Methodist Leadership and the Manhattan Declaration.

Looks like the United Methodist is staying far away from the Manhattan Declaration, choosing to focus on other priorities. Methodist Thinker quotes a letter from Riley B. Case of the Confessing Movement Within the United Methodist Church:

The declaration has been widely reported and discussed in the secular and mostChristian media. However, acknowledgment of the declaration among United Methodist institutional leaders is conspicuous by its absence. United Methodist News Service has carried no articles on the declaration. The United Methodist Reporter printed one small paragraph acknowledging the declaration and commenting that the declaration called for the possibility of civil disobedience. This is disappointing.

The declaration basically is a reflection of traditional Christianity. It would be supported by the vast majority of United Methodists in the pews. It has been supported by many United Methodist pastors and laypersons (at least among those who know about it).

More importantly, it is basically in agreement with the Social Principles of the United Methodist Church. Not only do our Social Principles and our Book of Resolutions support almost every issue raised by the declaration, they would not be in conflict even with the more controversial ones, including the dignity of human marriage as the conjugal union of a man and a woman, the importance of the family, and the sanctity of human life.

However, the Manhattan Declaration obviously is an expression of traditional and evangelical Christianity and, as one seminary person related to me once, “We choose not to be identified with that form of Christianity.”…

So, if mainline leaders are not interested in declarations like the Manhattan Declaration what are they interested in? Well, for one, the bishops issued a statement on “God’s Renewed Creation: Call to Hope and Action.” This statement, which was to be read aloud in every United Methodist Church, would direct the church’s energy toward reversing global warming and concern for carbon footprints.

Following this there is a commitment of church resources toward seeking to influence the events at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. The World Council of Churches wanted churches to sound bells, drums, gongs, or other instruments on Dec. 13, to call attention to the importance of this event. At this moment United Methodist apportionment money is paying the way of at least six and probably more UM agency staff and board members to go to Copenhagen and lobby or demonstrate or do whatever at the conference….

Whatever is occupying the time and energies of church leaders it does not seem to be on issues relating to marriage, family, dignity of the individual, and religious liberty. These are the issues addressed by the Manhattan Declaration.

Christian Opposition to the Manhattan Declaration.

From LighthouseTrailsResearch, a post about the creeping spirituality in the Manhattan Declaration and it's sources. I recommend you read the entire article (and note the many supporting articles listed at the bottom) but here is a clip:

What is puzzling is that if these Evangelical leaders want to raise up morality in America, why have so many of them openly endorsed the emerging/contemplative spirituality in one aspect or another, which overall ignores or downplays a stand against homosexual marriage, abortion, and other moral issues that the Manhattan Declaration speaks of? Are they repenting? No mention of that. Many of them STILL are promoting the contemplative/emerging spirituality that will continue to remove traditional morality from our society. It seems rather distorted when these leaders are being seen as taking a stand for morality when all along they are promoting a spirituality that ultimately undermines it. We could give you example after example of the New Spirituality’s move away from morality (and we have in many articles these past seven years), and we could give you example after example of Christian leaders’ promotion of the New Spirituality and its cohorts (and we have also done that over and over again). Are these signers of the Manhattan Declaration truly concerned about the present moral condition of the United States? Probably most of them are. But it’s going to take a lot more than their signatures on a document–God will require much more. For one, he is going to want them to renounce the heretical teachings of the New Age/New Spirituality.

via M'Kayla's Korner

KLo and Robert George Save Manhattan!

KLo interviews Robert P. George on how the Manhattan Declaration could save Manhattan and the world from itself. An exerpt:

LOPEZ: How much did the health-care debate play into the timing?

GEORGE: The health-care debate obviously implicates questions of the sanctity of human life and the freedom of religion and conscience. The Declaration’s signatories strongly oppose paying for abortions with taxpayer dollars and favor strong conscience protections to ensure that pro-life physicians and other health-care workers are not required to participate in, or refer for, abortions, and pro-life pharmacists are not compelled to dispense abortifacient drugs.


LOPEZ: Why just Christians?

