Darrow Miller and Friends

Must Read: Manhattan Declaration

This just in. You may want to consider supporting this effort with your signature.

Today a group of prominent Christian clergy, ministry leaders and scholars released the Manhattan Declaration, which addresses the sanctity of life, traditional marriage and religious liberty.  The 4,700-word declaration issues a clarion call to Christians to adhere to their convictions and informs civil authorities that the signers will not – under any circumstance – abandon their Christian consciences. Drafted by Dr. Robert George, Dr. Timothy George and Chuck Colson and signed by more than 125 Orthodox, Catholic and evangelical Christian leaders. You can read the entire statement here.

Among the signers of the Manhattan Declaration scheduled to appear at the press conference are:

  • Robert George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University
  • Donald William Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, Diocese of Washington, D.C.
  • Harry Jackson Jr., Bishop, Hope Christian Church
  • Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, Diocese of Philadelphia
  • Timothy George, Professor, Beeson Divinity School at Samford University
  • Chuck Colson, Founder, The Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview
  • Ron Sider, Professor, Palmer Theological Seminary and Director of the Seminary’s Sider Center on Ministry & Public Policy
  • George Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center and Founding President of the James Madison Foundation
  • Tony Perkins, President, Family Research Council
  • Jim Daly, President and CEO, Focus on the Family

Excerpts from the declaration include:

  • “We are Christians who have joined together across historic lines of ecclesial differences to affirm our right – and, more importantly, to embrace our obligation – to speak and act in defense of these truths.  We pledge to each other, and to our fellow believers, that no power on earth, be it cultural or political, will intimidate us into silence or acquiescence.”
  • “We recognize the duty to comply with laws whether we happen to like them or not, unless the laws are gravely unjust or require those subject to them to do something unjust or otherwise immoral.”
  • “. . . We will not comply with any edict that purports to compel our institutions to participate in abortions, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide and euthanasia or any other anti-life act; nor will we bend to any rule purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as marriage or the equivalent or refrain from proclaiming the truth, as we know it, about morality and immorality and marriage and the family.”

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2 Comments

  1. Katrina Ramirez

    November 20, 2009 - 6:16 pm

    Make like a wild fire out of control…. get on board and pass it on!

  2. Bob Evans

    November 22, 2009 - 7:11 pm

    An absolute must read! This is a historic stand by leaders across the church in the war for the soul of the west. I had the privilege of spending the last two weeks with Darrow at the YWAM base in Puerto Rico as he taught the material of what will probably be his next book – a look at the Great Commission in the context of the cultural climate we live in. This manifesto is in lime with stances taken during the birth of this nation and are solidly rooted in the wholistic Biblical worldview that is central to the work and mission of Disciple Nations Alliance. Following is the message I sent to key friends recomending support of this action.

    Dear Friends,

    Here is a link concerning a recent action by leaders across the breadth of the Church (Orthodox, Catholic, Evangelical & Pentecostal) that was spearheaded by Chuck Colson. If you haven’t seen this I urge you to look at it and decide to participate. It is called the Manhattan Declaration and is a declaration concerning the sanctity of life, marriage, freedom of religion and conscience, and the steps these leaders are pledging to take, including disobedience of any unjust laws forcing us to take actions that are unjust, immoral and against our conscience before God. We are in a time when the soul of our nation and the free world is at stake. This is not about the agenda of America but about America as the reflection and symbol of God’s agenda as envisioned by the founders of this nation. It is not about a particular political agenda (or party) but about the ideas behind the agenda’s being debated in this nation today. The church is just beginning to wake up and truly take part on the level of ideas and in a reasoned manner in this fight. This is one of the few recent developments that may actually have some teeth. It is a line in the sand beyond which those who authored and initially signed, as well as those who add their name, are unwilling to be pushed. It was authored by Chuck Colson and a Catholic legal professor from Princeton and has some prominent signers including the Catholic Archbishops of New York and DC, James Dobson, a representative of Billy Graham’s organization, the president of Dallas Theological Seminary (and others from a number of seminaries), 152 in all.

    Apparently the announcement of this document and site launch was made Friday (Nov 20, 2009). Since then over 12,000 [now almost 20,000] people have electronically signed – signaling their support – I know there were over 2500 who did this in the past 2 hrs since I first looked at the site. Yes, we are coming to this, days like those in the founding of this country. Only a government and political system rooted in the worldview of the Bible will be a free society – where each one can choose to believe or not believe in that worldview. Systems rooted in other worldviews, systems beginning with matter, man or some oozy, woozy, touchy, feely, celestial, divine nothing or other (monism) cannot produce such freedom, only tyranny. This is the war of the times we live in and while the battle will be rooted in the prayer room it will also be carried out in actions such as this. As the pastor of my church says, we work with God, he is the senior partner we the junior. We do our part and he does his and our part is not just on our knees but also with mouth and transformed mind putting forth well reasoned ideas and arguments that pull down strongholds.

    Be awake, be aware, think, know what you believe – and why –and harden yourself to stand for what is right, just, true good and beautiful. The days of softness, of garlic and leeks and meat by the Nile, are coming to an end. King Théoden, in Lord of the Rings, as war approaches his gate, asks, “have the days come down on the West?”. Only if we hide in our halls and let them. Even as the orcs draw near, if we stand as a city of light on a hill, as is being done with this declaration, revealing and reflecting the Light that is in us, the soul of our nation, and the souls in it, will be brought to salvation.

    In Him who shines within us.

    Bob Evans
    founding Board member, Disciple Nations Alliance

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