Associated Baptist Press | August 4, 2011 | By Bob Allen
Excerpt:
WASHINGTON (ABP) – About 100 conservative Christians signed a letter sent to President Obama Aug. 3 contesting a coalition led by Jim Wallis of Sojourners urging government leaders not to balance the budget on the backs of the poor.
Obama met 40 minutes on July 20 with representatives of the Circle of Protection, a national coalition urging that efforts to reduce the government’s $14.3 trillion national debt include concern for the “least of these,” a phrase used by Jesus in Matthew 25 to describe the poor and vulnerable.
A new counter-coalition calling itself Christians for a Sustainable Economy claims Wallis’ group does not speak for all Christians. In their letter they urged Obama to “consider the whole counsel of Scripture, which urges not only compassion and provision for the poor but also the perils of debt and the importance of wise stewardship.”
“To the question, ‘What would Jesus cut?’ we add the question, ‘Whom would Jesus indebt?’” the letter said. “The Good Samaritan did not use a government credit card.”
Early signers of the letter — co-written by a panel including Timothy Dalrymple of the evangelical web portal Patheos and Mark Tooley of the Institute for Religion and Democracy -– included high-profile evangelical leaders like Prison Fellowship founder Chuck Colson and Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council.
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