by Ben Johnson
Barack Obama’s White House meeting with members of the Christian organization Circle of Protection on Wednesday has been portrayed as a moment of spiritual solace in the midst of polemical upheaval, or the president’s attempt to seek divine guidance on the stalled debt ceiling negotiations. The media describe the 12 attendees as selfless advocates for the poor and downtrodden. In reality, its organizers admit their goal is “to link our pulpits with the bully pulpit” and “produce the grassroots response” to preserve big government spending. The undertaking is consciously designed to see thousands of pastors repeat the president’s talking points in their churches and have their faithful “contact their congressmen.” Its attendees include George Soros grant recipients, a former left-wing congresswoman who has worked with the Nation of Islam, and a pastor accused of lying to a poor parishioner to get his hands on her last $7,000 before his church declared bankruptcy.
Protection for Programs, Not the Poor
Although the Circle of Protection’s leaders call themselves defenders of poverty-stricken Americans, their pledge clearly states their goal is “to form a Circle of Protection around programs that meet the essential needs of hungry and poor people at home and abroad.” (Emphasis added.) They extend their hedge of protection, not over the poor, but around government redistribution of wealth.
The Circle’s website offers a “summary” of national and international programs that the Christian Left wants to place off-limits to any budget cut. In addition to domestic programs like food stamps, Medicaid, Head Start, the school lunch program, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Low-Income Education and Training, and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) are “Peacekeeping” (UN interventions abroad), “Sustainable International Development Programs” (to assure the global poor comply with environmentalist diktats), and “Global Health” (which often subsidizes abortion under the guise of “reproductive health”).
The group received tremendous attention when they printed a letter entitled, “Listen to Your Pastors,” signed by more than 4,000 clergy nationwide in Wednesday’s edition of Politico. Coincidentally, the letter came the same day 37 Catholic theologians released a similar letter endorsing the Circle of Protection and decrying “reckless calls from Republicans to dismantle our nation’s safety net.”
According to the participants, the White House hastily invited them to the meeting on less than 36-hours notice. The short notice may also explain why the meeting was not listed on the president’s official schedule. (Read more)
A later excerpt:
Wallis said the group told President Obama:
Some in Attendance
Evangelicals Join 'Religious Left' to Defend Poor Against Budget Cuts
Meeting took place on July 14, 2011
Protection for Programs, Not the Poor
Although the Circle of Protection’s leaders call themselves defenders of poverty-stricken Americans, their pledge clearly states their goal is “to form a Circle of Protection around programs that meet the essential needs of hungry and poor people at home and abroad.” (Emphasis added.) They extend their hedge of protection, not over the poor, but around government redistribution of wealth.
The Circle’s website offers a “summary” of national and international programs that the Christian Left wants to place off-limits to any budget cut. In addition to domestic programs like food stamps, Medicaid, Head Start, the school lunch program, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Low-Income Education and Training, and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) are “Peacekeeping” (UN interventions abroad), “Sustainable International Development Programs” (to assure the global poor comply with environmentalist diktats), and “Global Health” (which often subsidizes abortion under the guise of “reproductive health”).
The group received tremendous attention when they printed a letter entitled, “Listen to Your Pastors,” signed by more than 4,000 clergy nationwide in Wednesday’s edition of Politico. Coincidentally, the letter came the same day 37 Catholic theologians released a similar letter endorsing the Circle of Protection and decrying “reckless calls from Republicans to dismantle our nation’s safety net.”
According to the participants, the White House hastily invited them to the meeting on less than 36-hours notice. The short notice may also explain why the meeting was not listed on the president’s official schedule. (Read more)
Jim Wallis with Pres. Obama
A later excerpt:
Wallis said the group told President Obama:
that almost every pulpit in America is linked to the Circle of Protection…so it would be a powerful thing if our pulpits could be linked to the bully pulpit here, and together we could say – however else we do this, however we put our fiscal house in order – we can’t do it with more sacrifice from those who are already sacrificing and hurting so much. So, we’d like to link our pulpits with the bully pulpit here and help the American people understand what’s at stake and who’s really going to be impacted by all of this.Wallis happily noted “we think our pulpits are ready” for this task.
Some in Attendance
- the Roman Catholic Church
- the National Council of Churches
- the National Association of Evangelicals
- the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
- the Salvation Army
- Bread for the World
- Rev. Jim Wallis of Sojourners
- Barbara Williams-Skinner, co-facilitator of the National African American Clergy Network
Evangelicals Join 'Religious Left' to Defend Poor Against Budget Cuts
