Nov
23
2009
Timothy George on ‘The Manhattan Declaration’
Writing for The Washington Post, Timothy George makes his case for the importance of The Manhattan Declaration. He closes by relating it to the activism of another Baptist minister, namely, Martin Luther King, Jr.:
As a resident of Birmingham, Alabama, I have frequently visited the jail cell from which the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” King was an ordained Baptist minister and wrote from an explicitly Christian perspective drawing on the Holy Scriptures, the tradition of Christian faith through the centuries, and the use of the divinely bestowed gift of reason. In a time of great tension, he set forth an eloquent defense of the rights and duties of religious conscience. He declared that unjust laws had no power to bind the conscience and he called on his fellow citizens to join him in the struggle for civil rights.
King was willing to go to jail rather than to comply with legal injustices that violated human dignity itself. King’s legacy lives on today in a new generation of Christian believers inspired by his passion and insight. Those who have embraced the Manhattan Declaration profess our commitment to Jesus Christ and his teachings. This commitment transcends all other loyalties. We have declared that 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.
Read the whole thing. And please see Albert Mohler’s commentary on The Manhattan Declaration below.
4 Comments
I wholeheartedly agree with Pastor Ralph Ovadal, Pilgrims Covenant Church, Monroe, Wisconsin, who has stated:
The Manhattan Declaration is an ungodly manifesto, contemptuous of the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is an ecumenical treatise, complete with a Romish gospel and shot through and through with popish error. Those evangelicals who have authored this document and who have led the way in signing it show themselves to be in rebellion to God. It is, in their case, a brazen manifesto of treason against the Lord Jesus Christ. And they are not friends but rather are enemies of Christian liberty in that they disobey and provoke the Author of liberty with their spiritual fornication, even wresting His word and corrupting His blood-bought church. It is the biblical duty of all faithful Christian pastors to stand against the evangelical authors of the Manhattan Declaration and all evangelicals who sign it or promote it in any way. Such betrayers of Christ and His church must be separated from and called to account by all faithful Christian ministers and people.
Please listen to his timely warning:
A Rebuke of the Manhattan Declaration Signers
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sermonID=1123091212334
The Manhattan Declaration is flogging three dead horses.
Their first issue, eliminating access to abortion, is hopeless. The most that they do is yo force pregnant women to be somewhat inconvenienced physically and financially in order to fly to the nearest state or country that has abortion access.
With a sizable majority of Americans favoring civil unions for same-sex couples, and a growing near majority in favor of full marriage, marriage for all loving committed couples will come to America soon, just as it already has to Canada.
Infringing on people’s religious freedom is a largely non-existent problem. Some pharmacists who want to decide which prescriptions to fill and some doctors in fertility clinics who want to deny artificial insemination to lesbians might find themselves having problems with their employment, but that can usually be avoided by negotiation. No clergyperson is going to face prosecution because she/he refuses to marry a same-sex couple or because he/she delivers a hate-based sermon against gays.
Think of all the world’s massive problems that need attention but were ignored by this declaration: Poverty and even hunger in America, 45,000 Americans dying each year because of lack of health insurance, thousands of children dying worldwide every day due to lack of access to clean water. The future impact of global warming. The list of real problems is endless.
Read Matthew 25:31-46, and observe the gap between it and the Manhattan Declaration. Then pick another evil and fight it.
Bruce,
I agree whole heartily that there are many evils to fight in the world as Satan is continually prowling the earth seeking the ruin of souls.
I’m a little confused by your coolness toward someone attempting to slow/stop the killing innocent babies. Is not this a justifiable fight?
Jesus took the time to hold children on his lap and even told his chosen disciples to stop holding the children back and let them come to Him. Furthermore, Jesus told us that if we don’t come to him as a little child we would not see the Kingdom of God.
Please share your thoughts with us why saving one child is hopeless and unjustifiable.
@Bruce
This declaration is anti-American and anti-human, but it is entirely pro-xtian. It is a propaganda piece of the highest order. It represents the hypocrisy and ignorance of the xtian community as a whole and the extreme religious right as a microcosm, as your statements solidify. You people want religious freedom to behave the way you want, at the same time force those ideas on me.
There is no satan as there are no ghosts and goblins, etc. Nobody (including those who are pro-abortion)advocate killing innocent babies (this however was not a problem for god in the OT)Why don’t you ask god why he chose to murder so many of his own creatures. And why doesn’t he or why don’t we follow suit still today. (Because reason has trumped myth – and why we no longer have slavery – which was also condoned by the bible)
Homosexuality is a genetic disposition (and don’t for a second try to equate this with pedophilia or bestiality)and it proves the absolute ignorance and stupidity for those who think it a “sin.” Same sex marriage is a right.