The Manhattan Declaration of 2009
Reactions to the Declaration

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About the Manhattan Declaration:
A group of over 150 "Orthodox, Catholic, and Evangelical" Christian
leaders released their
Manhattan Declaration -- a call
for people to resist many changes to the culture. It advocates civil disobedience
as necessary to promote their
beliefs. 1,2
They stressed three items:
 | Preventing access to abortion. |
 | Preventing loving committed same-sex couples from marrying. |
 | Preserving religious freedom and freedom of conscience. |

Reactions to the Declaration:
 | Rudi Stettner, a blogger at RantRave.com expressed disappointment that the
document is exclusionary in that its contents preclude a Jew from signing it.
3
Presumably the same objection would be raised by mainline,
liberal and progressive Christians as well as Baha'is, Muslims, Native
Americans, Sikhs, etc. who were excluded from the preparation of the document.
|
 | Dave Boehi, a writer for Family Life, commented:
"... the Manhattan Declaration addresses some of the most controversial issues
of our day. My prediction: Plenty of name-calling, hysteric indignation and
accusations that Christians are plotting to take away the liberties of
everyone who disagrees with them. As one person wrote in a comment on a
Washington Post blog post by one of the Manhattan Declaration authors, 'The
Taliban are thriving here in America. The 'Manhattan Declaration' is their war
cry against the freedoms of everyone else'." 4
|
 | Jim Daly, president and CEO of the fundamentalist Christian,
Colorado-based, parachurch group Focus on the Family called the
document:
"... a historic development within the American church. ... The document is a
fresh and lively presentation, a renewed rallying cry to those who have been
engaged in this historic effort of spiritual and cultural conversion. This is
not a manifesto for culture war; it is a prescription for cultural change. ...
This is a document that exhorts us to champion Christian truths in a Christian
manner." 5 |
 | John MacArthur of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, CA noted that the
Gospel is barely mentioned in the document. He said that it:
"... falls far short of identifying the one true and ultimate remedy for all
of humanity's moral ills: the Gospel."
He doesn't agree with playing down differences among evangelical Christians and other faith groups. He considers
Roman Catholics to be:
"... purveyors of different gospels. ... 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. ... [Supporting the document
would] 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."
5,9
|
 | Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary, normally refuses to sign agreements involving Catholics but did add
his name to the Manhattan Declaration because it is not a theological
document, but rather a limited statement on three critical issues. He said:
"The Manhattan Declaration does not attempt to establish common ground on
these doctrines. We remain who we are, and we concede no doctrinal ground."
5
|
 | Commentator Michael Stone for the Portland Progressive Examiner commented:
"The Manhattan Declaration is a propaganda stunt sponsored by conservative
right wing Christians intent on portraying Christians as victims of a secular
America. The Declaration is in actuality an attempt to hi-jack American
culture, and force a theocracy upon an unsuspecting and unwilling American
public. The true motivation of this document is a call to culture war, an
attempt to force conservative Christian values into the body politic. In
particular, it is a desperate and futile attempt to stop a natural social
progression from darkness to light, from ignorance and intolerance to
enlightenment and acceptance."
"Not surprisingly, the two big issues raised in the Declaration are women's
reproductive health and civil rights for the gay and lesbian community. The
Christian right is not worried about protecting their own rights, they are
worried about their ability to deny their neighbor his or her rights. ..."
"The Manhattan Declaration represents the greatest threat we face as a
species, the threat from religious ignorance and superstition. The signers of
the Declaration represent the American Taliban; they are Christo-Fascists, and
they are every bit as dangerous as the religious fanatics who flew airplanes
into buildings on 9/11."
6
|
 | Libertarian Christian author, "Colin" commented on Zeal For Truth:
666 "... it is not good to confuse religious liberty, which is a negative
right (being free from aggression against us) into a positive right
(being entitled to force our customs and behaviors onto others). This
declaration conflates these two kinds of rights. We should be affirming our
right to not be aggressed against, but we must avoid language which changes
'sharing the gospel' - an act consistent with salvation by faith, human
freedom and voluntary choice - into 'affirming the state's role to enforce our
values in civic life.' We have no right to do this. It is idolatry."
7
|
 | Pastor Ralph Ovadal, pastor of Pilgrims
Covenant Church, Monroe, WI seems to have pulled no punches when he said:
"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." 8
|
 | Jim Daly, president and CEO of Focus on the Family said that the
declaration encourages Christians to do and say the right things. He
commented:
"What this declaration is saying is, if you want a fulfilling,
rewarding, joyful, peaceful life, then embrace Jesus Christ as your Savior."
We were a little surprised by this comment. As many observers have stated,
the declaration is short on the Gospel message. It is primarily a social
action statement. If one's goal is to have a
peaceful life, then it would probably be best to not come between individuals
and what they see as their right to control their fertility, or between
loving, committed same-sex couples and what they see as every person's fundamental right to
marry the person that they love. |

This list of reactions continues in a
separate essay

References used:
The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above
essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
- "Manhattan Declaration," official website, at:
http://manhattandeclaration.org/
- Rudi Stettner, "The Manhattan Declaration, Gay Marriage," Rant Rave
blog, 2009-NOV-22, at:
http://www.rantrave.com/
-
"Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience," Text of the
Manhattan Declaration, 2009-NOV-20, at:
http://manhattandeclaration.org/ This is a PDF file.
-
Dave Boehi, "The Manhattan Declaration," Family Life Culture Watch, 2009-NOV-20,
at:
http://www.familylifeculturewatch.com
-
Lillian Kwon, "Over 150,000 Americans Sign Manhattan Declaration," Christian
Post, 2009-NOV-26, at:
http://www.christianpost.com/
-
Michael Stone, "When religion dictates politics: Manhattan Declaration and
culture wars ," Examiner.com, 2009-NOV-22, at:
http://www.examiner.com/
-
"Colin," "Christian 'Manhattan Declaration' Hit and Miss,"
Zeal For Truth,
-
Ralph Ovadal, "A Rebuke of the Manhattan Declaration Signers," Sermon Audio,
2009-NOV-22, at:
http://www.sermonaudio.com/
-
John MacArthur, "John MacArthur on the Manhattan Declaration," Alpha & Omega
Ministries Apologetics Blog, 2009-NOV-24, at:
http://www.aomin.org/

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Copyright © 2009 by Ontario Consultants on
Religious Tolerance.
Originally written: 2009-NOV-22
Latest update: 2009-NOV-27
Author: B.A. Robinson

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