To Start 2010 Right, Sign the Manhattan Declaration

'76 Blog ^ | 12-28-09 | David M. Huntwork

[Ulysse]

Totally agree!
Happy new year!

ulysse free-”catholic”

[Star Traveler]

Christians should stay far away from signing this, as have several other Christian pastors and theologians...

[Guyin4Os]

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.

[Star Traveler]

A FReeper posting...

THE MANHATTAN DECLARATION and EVANGELICAL CO-BELLIGERENCE

[rjones42]

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.

[conservativehistorian]

I am one of the near 315,000 who have signed this. God bless you for your courage in posting it again.

[conservativehistorian]

I am one of the near 315,000 who have signed this. God bless you for your courage in posting it again.

[Star Traveler]

Posted by streetpreacher...

---

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:

• Although I obviously agree with the document’s opposition to same-sex marriage, abortion, and other key moral problems threatening our culture, the document falls far short of identifying the one true and ultimate remedy for all of humanity’s moral ills: the gospel. The gospel is barely mentioned in the Declaration. At one point the statement rightly acknowledges, “It is our duty to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in its fullness, both in season and out of season”—and then adds an encouraging wish: “May God help us not to fail in that duty.” Yet 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. That is the stated intention of some of the key signatories, and it’s hard to see how secular readers could possibly view it in any other light. Thus for the sake of issuing a manifesto decrying certain moral and political issues, the Declaration obscures both the importance of the gospel and the very substance of the gospel message.
• This is neither a novel approach nor a strategic stand for evangelicals to take. It ought to be clear to all that the agenda behind the recent flurry of proclamations and moral pronouncements we’ve seen promoting ecumenical co-belligerence is the viewpoint Charles Colson has been championing for more than two decades. (It is not without significance that his name is nearly always at the head of the list of drafters when these statements are issued.) He explained his agenda in his 1994 book The Body, in which he argued that the only truly essential doctrines of authentic Christian truth are those spelled out in the Apostles’ and Nicene creeds. I responded to that argument at length in Reckless Faith. I stand by what I wrote then.
• In short, support for The Manhattan Declaration would not only contradict the stance I have taken since long before the original “Evangelicals and Catholics Together” document was issued; it would also tacitly relegate the very essence of gospel truth to the level of a secondary issue. That is the wrong way—perhaps the very worst way—for evangelicals to address the moral and political crises of our time. Anything that silences, sidelines, or relegates the gospel to secondary status is antithetical to the principles we affirm when we call ourselves evangelicals.

John MacArthur

[the invisib1e hand]

when the bishops dust off their catechisms and talk about the dangers of statism, then I’ll read their declarations.

[hellbender]

...let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

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?

[TheConservativeCitizen]

You should read it first, then judge.

[Star Traveler]

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...

[Star Traveler]

Also, people need to realize that we're no longer talking about a cute little baby any longer, as many have been thinking about this Christmas, a few days ago...

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.

[xone]

God bless you for your courage in posting it again.

Blessing yourself?

[Mrs. Don-o]

Who says it "supplants" the obligation to make disciples of all nations? I believe this is an example of the either/or fallacy.

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.

[Guyin4Os]

It does not preclude a Christian from spreading 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.

[HiTech RedNeck]

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.

[visualops]

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.

[patriot preacher]

I agree — I’ve signed.