Eugene Cho

A moral budget: What would Jesus cut?

Update: I’m joining in solidarity with others in expressing deep disappointment and anger over the recent news and decision by the House Agricultural Committee’s decision to cut the SNAP program (formerly food stamps) by more than $35 million over the next 10 years.

While it should not make it past the Senate, I’ve emailed my elected officials to express this disappointment and to take actions. Regardless,  you have to wonder where our priorities are.

I am all for reducing our national deficit. It must be a priority but to do it at the expense of those who need food via this program is morally wrong.

Wrong.

Here’s a brief synopsis from Bread for the World’s blog:

Bread for the World is infuriated by the House Agriculture Committee’s decision today to slash the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) by more than $35 billion.

“Cuts to SNAP, particularly at a time of continued high unemployment and unprecedented need for food assistance, are a moral outrage,” said Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World. “SNAP is working exactly as intended. It has grown to meet increased need and is expected to decrease to pre-recession levels as the economy recovers.”

You can read the full article here or one via Reuters and I encourage you to join Bread for the World’s efforts to advocate for the poor.

WWJC? What would Jesus cut?

I have reasons to both like and dislike Tupac but his words when he was alive still hit the core:

“They have money for war but can’t feed the poor.” – Tupac

Original Blog Entry:

Several weeks ago (right before I left for my sabbatical), I joined with six other pastors from around the country Read the rest of this entry »

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obama, the nobel peace prize, bono and rebranding america

from the NY Times

Like many folks couple weeks ago, I was stunned that Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize. In fact, I thought it was some sort of joke but alas, it was legit. But I did manage to get couple tweets in there including this one:

Re: Obama: all he did was say to the world, “Hello”, “We’re sorry” & “Let’s Talk”… All good things but Nobel was premature.

…but was surprised at the number of responses via Twitter & Facebook. Many people seemed to have an opinion.

What did you think?

Again, I wasn’t a big fan but then I read this quote from Cornel West and it got me thinking that this Nobel Peace Prize was indeed a forward looking prize if there’s such a thing.

“It is going to be very hard to be a war president, when you win the peace prize.”

And then I read this pretty amazing column from Bono entitled ReBranding America in yesterday’s NY Times. Here’s an excerpt: Read the rest of this entry »

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health care reform: what should we do?

from the NY TimesI’ve been meaning to write a post or two about health care but my own personal thoughts have been so jumbled as I’ve sought to process some information amidst all the heckling, shouting, screaming, finger pointing, and demonizing.

While I have these forming thoughts, I also have questions [perhaps like many of you]:

What did you think of President Obama’s speech?
Did it clarify your questions and assuage any concerns?
Health care reform: What should we do?  How does our lens as Christ followers inform that decision?

Here are some highlights of President Obama’s speech [cnn article]:

“First, if you are among the hundreds of millions of Americans who already have health insurance through your job, Medicare, Medicaid, or the VA, nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or the doctor you have. Let me repeat this: Read the rest of this entry »

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stuff, connect, info

one day’s wages | video

my tweets

  • Dear Hong Kong: I'll be preaching this Sunday @TheVineHK at all 3 services: 9.15, 11.30, 4pm. Hope to see you there: thevine.org.hk || 1 hour ago
  • "Justice is the grammar of things. Mercy is the poetry of things." - Frederick Buechner || 20 hours ago
  • Proud to support the work of @thesoldproject & @raegoble as they fight human trafficking in Thailand with dignity: onedayswages.org/donate/org/sol… || 20 hours ago
  • Don't underestimate the impact of our purchasing power. May our spending and investing be consistent with our values and convictions. || 1 day ago
  • How quickly people forget some of Abercrombie & Fitch's t-shirt designs from 2002 including these racist classics: http://t.co/vF5eGW0x80 || 1 day ago
  • The best way to make a statement against Abercrombie & Fitch isn't to exploit the homeless for a publicity stunt. Rather, just boycott AF. || 1 day ago
  • "My deepest awareness of myself is that I am deeply loved by Jesus Christ & I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it." - Brennan Manning || 1 day ago
  • Justice is not peripheral to God's story. Justice is mentioned over 200x in the Scriptures. It's not optional, it's central. Seek justice. || 1 day ago

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