Posted on 11/22/2009 3:08:18 PM PST by Jim Robinson
A formidable coalition of 150 Catholic, Orthodox and evangelical leaders are calling on Christians in a new manifesto to reject secular authority – and even engage in civil disobedience – if laws force them to accept abortion, same-sex marriage and other ideas that betray their religious beliefs.
On Friday, these leaders released a 4,700-word document – called the "The Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience."
The document was signed by leaders ranging from evangelical leader Chuck Colson to two of the leading Catholic prelates in the U.S., Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C. and Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, and calls on Christians to engage in civil disobedience to defend their doctrines.
The document also blasts the Obama administration, saying that social ills have grown since the election of President Obama, an abortion rights advocate, along with an erosion of what it calls "marriage culture" with the rise of divorce, greater acceptance of infidelity and the uncoupling of marriage from childbearing.
Colson says the project is aimed at instilling social conservative beliefs in a new generation of believers.
"We argue that there is a hierarchy of issues," he told The New York Times. "A lot of younger evangelicals say they're all alike. We're hoping to educate them that these are the three most important issues" – abortion marriage and religious liberty.
"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," says the declaration, which was drafted by Colson, an evangelical, and Princeton University professor Robert P. George, a Roman Catholic.
The declaration lists the "fundamental truths" as the "sanctity of human life, the dignity of marriage...
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
Unless you're a Muslim or a Unitarian...
Most of us are regular watchers of EWTN in our parish.
A heads up PING to another thread about the Manhattan Declaration, this time posted by Jim Robinson.
Jesus told His followers to do that....... NOT!
I had plenty of people tell me they were going to use those coupons. As with everything it seems if you hit them in the pocketbook they will soon get the message.
Good point!
bttt
Yep.
Thats been expected for 2000 years....
Think I will save them for the March for Life in Washington. Sounds like that will be our first chance to get to DC(usually held on Jan 20th/21.)
How appropriate the one year anniversary of Obama's administration.
bump for later
Everybody should go and sign this. Go to the page and read the statement - it’s great - and then you can sign it. There are already thousands of people who have signed. Last night, I actually couldn’t sign it because so many people had gotten to the site before me that all the bandspace was in use!
I’m in too.
Let this be the spark the ignites a conflagration of resistance.
I'm in!
Now would be the perfect time for them to tell their congegations to take a month off if they can afford it. Start the planning now to stock up on supplies and money. It would bring the government to it’s knees if 3/4’s of the religious in this country didn’t pay income taxes for 30 days!
Civil disobedience will occur for reasons other than those mentioned in the article. First and foremost is the fact any federal version of health care is unconstitutional since Article 1 Section 8 does not specifically nor expressly grant Congress the power to regulate health care. The people are not required to abide by any unconstitutional act passed by Congress.
Do what? We are supposed to resist evil, not give our blessing to it. Caesar has his place, but once he tries to impose on our conscience, he has overstepped his limits. And making us pay for or do things that violate our conscience is overstepping those limits.
Jesus never told us to take up arms and attack, and this statement is not telling us to do so, either. While we can defend ourselves with arms, as I think we will end up having to do, civil disobedience probably means many of us will be martyred - which to a Christian, means dying, not killing others.
But God always wins in the end and in terrible times we have to do what we can and remember that. I guess I just never thought I’d be living in these times, though; probably few of us did.
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