Posted on 12/31/2009 4:37:24 PM PST by TheConservativeCitizen
"The Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience," released last month, impressed me as a profound statement by a large number of Christian leaders taking a stand for the foundations of civilization, the family, and the sanctity of human life. People of faith have to work together to preserve and protect the fundamental principles of morality from those who seek to destroy them. This declaration brings together numerous Catholic bishops, Orthodox clergy, and Evangelical leaders -- and as an evangelical Christian I will gladly partner with other types of Christians on the common concepts that form the backbone of Christianity. Here are the opening lines from ManhattanDeclaration.org:
Christians, when they have lived up to the highest ideals of their faith, have defended the weak and vulnerable and worked tirelessly to protect and strengthen vital institutions of civil society, beginning with the family. We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are:
1. the sanctity of human life
2. the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife
3. the rights of conscience and religious liberty.
Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of society, they are inviolable and non-negotiable. 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. We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and theLife. Even now the whispers of “hate speech,” “ignorance,” “bigotry,” “intolerance,” and “insensitivity” await those who now champion the sanctity of life or who fail to cheerlead homosexuality and sexual deviancy. Some have even gone so far as to label the Manhattan Declaration “hateful” or a call for civil disobedience. They are wrong. The manifesto is not about judging or excusing. If anything, it is in fact a rather benign, formal declaration of what a great many believe. It is also a clear warning shot across the bow of the U.S.S. liberal agenda that Christians will not compromise their fundamental religious beliefs no matter what the state may attempt to dictate.
Those seeking to mock, disparage, and even persecute any of us who fail to march lockstep with the agenda of secular humanism need to understand that a line has been drawn in the sand and a wide spectrum of the Christian community is joining together in a common cause to proclaim God’s truth, as they understand it, as outlined in the Bible. These are clear cut and unambiguous issues for Bible-believing people of faith and compromise is not an option when it comes to these basic principles.
The suspension of judgment and the concept that there is no true right or wrong is a devious lie and one that often fools even otherwise educated and intelligent people. If you are willing to suspend judgment and the concept of right and wrong, then you will eventually accept anything. The “if-it-feels-good-do-it” mindset produces only heartache and disaster in the end. It is the wise man who rejects such childlike idiocy and expects adults to think and act like adults. With maturity should come responsibility, self-restraint, discernment, and wisdom. It stands in stark contrast to an ideology of dependency, irresponsibility, the inability to practice self-restraint and accept the consequences of one’s actions, and the continued childlike dependency on others to fix one’s own mistakes.
Popular culture may sneer at such ideas as morals and values, sexual restraint, and personal responsibility, at patriotism and good citizenship, and at honesty, decency, and respect. Those are the failings of secularists and liberals. They should not be of Christians and conservatives. Part and parcel of both Christianity and conservatism is the simple concept that actions have consequences. The concept of the prohibition of sin was not to somehow squash your “fun” but to warn one about the repercussions of certain actions. It was to protect us, not to be “mean” to us.
There may come a time when a declaration like this is labeled “hate speech” or contrary to the public good and banned from dissemination. One may think that is far-fetched but we currently stand at the edge of the abyss when it comes to thought-control, censorship, and even the persecution of those that don’t march lock step with the powers-that-be and the dictates of a corrupt, popular culture.
As our society and culture embraces decadence and earnestly seeks to fulfill the Prophet Isaiah’s warning that “good shall be called evil, and evil good” it is increasingly important for people of faith to stand up and be counted. It is time to draw a stark distinction between those who have sold out to situational morality and don’t believe in right or wrong, only “different.” Eleven of the twelve disciples achieved martyrdom by refusing to heed those who sought to silence them. It is incumbent upon Christians to stand up for what is right, no matter the cost. It is an essential element of the faith, and at the core of the teachings of Christ. To not call sin “sin” is to be dishonest and contrary to the teachings of the gospels.
The last paragraph of the Declaration reads: ”Because we honor justice and the common good, we will not comply with any edict that purports to compel our institutions to participate in abortions, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide and euthanasia, or any other anti-life act; nor will we bend to any rule purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as marriages or the equivalent, or refrain from proclaiming the truth, as we know it, about morality and immorality and marriage and the family. We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar’s. But under no circumstances will we render to Caesar what is God’s.”
There is something noble and honorable about standing for truth, as uncomfortable or inconvenient that may be for some on occasion. You can join the over 300,000 people of faith who have followed the example and lead of the initial 170 leaders of the Christian community who presented the world with the Manhattan Declaration. Dare to take a stand. Join what has gone far beyond a mere statement in defense of faith and principle, and is now becoming a movement of people of conscience taking a stand for the whole world to see.
Start the New Year by recommitting yourself to what is right and true. The Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience can be read in its entirity at www.ManhattanDeclaration.org. I signed this powerful declaration and so should you. I like the spectrum and caliber of the signers and am proud to join my smallest of voices with theirs.The goal is for one million Christians to sign the declaration. Will you join me in doing so?
