168 religious leaders together with hundreds of thousands of ordinary people in the United States have united in a historical stand for freedom and signed a Declaration, which reaffirms fundamental Christian truths about justice and the common good on three of the most pressing issues – the sanctity of every human life from conception to death, the strengthening of marriage as a covenant union of husband and wife, and the defence of religious liberty and the rights of conscience for all persons everywhere. The Declaration calls the Christian church to unite in upholding the truths as followers of Jesus Christ.
On 20 November 2009, religious leaders from the Catholic, Orthodox and Evangelical traditions signed an unprecedented 4700-word document entitled The Manhattan Declaration.
The Declaration says that Christian values are under siege in America and people of faith need to be active to stem the tide.
The document affirms opposition to abortion rights and homosexual ‘marriage’ while endorsing millennia-held religious freedom. It is addressed to Christians, but also members of US Congress and President Barack Obama. Chuck Colson, founder of the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview, is one of the original drafters of the document. Original signers include Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, and Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council.
The Declaration states:
Christians, when they have lived up to the highest ideals of their faith, have defended the weak and vulnerable and worked tirelessly to protect and strengthen vital institutions of civil society, beginning with the family.
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. These truths are:
1. The sanctity of human life
2. The dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife
3. The rights of conscience and religious liberty.
Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of society, they are inviolable and non-negotiable. Because they are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture, we are compelled today to speak out forcefully in their defense, and to commit ourselves to honoring them fully no matter what pressures are brought upon us and our institutions to abandon or compromise them. We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
(Click here to read the Declaration)
Chuck Colson said that ‘The Manhattan Declaration is a wake-up call – a call to conscience – for the church. It is also crystal-clear message to civil authorities that we will not, under any circumstances, stand idly by as our religious freedom comes under assault.’
In an interview with Mike Huckabee Saturday, Mr Colson stated:
‘We pledge to one another that we will not compromise or be a party to a compromise to the fundamental principles on which the faith is based and on which our country is based as well.’
Mr Colson added that ‘under no circumstance will we render to Caesar what is God’s.’
‘We've always said that we will never compromise what we believe, but this is the first time that all of us have come together across confessional lines and said, ‘We're prepared to pay the price. You cannot cross this line, otherwise we will pay the price – we will suffer if we must to avoid doing evil,’ Colson said.
‘Suffering,' being what?, asked Huckabee.
‘‘Suffering’ being prison, loss of your tax exemption. We're saying, ‘If we’re a doctor and we’re told to perform an abortion or to refer someone for an abortion, we will refuse. And if you want to put us in prison, put us in prison.’
Huckabee followed up by asking, ‘What about hate crimes?’
‘Hate-crimes legislation – we're already seeing what this has done in Europe and done in Canada. Human-rights commissions are hauling pastors in. If someone walks in our church and says, ‘You preach a sermon on [homosexuality], we're going to arrest you as a violation of the hate crimes,' then they'll have to arrest us, said Colson.
(Click here to watch the interview)
Tony Perkins said that the declaration is a proactive stand for religious freedom. He said:
‘At the heart of the Manhattan Declaration is a very significant message from Christian leaders that they will not wait to respond to efforts that would limit or curtail religious liberty in America.’
The Declaration challenges the growing political movement of the liberal elite to silence Christians by force of the law in the strongest terms, going so far as to intimate civil disobedience.
‘Unjust laws degrade human beings,’ it says. ‘They lack any power to bind in conscience. [Martin Luther] King's willingness to go to jail, rather than comply with legal injustice, was exemplary and inspiring.’
The enormous popularity of the Declaration appears to arise largely from its ability to bind together Christians from diverse theological and denominational backgrounds to fight for a common cause.
In the UK, another Employment Appeal judgment sent a clear message that Christian conscience must be ignored when it comes to the rights of homosexuals.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled on Monday, 30th November that Gary McFarlane, a Christian counsellor who worked for Relate, was not unfairly dismissed or discriminated against when he was sacked for his orthodox views on sexual relationships which meant that he could not give an unequivocal commitment to help same-sex couples improve their sex lives.
(See the CCFON report)
Currently, the Council of Europe, which is larger than the European Union, is considering a draft resolution that would deny the right of hospitals to opt out of doing abortions. The resolution, called The Women's Access to Lawful Medical Care – the Problem of Unregulated Use of Conscientious Objection, is aiming to force medical institutions to perform abortions even if they have conscientious objection to that.
(See the Catholic On-Line report).
Andrea Minichiello-Williams, Director of CCFON, said: “These truths go to the heart of what defines a civilised and just society. They are seen in God’s Word and in His Creation. We wholeheartedly support the terms of this declaration”.
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