Saturday, November 21, 2009

Wide-ranging Christian Leaders Sign Manifesto Opposing Obama Agenda

The "Manhattan Declaration" signers include nine Roman Catholic archbishops and evangelical leaders ranging from Southern Baptists, to Moody Bible Institute, to Focus on the Family, to Wheaton College, to conservative leaders in mainline protestant denominations.

Click here to E-mail the writers of the declaration and signers (automated E-mail system takes less than 60 seconds).

-- From "Christian Leaders Unite on Political Issues" by Laurie Goodstein, New York Times 11/20/09

Citing the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s call to civil disobedience, 145 evangelical, Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian leaders have signed a declaration saying they will not cooperate with laws that they say could be used to compel their institutions to participate in abortions, or to bless or in any way recognize same-sex couples.

“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,” it says.

The manifesto [click to see list of signers] is an effort to rejuvenate the political alliance of conservative Catholics and evangelicals . . .

They want to signal to the Obama administration and to Congress that they are still a formidable force that will not compromise on abortion, stem-cell research or gay marriage. They hope to influence current debates over health care reform, the same-sex marriage bill in Washington, D.C., and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. [. . . perhaps the new 'hate crimes' legislation?]

[The 4,700-word document is called the “Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience”] was written by Mr. Colson; Robert P. George, a professor of jurisprudence at Princeton University, who is Catholic; and the Rev. Timothy George, dean of Beeson Divinity School, an evangelical interdenominational school on the campus of Samford University, in Birmingham, Ala.

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.