The Manhattan Declaration is a 4,732-word statement signed by a movement of Orthodox, Catholic and evangelical Christian leaders who are collaborating around moral issues of great concern. Its signers affirm the sanctity of human life, marriage as defined by the union of one man and one woman, and religious liberty and freedom of conscience. The Manhattan Declaration endorses civil disobedience under certain circumstances.
Among the 148 signatories are 14 Roman Catholic bishops, 2 Eastern Orthodox bishops, 20 presidents and 19 faculty members from seminaries and college, 46 leaders of various ministries, 22 pastors, 10 magazine editors and publishers—including First Things editor Joseph Bottum—and various other luminaries.
First Things has posted the text here. You can sign the declaration here.
November 20th, 2009 | 2:19 pm
[...] Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience » First Thoughts | A First Things Blog WIRE WATCH: Christian Activists Unveil ‘Manhattan Declaration’; Jim Leach Speaks; Zoellick on Women�s Roles in Global Financial Crisis; Solis at Latino Lunch – Washington Wire – WSJA roundup of today’s notable events. [...]
November 20th, 2009 | 6:59 pm
It is long past time for faithful Christians to take a stand against the rising tide of secular humanism which is being propagated by some in our government and even so-called christian
leaders under the guise of “compassion.” At first very few in Germany took a stand against
National Socialism except the confessional church who under men like Bonhoeffer very quickly realized there was an evil masquerading as good the was enveloping the
nation of Bach and Luther! It is time to stand up and be counted overagainst those who keeping speaking of the greater good. I am
not sure they know what good is for many have traded the one who is good God for other gods!
November 20th, 2009 | 9:14 pm
James Madison, “Property, March 1792
…In the former sense, a man’s land, or merchandize, or money is called his property.
In the latter sense, a man has a property in his opinions and the free communication of them.
He has a property of peculiar value in his religious opinions, and in the profession and practice dictated by them.
He has a property very dear to him in the safety and liberty of his person.
He has an equal property in the free use of his faculties and free choice of the objects on which to employ them.
In a word, as a man is said to have a right to his property, he may be equally said to have a property in his rights.
…That is not a just government, nor is property secure under it, where arbitrary restrictions, exemptions, and monopolies deny to part of its citizens that free use of their faculties, and free choice of their occupations, which not only constitute their property in the general sense of the word; but are the means of acquiring property strictly so called.
If there be a government then which prides itself in maintaining the inviolability of property; which provides that none shall be taken directly even for public use without indemnification to the owner, and yet directly violates the property which individuals have in their opinions, their religion, their persons, and their faculties; nay more, which indirectly violates their property, in their actual possessions, in the labor that acquires their daily subsistence, and in the hallowed remnant of time which ought to relieve their fatigues and soothe their cares, the influence [inference?] will have been anticipated, that such a government is not a pattern for the United States.
You may not violate the “peculiar value” of a person’s “religious opinions, and in the profession and practice dictated by them.”
Therefore you do not have the right to deny gays from marrying married just as you have no right to deny those who are married from divorcing. You can not impose your religious beliefs on those who hold another opinion.
So all the argument made against LGBT issues like gay marriage hold true for divorce. And because you, the co-signers, and “traditional” Christians do not treat these issues with the same intense opposition, then your Biblical and Constitutional hypocrisy forces me into to be your adversary.
You want to win me over? Push against divorce with equal vigor and voice. Prove to me you take Biblical commandments and threats to the family with true seriousness. After all, how is the American Family, or the American Soul made better in a world of legal divorce but a prohibition against gay marriage?
November 21st, 2009 | 4:33 am
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November 21st, 2009 | 9:16 am
I very much admire the courage it took for the signatories of this Declaration, and especially Prof. Robt George, to publish this knowing full well that it will be misconstrued, maligned and wilfully mangled by the MSM and by every person who has an axe to grind with real Believers (usually regarding pelvic issues). Thank all of you for finding your vocal chords! I printed the Declaration for circulation among my family members during the holiday this week…may be the loudest Thanksgiving Dinner in our fam’s history!
November 21st, 2009 | 5:09 pm
Start paying tax!
November 21st, 2009 | 9:19 pm
R Hampton,
The obvious retort to your rather silly argument is, of course, that attempting to forcibly override the traditional understanding of marriage, upheld by both secular and religious reasoning, is the greater violation of the “peculiar value” you speak of. No one is suggesting that gay people may not call themselves or even understand themselves to be “married.” What is being opposed is the forced imposition of this designation upon the rest of us. The signers of the declaration are simply insisting that this peculiar and novel understanding of “marriage” not be imposed on those of us who are, for religious reasons, unable to accept it. Until gay marriage supporters cease imposing their religion upon me, I will push back with equal vigor.
November 22nd, 2009 | 3:12 pm
“What is being opposed is the forced imposition of this designation upon the rest of us”
Like divorce is imposed on the rest of you? You are a hypocrite of the worst sort – divorce does far more damage (by Christian moral standards) to much greater numbers of people than gay marriage. But there is no Christian movement to end this great sin by way of state-initiatives or civil disobedience.
Lastly, gay marriage no more effects you than an atheist’s disbelief and their lifestyle – it is their property, not yours.
November 22nd, 2009 | 7:57 pm
Mr. Hampton,
Please refrain from name-calling.
Gay marriage is not a private matter. No marriage is. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote a powerful sermon from his prison cell about how marriage is for the community. I recommend it to you. It’s included in the volume called “Letters and Papers from Prison.” As some of what Bonhoeffer says is inspired by Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, you might want to read that, too.
Because divorce has become painfully commonplace is not a reason to validate gay marriage. As a society, we need to address the divorce crisis, too.
November 22nd, 2009 | 8:54 pm
Well, there has already been one result from it. It moved the three fence-sitting Democrats off their fence.
November 23rd, 2009 | 10:23 am
“Until gay marriage supporters cease imposing their religion upon me, I will push back with equal vigor.” Typical. He’s upset because a homosexual wants equal rights and this psudo Christian insists on using his religion to deny the homosexual equal rights, then gets upset and claims the homosexual is pushing his own ‘religion’ down his throat. What a hypocrite.
November 23rd, 2009 | 5:08 pm
As far as I know, all homosexuals already have the right to marry.
I think what TimC is objecting to is the attempt to re-define marriage, and then force the rest of society to accept the new definition.
November 24th, 2009 | 1:04 pm
I support the Manhattan memo, it is very worthwhile to pray for
November 26th, 2009 | 1:28 pm
R. Hampton,
The Manhattan Declaration is a push-back by Christians and others who are tired of the leftist, secular and radical homosexual movement’s insistence on repealing our God given right to freedom of religion and conscience. We are villified in the press and on campuses, we are sued in the courts for not cowtowing to your demands. Why is it that you believe it is justified for you to deny us our rights?
Stop paying federal taxes; we are alreading funding abortion overseas. Abortion is murder whether it is done in America or Africa. If you live in a state where your taxes are used to fund abortion, or if your state demands that your church or business support, in any way, homosexual “marriage” or gay adoption, stop paying your state taxes. It is not right to allow only bishops, priests and religious to pay the price for standing up against this assault on our religious liberty. Our right to freely practice our faith and our freedom of conscience is our foundational liberty, and this is why it must be protected at any cost. If we allow the State to take that freedom away from us, our liberty is gone. All people, religious or not, will pay a very high price. It has happened too often in other countries in the past, it is happening today in countries around the globe. America is not so special that it cannot happen here. Indeed, it is happening here, and we must stop it.
November 28th, 2009 | 12:49 pm
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