The Manhattan Declaration

[Damaris]

Last Friday a document was released calling for Christians to take a stand on the issues of the sanctity of life, the definition of marriage, and freedom of conscience/religious liberty. Signed by well-known Christian leaders such a Dr. James Dobson, Randy Alcorn, Chuck Colson, and Josh McDowell along with many others, the document is available online and welcomes others to sign it...so far 53,000 and counting. EDIT: 82,000 now...

Most news articles are so negative that it seems useless to post them here, but needless to say the document is relevant to our times and quite controversial. Though the secular culture may not like the declaration, it is catching headlines. Here is a link to the home page, where you can download and read the document in full.

In my opinion, this document could very well be a historic turning point, where Christians and even non-Christians band together in vast droves to tell the government that we aren't backing down on these issues along with a comprehensive explanation as to why. I haven't read all the way through the declaration yet, and will not sign it unless I am absolutely certain I agree with it completely, but from what I've read so far I have been very impressed with both the uncompromising clarity and respectful tone evident throughout the piece.

Edit: At last! This news article and the video it contains is helpful. Excerpt quoted below:

Over 150 Orthodox, Catholic and evangelical Christian leaders have signed the Manhattan Declaration, a pledge in defense of life, religious liberty and traditional marriage, a line in the sand of the culture war warning that Christians will resort to civil disobedience if necessary rather than retreat from these three moral principles.

"The Manhattan Declaration is a wake-up call – a call to conscience – for the church," writes Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries and co-author of the declaration. "It is also crystal-clear message to civil authorities that we will not, under any circumstances, stand idly by as our religious freedom comes under assault." ...

"Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the wellbeing of society, they are inviolable and nonnegotiable," the website states. "Because they are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture, we are compelled today to speak out forcefully in their defense, and to commit ourselves to honoring them fully no matter what pressures are brought upon us and our institutions to abandon or compromise them."

The language of the Manhattan Declaration itself, however, is even more bold:

"We are Christians who have joined together across historic lines of ecclesial differences to affirm our right – and, more importantly, to embrace our obligation – to speak and act in defense of these truths," the declaration states. "We pledge to each other, and to our fellow believers, that no power on earth, be it cultural or political, will intimidate us into silence or acquiescence."

[Damaris]

I apologize for the double post, but the seemed too important to merely edit in.

After searching, I have found some excellent pieces one why some Christians are not signing the Manhatten Declaration:

John MacArthur wrote an article on his reasons for not signing. Here's the gist of it:

...the gospel itself is nowhere presented (much less explained) in the document or any of the accompanying literature. Indeed, that would be a practical impossibility because of the contradictory views held by the broad range of signatories regarding what the gospel teaches and what it means to be a Christian.
• This is precisely where the document fails most egregiously. It assumes from the start that all signatories are fellow Christians whose only differences have to do with the fact that they represent distinct “communities.” Points of disagreement are tacitly acknowledged but are described as “historic lines of ecclesial differences” rather than fundamental conflicts of doctrine and conviction with regard to the gospel and the question of which teachings are essential to authentic Christianity.
• Instead of acknowledging the true depth of our differences, the implicit assumption (from the start of the document until its final paragraph) is that Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Protestant Evangelicals and others all share a common faith in and a common commitment to the gospel’s essential claims. The document repeatedly employs expressions like “we [and] our fellow believers”; “As Christians, we . . .”; and “we claim the heritage of . . . Christians.” That seriously muddles the lines of demarcation between authentic biblical Christianity and various apostate traditions.
• The Declaration therefore constitutes a formal avowal of brotherhood between Evangelical signatories and purveyors of different gospels

I believe this is relevant to current events because it show just how complicated our times are, and just how important it is today for Christians to be thinkers. It is not enough to blindly follow. Please take heed to what you support. As for myself, again, I have not yet decided. It is not a matter I take lightly.

James White also wrote a blog post criticizing the document.