Source: Acton Power Blog | John C. Couretas A “budget is a moral document,” right? The Institute on Religion & Democracy reports that following the loss of a major donor, the National Council of Churches (NCC) finds itself “closer than ever before to the precipice” of financial collapse. The progressive/liberal church coalition, comprised largely of mainline Protestant and Orthodox churches, is running out of dough. IRD’s Barton Gingerich: Evangelical Lutheran Church in … [Read more...]

Washington Post | August 15, 2011 | Jay W. Richards In “From Jesus’ socialism to capitalistic Christianity,” Gregory Paul argues that American Christians who defend the free economy are involved in a profound contradiction, since Jesus and Christianity are self-evidently socialistic. Let’s pass over his caricature of capitalism, since no one would defend the idea as he describes it, and get to the two big holes in his argument. The first is his claim that … [Read more...]

Heritage Foundation | August 8, 201 | Jennifer Marshall "God is watching." A liberal Christian group sent that warning in an ad addressed to Congress and President Barack Obama during the recent debt fight. “The Bible teaches that God is watching to see how the poor fare under the decisions of the politically powerful,” the ad by Sojourners said. True enough. But that doesn’t necessarily mean God is looking for a Sojourners-approved “Circle of Protection” … [Read more...]

Acton Institute | August 10, 2011 | John Couretas One of the disturbing aspects of the liberal/progressive faith campaign known as the Circle of Protection is that its organizers have such little regard – indeed are blind to -- the innate freedom of the human person. Their campaign, which has published “A Statement on Why We Need to Protect Programs for the Poor,” equates the welfare of the “least of these” in American society to the amount of assistance they receive from the … [Read more...]

Kansas City Star | August 8, 2011 | Jeniffer A. Marshall - The Heritage Foundation "God is watching." A Christian group sent that warning in an ad addressed to Congress and President Barack Obama during the recent debt fight. "The Bible teaches that God is watching to see how the poor fare under the decisions of the politically powerful," the ad by Sojourners said. True enough. But that doesn't necessarily mean God is looking for a Sojourners-approved "Circle of Protection" around federal … [Read more...]

National Review Online | August 8, 2011 | David French Writing last Thursday in the Washington Post, Michael Gerson took on the dispute between the Christian Left’s “Circle of Protection” and Christians for a Sustainable Economy’s more conservative response. (Full disclosure: I signed the CASE letter and wrote about it last week.) His conclusion? That the Left has the better of the argument: The arguments of the Circle and CASE both have merit. But the … [Read more...]

Washington Post | August 4, 2011 | By Lisa Miller Excerpt: Beckmann belongs to a diverse coalition of Christian leaders called Circle of Protection, whose mission is to protect funding for programs that support the poor. On July 20, a group from Circle met with President Obama in the Roosevelt Room. Beckmann wrote in an e-mail that Obama “expressed particular concern about Medicaid. . . . He expressed his strong desire to protect people in need, but also made it clear that the … [Read more...]

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 … [Read more...]

Christian Post | August 3, 2011 | By Napp Nazworth Excerpt: The newly formed Christians for a Sustainable Economy (CASE) wrote a letter asking President Obama and congressional leaders to help the poor through economic growth, rather than through funding ineffective government programs. [...] In an interview with The Christian Post, Timothy Dalrymple, managing editor of the evangelical portal at Patheos.com, said that the group came together “organically” out of concern that the … [Read more...]

Huffington Post | August 2, 2011 | Fr. Peter-Michael Prebble Excerpt: During the debate on the debt ceiling a group of very well meaning Christian leaders from across the religious spectrum, led by Jim Wallis of Sojourners, lobbied the President and leaders in Congress to pass a law that would protect the welfare state. They posit that there is biblical evidence that the government needs to care for the poor no matter what the consequences. As a classical liberal (and yes, as a Christian), … [Read more...]