Mainline Church Leaders Denounce Bush Budget

[brindis_desala]

Tuesday, March 8, 2005
Five mainline protestant leaders call Bush's 2006 budget 'unjust'
by John Johnson

ENS 030805-3

-- Leaders of five mainline Protestant denominations representing more than 20 million followers in the United States today called President Bush's 2006 federal budget "unjust."

Speaking together at a press conference in Washington, D.C., leaders of the Episcopal Church USA, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church (USA), United Church of Christ, and United Methodist Church invoked Luke's Gospel story of a poor man named Lazarus lying at the gate of a rich man who ignores the poor man's needs. When the two men die, Lazarus goes to heaven, and the rich man to hell.

"In telling this story, Jesus makes clear that perpetrating economic injustice is among the gravest of sins," the leaders said in a joint statement <http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_59750_ENG_HTM.htm >.

"Like many Americans, we read our daily newspaper through the lens of faith, and when we see injustice, it is our duty to say so," they added. "The 2006 Federal Budget that President Bush has sent to Capitol Hill is unjust. It has much for the rich man and little for Lazarus."

The statement was signed by: the Most Rev. Frank Griswold, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, USA, the Rt. Rev. Mark Hanson, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, the Rev. Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, Presbyterian Church (USA), United Church of Christ General Minister and President John H. Thomas, and James Winkler, General Secretary of the General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church.

[applegrove]

1. Yes! I was waiting for them to speak up.

[MasonJar]

2. Will this get any press? We should expose it in LTTEs. I am so

glad to see the real Christians speaking out. Go, Episcopalians.

[brindis_desala]

6. Please write and point out that these are the silenced majority of

Christians.

[Tux]

8. At least they are speaking now

[brindis_desala]

9. this is a misconception. I wish people would understand

NEWS IN THE USA IS BIASED PROPAGANDA. Most Christians are NOT fundamentalist, end days freaks, the repugs simply get all the press.

[Tux]

22. OK WE GET IT

But where were they during the elections?

[Zenlitened]

3. Very encouraging.

They do indeed need to be speaking out. :)

[RevCheesehead]

4. Thank you for posting this positive message from Church leaders.

These people have consistently spoken out against the war, poverty, social security, and so on. All so-called "liberal values." They have always done so, but received little public attention for their efforts.

[GetTheRightVote]

5. Yes, this is a positive on the part of the American Church, real values

are being shown here, "You are your brothers keeper", take care of the most needy to shine in the eyes of our lord and God. Way to go church leaders, way to go.

:kick:

[etherealtruth]

7. This IS the position of the Catholic church also...

..."In telling this story, Jesus makes clear that perpetrating economic injustice is among the gravest of sins,"

* really ignores the "Christ" in his version of Christianity.

[Enquiringkitty]

10. I sent the link to CNN and challenged them to give equal time to

rational Christians who oppose Bush's budget as they give to Christians who follow blindly.

[wildmanj]

11. speaking up

WORKFARE NOT WELFARE--earn your bread by the sweat of your brow---no such thing as a free lunch---someone pays

[Enquiringkitty]

12. Does that mean you are for or against the budget cuts?

[wildmanj]

15. does this mean

it means that all have to live within a framework that is determined by their abilities-----corporations love to slop at the government trough as well as the people--but---we have to pay the bills as we go or we are leaving the children and their children in one hell of a mess and that is a fact----there is still no such thing as a FREE LUNCH

[DenverDem]

13. Cut CORPORATE welfare and we could feed the world.

Take the publican talking points elsewhere.

Not only is Halliburton's lunch free, it consists of beluga caviar, lobster and Dom Perignon champagne. And yes, someone pays, the middle class tax payer.

[wildmanj]

18. publican talking points

sorry been a straight line democratic voter since 1984--but its time for democrats to stop crying and wanting all the political spoils without first working----we have too many splinter groups that want what they want when they want it simply because they want it and as a result democrats can hardly ever make it into the seat of power-----we need HOT BUTTON ISSUES and yes A PAPER TRAIL

[DenverDem]

20. A sustainable economy is not a "splinter issue".

This is a core value.

Corporations are not citizens and do not have citizens rights.

I also call "bullshit".

[Erika]

14. Christ said pay a fair wage for a day's work

Walmart execs who receive millions as compensation while paying workers peanuts are not paying a fair wage. Then the execs depend on our taxes to fund basic needs for their workers.

Yes to "real American values"! Not, the republican value of rewarding the rich by taking from the poor!

[JerseygirlCT]

16. Most people would love to earn their bread

Unfortunately, an increase in the minimum wage was shot down today -- again. Too many people cannot earn enough for their daily bread -- even working several jobs. When a living wage is the result of work, you'll see many people quite happily caring for themselves.

You think people enjoy being poor?

[wildmanj]

17. enjoy being poor

the answer is no but most people came to think of a good job as something that just happened----good jobs came about after world war ii because all those thousand upon thousands of people who fought came home knowing how to use a gun and the powers that be figured they had better get their attention off of fighting and on building houses, buying cars, getting educations---if my memory serves me correctly, we were producing 40% of all the things made in the world at the end of wwii---today that is somewhere around 11%---where does it all stop---maybe warren buffett said it best---from a "ownership society to a "sharecropper society" or as paul krugman said a "debt peonage society-----its all up to us--there is no one left to save us from ourselves but us---people don't always get what they want but they almost always get what they deserve

[Erika]

19. Corporate Fascism now exists - it didn't then

and darn close to theocratic corporate fascism now runs our government.

They didn't after WW II. Interesting reference to guns as having something to do with it.

[Hidden Stillness]

21. They Have at Last Woken Up

Yay--Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, that's me! Finally, criticizing that capitalist demon who presumes to buy the government, the temple ("the moneychangers"), and everything else in the previous God's world, while the rest of us starve and beg; to deaf ears. At long last these mainstream liberal churches are acting like churches. Kick those fundamentalist devils off the stage!

[Just Me]

23. I hope these leaders remain vocal and visible.

We really need their voices to counter the extreme likes of Falwell and Robertson!!!

:bounce:

[yellowcanine]

24. Southern Baptists ignore most of what Jesus said in favor of Paul so

they will not be supporting the statement.