See Video of Budget Protest

(CNSNews.com) - More than 200 religious activists gathered in Washington, D.C., Wednesday to protest what they called the "Christmas scandal" budget passed by the House of Representatives. The budget, the protesters complained, "cuts taxes for the rich while cutting benefits for the poor."

To express their displeasure with the bill, more than 100 people in the group engaged in a "pray-in" to block the entrance to the Cannon House Office Building and were quickly arrested, including organizer Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners, a ministry that describes itself as "Christians for justice and peace."

"There is a Christmas scandal in this nation," Wallis told the group, "but it has nothing to do with shopping malls or saying 'Happy Holidays' instead of 'Merry Christmas.' The Christmas scandal is the budget coming out of this House of Representatives, a budget that is an assault on poor people, on low-income families.

"Religious leaders have said all year that budgets are moral documents that reflect what we care about most," Wallis said. "The budget passed by the House says to people serving the 'least of these' that congressional leaders don't care about working families struggling day to day.

"With poverty on the rise for the fourth year in a row, food insecurity up for five years in a row, and 9.2 million working families on the brink of poverty, 'trickle down' tax policy doesn't seem to be working," Wallis added. "It doesn't require economic analysis to see that taking food from the hungry and health care from the sick isn't helping, either."

The House budget contains a reversal of biblical values, he said, "and symbolizes the death of compassionate conservatism." But "the faith community is outraged and is drawing a line in the sand against immoral national priorities" through protests in the nation's capital and across the country, Wallis claimed.

Participants in the event carried signs that read "Budgets Are Moral Documents" and "For Poor People: Access Denied," sang "This Little Light of Mine" and chanted "Help the needy, not the greedy."

Among the speakers at the rally -- which Wallis joked was "part revival and part protest" -- was Fred Haynes, senior pastor of the Friendship West Baptist Church in Dallas, Tex., who enthusiastically agreed with the purpose of the event.

"Budgets, in a real sense, reflect your real spirit and your real heart," Haynes said. "Don't tell us about being faith-based, don't tell us about compassionate conservativism [sic] when your budget slashes and does damage to those who are most vulnerable.

"I'm afraid that when our government stands before God almighty, that Jesus will say, 'I was hungry, but you cut food stamps. I was thirsty, and you cut Pell grants. I was a stranger, and because I was not a part of your class, I was denied access. I was in prison, and you continued to allow me to experience injustice," Haynes stated.

The only member of Congress to address the gathering was Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), who applauded the protestors for "braving the cold on Capitol Hill to protest cuts in Medicaid, student loans and food stamps.

"You recognize that the priorities reflected in our budget are not a partisan issue, but an issue of who we are as a nation and what our values are," she said. "As a nation, we believe in equality and opportunity, but belief -- in and of itself -- is not enough. We must work to make it so."

After the rally, half of the participants moved to the front of the building to pray for members of the House and, as the protestors expected, police officers responded quickly and arrested them for blocking the entrance to a government building.

Carrie Gordon Earll, spokesperson for Focus on the Family, told Cybercast News Service that her organization did not take part in Wednesday's rally because it holds a different view of the relationship between the government and the poor.

Referring to Haynes' paraphrase of Matthew 25:41-43, Gordon Earll said: "When Jesus spoke those words, He was speaking to His church and not the government.

"What we have here is a situation where some believe that the government should be the sole source -- or a major source -- of supplying the needs of the poor," she added. "That is the role of the church, not the government."

:
Bible-Based Protest 'Not Judeo-Christian,' Reverend Says (Dec. 14, 2005)

See Earlier Stories:
GOP Budget Favors 'Scrooges' Over 'Tiny Tims,' Liberals Say (Dec. 13, 2005)
Budget Debate a Defining Moment for GOP, Groups Say (Oct. 20, 2005)
GOP Facing More Budget Heat, Left and Right (Oct. 20, 2005)
GOP 'Spending Spree' Threatens Party's Grip on Power (Oct. 05, 2005)

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