The Christian Century

The National Council of Churches sent a Fourth of July declaration to President Bush to voice grievances over what the organization calls a failed policy in Iraq and a “dishonorable” war.

Touting his desire to build a “more compassionate society,” President George W.

“There is no such thing as a spare embryo,” President Bush declared, vowing to veto a bill that would allot federal money to support stem cell research on human embryos that were created through in vitro fertilization (IVF) and have been slated to be discarded.

In a commencement address at Calvin College, President Bush urged graduates of the Christian college in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to serve others as the Bible commands.

President Bush’s declaration that he would veto any legislative effort to expand embryonic stem cell research puts his Republican Party between a rock and a hard place politically, making the GOP appear morally and ethically out of touch with the majority of Americans.

It was a modest gesture, but some United Methodists hope that President Bush’s first meeting with bishops in his own denomination will contribute to a new relationship with mainline church leaders.

It was a blustery day in late April when a colleague poked his head into my office and asked, “Have you heard the news? Nicholas Wolterstorff has been replaced as commencement speaker. George Bush is coming instead.”

Shortly before Capitol Hill got down to brass tacks on President Bush’s $2.57 trillion budget for 2006, the spending proposal came under blistering criticism in separate critiques by mainline Protestant leaders and the head of Catholic Charities USA.

Doug Wead, an evangelical Christian and former confidant of President Bush, has become an outcast among some conservative Christian leaders after he shared tapes with the New York Times that recorded private conversations with Bush.

President Bush may truly care about the poor and about people down on their luck, and he may want the public and private sectors to join in efforts to help. But his actions suggest he is engaged in what the Wall Street Journal calls a “war on the war on poverty.”