right now to choose a candidate based on one issue alone. For example, George Bush made his pro-life position very clear. At the same time, however, he all but set a record during his time as governor of Texas for the number of executions during his administration. And sanctity of life is sanctity of life regardless of whether we are talking about the unborn or the already born. There are also folks who are deeply concerned about the quality of life for future generations if we don't address global warming and other environmental issues that threaten the very future of our planet. Because I am a Quaker Christian, I personally believe that war is the single worst violation of the sanctity of life; therefore bringing the war in Iraq to an end as quickly as possible is the most important issue in this election for me personally. The last statistics I saw indicated something like 5,000 American lives have been lost in Iraq. The death toll among the people of Iraq is estimated at something like 150,000 which includes a significant number of non-combatants, women, children, and the elderly. The lives of those Iraqi children are just as precious to God as the unborn children in America. Obviously, I have made no secret of the fact that I am an Obama supporter ( I have had a bumper sticker indicating the same on my vehicle for several months now). Weighing all the issues that we are facing, I find that on the majority of them I am in agreement with his views. I am not trying to convince anyone else to agree with me, but I do believe our Christian witness has to involve standing for more than just one single issue. And I will admit, I am pretty tired of getting e-mails calling on "Christians" to pray for our upcoming elections that are really no more than thinly veiled warnings that God is on the side of the Republican party. When we were driving through the midwest on our trip to Montana, we saw roadsides signs in several states that said, "Faith still matters. Vote Republican." Yes, faith does matter. But it is neither democratic or republican. So I encouarge everyone - look at the issues and vote, not for a particular political party, but for the person whose platform most closely reflects your own personal faith convictions.