For more information on the thinking behind the Manhattan Declaration I would suggest the article by Dr. Timothy George, Dean of the Beeson Divinity School of Samford University, senior editor of Christianity Today, and one of the original architects of The Manhattan Declaration: The Manhattan Declaration: A Growing, Grassroots Movement of the Spirit (http://www.colsoncenter.org/the-center/columns/call-response)
Totally agree!
Happy new year!
ulysse free-”catholic”
Christians should stay far away from signing this, as have several other Christian pastors and theologians...
I'm not signing it. In my humble opinion, Christ's mission for believers is not primarily to champion traditional marriage, it is to make disciples from out of all nations. The MD supplants what is most important with what is kind of important.
It does not preclude a Christian from spreading the gospel. Christians can walk and chew gum at the same time. It certainly is a timely and serious issue.
I am one of the near 315,000 who have signed this. God bless you for your courage in posting it again.
I am one of the near 315,000 who have signed this. God bless you for your courage in posting it again.
Here are the main reasons I am not signing the Manhattan Declaration, even though a few men whom I love and respect have already affixed their names to it:
John MacArthur
when the bishops dust off their catechisms and talk about the dangers of statism, then I’ll read their declarations.
The early church attracted people because they saw the love and good works in it, not because of rigorous theological arguments. I really wonder: How many people have purists like John MacArthur actually converted? How much have they changed the world?
You should read it first, then judge.
All your good deeds (anyone’s good deeds) in the world and the biggest amount of love and kindness you have (or anyone has) won’t keep them out of the lake of fire and away from the eternal torment that is in store for everyone...
It’s only the Gospel by way of Jesus, the Messiah of Israel and one’s trust and faith and acknowledgment of His saving sacrifice on your behalf that will do that.
It’s a mistake to get people to think that by “doing good” and by “showing love” that they are being better and therefore, giving them the false impression that they are “good people” and deserve to go to Heaven. If they do all the good in the world — they only deserve to go straight to hell... on just that basis...
At Christmas -- a lot of people think about a cute little baby Jesus or a very nice man who said nice things to people, was uplifting, and healed a bunch of people...
What people really need to remember is that there's this "big bad Jewish fellow" out there, who's showing up soon, sorta unexpected, and he's "looking for bear" and is gonna open up "the biggest can of whoop-ass" you've ever seen in your life, on a bunch of people here on earth. LOL...
However, many fail to understand -- but they will "understand" when the Messiah of Israel returns to this earth, sets His feet on the soil of this globe, and sets up the ruling authority -- the one-world government -- that He puts into place over all nations, including the United States.
He's the Messiah of Israel, that He is coming back to earth, to set up a one-world government, with His headquarters in Jerusalem, ruling over all the nations of the world, including the United States and will rule over all who are still alive (from who are living right now today) -- and that He will definitely scrap the Constitution of the United States and make Himself the supreme ruler over all that we do.
The "day of reckoning" is coming for all of those who are trying to take over the world and put it totally under their control in an evil one-world empire. And they do admit that they want a one-world government -- their government, not God's...
When the Messiah of Israel comes back to this earth to set up His one-world government and subject all the nations of the world to His authority and rule -- He'll be making real short work of any of those yahoos...
And you can be sure that He will be utterly destroying anything to do with any of these yahoos, since whatever they say and do is a total perversion of anything to do with the Messiah of Israel.
And for sure -- we all, in this world, need the Messiah of Israel back, here on earth -- to destroy this coming one-world government and to install His own one-world government in its place.
I'm looking forward to the coming Kingdom on earth and the one-world government that the Messiah of Israel will be setting up, after He destroys, by His own hand, the present and evil one-world government that we see forming right now.
Isaiah 9:6-7
For unto us a Child is born.
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
Blessing yourself?
There is a proper order of religious obligations in this life, and the worship of God must always be #1. Every other good thing is subordinate to that, but flows from it and is harmonious with it.
Action for justice in culture, in custom, and in law is a constitutive element of the preaching of the Gospel.
No, but it creates the impression that those who sign it are doing the "most important thing" a Christian can do. Protesting an abortion clinic is easy. Standing up for traditional marriage is simple. Supporting freedom of speech is part of being an American. They are all good things, but they detract from the most important thing. Witnessing and making disciples is THE most important commission.
There could be a difference between “as a Christian, I say...” and simply “I say.” Speaking as Christians we ought to echo the words of Christ faithfully. But we can advocate personally for any number of good and right causes, from humane treatment of animals to better sanitation to good social family values.
Seeing that the Most Rev. Robert J. Baker, S.T.D. and Dr. Peter Kreeft have both signed it is a good enough endorsement for me.
I agree — I’ve signed.
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