Manhattan Declaration - Wish List for a Christian Utopia

Evangelical, Orthodox and Catholic leaders unveiled the "Manhattan Declaration" on Friday, November 20, insisting that the document is not a political ploy.  Rather, it is a testament to their common Christian witness as they stand to uphold what they believe are the three most foundational issues in society – the sanctity of life, the historic understanding of marriage, and religious liberty.

In the works for around eight months, "The Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience" was drafted last summer by Dr. Timothy George, Dean and Professor of Beeson Divinity School, Samford University; Chuck Colson, founder of The Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview; and Dr. Robert George, director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University.  The declaration has been signed by more than 125 religious leaders who commit to defending fundamental truths about justice and the common good, no matter what, and who refuse to compromise their proclamation of the Gospel – particularly in the areas of human life, marriage and freedom of conscience and religion.  (Excerpt from press release announcing the Manhattan Declaration)

Something Very Important is Missing

The Project Manager has read the Manhattan Declaration (MD), once to get the general thrust of the document, a second time with pen in hand, underlining key points and writing questions, and a third time with his Scriptures beside him; checking every questionable statement made.  The PM takes his example from the Bereans every time he reads a "religious" or "Christian" document, taking nothing for granted and checking everything against the word of God.  In the case of the MD, the Project Manager found a serious lack of the gospel, some questionable assertions and one that has no biblical basis whatsoever.

The thrust of the MD is that the writers and signatories want the secular world to agree with "Christians" that there should be a moral code, but the document reads like a wish list for a Christian utopia.  The ideals of protecting the biblical definition of marriage and the sanctity of life are laudable, but impractical.  The secular world has another code of conduct, one that we Christians cannot accept, but it is not our responsibility to agitate for, or attempt to force, change. Our responsibility is to preach the gospel of Christ crucified.  The Project Manager explains the biblical foundation for this in great detail in the four-part series "Christ and Protest" (Part 1) (Part2) (Part3) (Part4).

Jesus and the Apostles also lived in a world that was in serious moral decline, in a nation that was ruled by a foreign, pagan power.  Jesus was given opportunities to speak against the prevailing political culture, but each time He turned  the point of the conversation to the real problem; sin (Luke 13:1-5).  The MD never addresses the reason for the downfall of biblical marriage and the reason for the culture of death; the reason, again, is sin.  Nowhere in the MD is a call for the world to call upon the name of Jesus as their Savior, that they may repent of their sins and be saved.

Frankly, that would be impossible in a document with such a disparate group of supporters.  When one writes a document to express the beliefs of a large group of people with different opinions (in this case, "Christians"), by necessity one must leave out beliefs strongly held by one group and just as strongly dismissed by another.  Since a large part of the signatories are Roman Catholics, the reason that the gospel is not included in the declaration is clear.  Roman Catholics preach salvation through works (a seven-step program called the sacraments) and not in the atoning, substitutionary death on the cross by our Savior, Jesus Christ.  There can be no compromise of the gospel, so the writers simply left it out in order to maintain "religious unity".

Servants Seeking to be Greater than the Master

The greatest problem that the Program Manager has with the MD, however, is the denial of Scripture that is necessary for the writers to make the claim that Christians should be at liberty to practice their faith without consequence from the world.  This concept is in direct contradiction with what Jesus said regarding the practice of our faith.  The authors and signers of the MD are looking for a free pass in the practice of their religious convictions, while maintaining a happy, friendly relationship with the world.

Quoting from the Manhattan Declaration:
Christians confess that God alone is the Lord of the conscience.  Immunity from religious coercion is the cornerstone of an unrestrained conscience.  No one should be compelled to embrace any religion against his will, nor should persons of faith be forbidden to worship God according to the dictates of conscience or to express freely and publicly their deeply held religious convictions.  What is true for individuals applies to religious communities as well.

Allow the Project Manager to translate this.  The writers are saying; "We want to practice our faith as we see fit, without suffering any worldly consequences".  Do these people think that they can ask the world to like them and treat them nicely, perhaps because they are such nice, well-meaning people, and the world will listen?  That mindset is completely against what the Lord Jesus Himself said in regard to what His diligent followers can expect the reaction of the world to be.

Jesus specifically tells His disciples that the world would hate us for following Him.  "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of this world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you" (John 15:18-19).  There isn't anything in that statement that indicates that the diligent followers of Jesus can expect favorable treatment from the world.

In fact, the fate of the diligent Christian is persecution.  "Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me" (Matthew 5:11).  Jesus speaking to the members of a worldly sect said, "the wisdom of God said, 'I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill, and some they will persecute' " (Luke 11:49).  Those who follow the Lord Jesus will be persecuted.  Those who believe that they can follow the Lord and the world will treat them like everyone else are deluding themselves.

The Book of Acts is full of instances of persecution against the saints; two examples will suffice.  Peter and the early church fathers had been preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in the temple, and were thrown into prison.  This was not exactly the "freedom of religion" that the writers of the MD are claiming for themselves.  After Peter and the others had been released from prison by an angel, they went straight to the temple and began to preach some more.  This time the authorities had them beaten, and afterward the disciples went on their way, "rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer shame for (Jesus') name" (Acts 5:41).

Compare the attitude of the disciples to the "we should be able to express our faith without coercion" attitude expressed by the writers and signers of the MD.  The early church was grateful to suffer, counting it as a sign of worthiness; the church today wants to avoid suffering at all cost, to the point of diluting the gospel, or even eliminating it completely.

In a second example of our heavenly Father expecting His children to suffer for His sake, the Lord was speaking of the apostle Paul: "...he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake' " (Acts 9:15-16).  What does Jesus say about those who would think that they somehow should be exempt from suffering and persecution? "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master" (Matthew 10:24).  What are the writers and signers of the MD asking?  That they be exempt from suffering for their faith.  They are attempting to put themselves above their master! 

Conclusion

The Project Manager read the Manhattan Declaration with hopes of finding the gospel of Jesus Christ given prominence, as that is the only hope of salvation for a fallen world.  Instead, he found a document devoid of the gospel, but full of pious-sounding, self-serving religious platitudes and a blatant disregard of the word of God.  The authors and signatories of the MD are seeking to be accepted by the world, and in so doing are putting themselves above the Lord whom they claim to love and serve.  For these reasons, the Ecclesiastes Project does not endorse the Manhattan Declaration, and the Project Manager will not put his name to that document.  Please join the PM in prayer for the authors and all those who signed the MD, that they may come to love the Lord so much that they, too, will be grateful to be counted worthy to suffer for His sake.