GEORGE: For too long, the historic traditions of Catholicism, Evangelical Protestantism, and Eastern Orthodoxy have failed to speak formally with a united voice, despite their deep agreement on fundamental questions of morality, justice, and the common good. The Manhattan Declaration provided leaders of these traditions with an opportunity to rectify that. It is gratifying that they were willing — indeed eager — to seize that opportunity. Of course, as Cardinal Justin Rigali observed at the press conference at which the Declaration was released, the foundational principles it defends “are not the unique preserve of any particular Christian community or of the Christian tradition as a whole. . . . They are principles that can be known and honored by men and women of goodwill even apart from divine revelation. They are principles of right reason and natural law.” So the signatories are happy to stand alongside our LDS brothers and sisters who have worked so heroically in the cause of defending marriage, our Jewish brothers and sisters, members of other faiths, and people of no particular faith (even pro-life atheists such as the great Nat Hentoff), who affirm our principles and wish to join us in proclaiming and defending them.

Religious Institute Responds to the Manhattan Declaration.

From Religion Press Release Services:

Westport, CT, Nov. 23, 2009 -- The Manhattan Declaration, endorsed by the most conservative religious leaders in America's religious life, is once again a political call against women's moral agency and the rights of lesbian and gay persons masquerading in religious language. These religious leaders would have us believe that they will be forced to provide abortions or bless same sex marriages against their religious principles. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Faith leaders across the political spectrum support religious freedom, the right of each religion to determine its own rites and practices, as well as freedom of the pulpit. Mainstream and progressive religious leaders differ from conservatives in our belief that no single religious voice can speak for all faith traditions on abortion or LGBT equality, nor should government take sides on religious differences. We oppose any attempt to make specific religious doctrine concerning the rights of women and LGBT persons the law for all Americans.

Ten years ago, a multifaith group of religious leaders issued the Religious Declaration on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing, a 500-word call for sexual justice that affirms full inclusion of women and LGBT persons and a faith-based commitment to reproductive rights. Today, the Religious Declaration has been endorsed by 3,300 religious leaders, including denomination and seminary presidents, from more than 50 faith traditions. Its positions on reproductive justice and LGBT equality reflect the majority opinions of American citizens, faithful and secular alike. Neither the Manhattan Declaration, nor the handful of Catholic bishops and evangelical leaders who created it, speak for most Christians, much less people of other faiths.

Albert Mohler: I Signed the Manhattan Declaration to Save the Church.

From Crosswalk.com:

But I signed The Manhattan Declaration. Indeed, I am among the original signatories to that statement, released to the public at the National Press Club last Friday. Why?

There are several reasons, but they all come down to this -- I believe we are facing an inevitable and culture-determining decision on the three issues centrally identified in this statement. I also believe that we will experience a significant loss of Christian churches, denominations, and institutions in this process. There is every good reason to believe that the freedom to conduct Christian ministry according to Christian conviction is being subverted and denied before our eyes. I believe that the sanctity of human life, the integrity of marriage, and religious liberty are very much in danger at this very moment.

Looking At the Manhattan Declaration from Abroad.

From Thaindian News:

Washington, Nov. 22, (THAINDIAN NEWS) The “Manhattan Declaration: A Call To Christian Conscience” was publicly announced on Friday. The declaration has a set of appeals to a rapidly tolerant society that seems to agree to those that the Christian faith allegedly condemns. The declaration clearly states that the followers would even resort to a civil disobedience movement if required, in order to uphold the principles guide-lined in the declaration. Needless to say, the declaration came as a huge threat to the LGBT community as it denounced marriage between the same sex.

The declaration also denounced anything that hinders the normal process of life, will not be followed by the Christian institutions. By “anti-life”activities, the declaration stated euthanasia, that is touted as “assisted suicide”, abortion and “embryo destructive research.” Relationships between a man and a man or a woman and a woman or between transsexuals and bisexuals were tagged as immoral by the declaration. The declaration made it very clear that such relationships will in no way be treated as normal or as marriages. The declaration also made it pretty clear that the Catholics and the Evangelists would not refrain from preaching the ideals that they have taught so far, no matter what the state decides on such matters.

The Manhattan Declaration is a direct blow to the existing system of tolerance that seems to prevail in the atmosphere regarding same sex, transsexual and bisexual relationships. It also delivers a major punch to the fact that the states are already pushing for legal euthanasia. The leaders of the Catholic, Evangelist and the Orthodox groups supported their views by saying that these convictions are the basis of their religion and that its a necessity to follow them.