Monday, November 23, 2009

The Manhattan Declaration: intolerant conservatives claim Christianity

The Forces of Ill have put together something they call The Manhattan Declaration stating their opposition to marriage equality with all the same, tired slippery slope arguments and self-righteous victimhood. From The New York Times:
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, to be released on Friday at the National Press Club in Washington, is an effort to rejuvenate the political alliance of conservative Catholics and evangelicals that dominated the religious debate during the administration of President George W. Bush.......
The document says, “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 antilife act; nor will we bend to any rule purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as marriages or the equivalent.”
It's a pretty creepy document. You can read the whole thing at Good As You. (I won't give the haters' site any hits)

One of the signatories is Abp Peter Akinola of Nigeria.

Thus providing yet another link in the chain between right-wing anti-gay extremists in the US and the African churches that has led to the Ugandan Gay Death Bill. I blogged on this and so has Fr Jake as well as many others.

The signatories of the Manhattan Declaration purport to represent Christianity. We know they represent conservative Christianists, Roman Catholics, and Mormons. It's PAST TIME for the forces of good to stand up to them and say NO MORE. It's PAST TIME for the leadership of liberal, progressive Christian denominations (Yes I am talking to you PB Jefferts Schori, yes I am talking to you ABP Williams) to SPEAK OUT against intolerance and divisiveness and hatred masquerading under God's name.

Because, truly, this is a matter of life and death.

11 comments:

JCF said...

Unsurprisingly, this has been touted on EWTN at just about every homily since...

Yet more gay-bashings (all around the world) in recent days, and yet it's the Manhattan Declaration signatories who are the "victims." Lord have mercy!

Tobias Stanislas Haller BSG said...

Documents like this "Declaration" will mark the graves of institutions such as the Roman Catholic Church, the IRD, etc. What did G'Kar say? "They are a lost people..."

Ann said...

There is considerable overlap between this group and those who signed the Evangelical Manifesto (another forgotten document) Here are the common signatories:
Leith Anderson President of National Association of Evangelicals (Washington, DC)
Kay Arthur CEO and Co-founder, Precept Ministries International (Chattanooga, TN)
Dr. Mark L. Bailey President, Dallas Theological Seminary (Dallas, TX)
Dr. Timothy George Dean and Professor of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School at Samford University (Birmingham, AL)
Dr. John A. Huffman, Jr. Senior Pastor, St. Andrews Presbyterian Church (Newport Beach, CA) and Chairman of the Board, Christianity Today International (Carol Stream, IL)
Dr. Duane Litfin President, Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL)
David Neff Editor-in-Chief, Christianity Today (Carol Stream, IL)
Dr. Cornelius Plantinga President, Calvin Theological Seminary (Grand Rapids, MI)
Dr. Ron Sider Director, Evangelicals for Social Action (Wynnewood, PA)
Dr. Frank Wright President, National Religious Broadcasters (Manassas, VA)
IRD President (Mark Tooley signed Evan. Man., James Tonkowich signed Man. Statement)

John Yates (Rector, Falls Church CANA) signed Evangelical Manifesto). Minns and Akinola signed Manhattan Statement. Os Guinness, key player in the manifesto, is a parishioner of The Falls Church.

here

The manifesto said the evangelical movement had become over politicized. This statement says the opposite?

JCF said...

What did G'Kar say? "They are a lost people..."

Babylon5 reference FTW! ;-)

[About the only ha-ha I can find about this. :-( It's particularly disconcerting to see that Ron Sider's name is associated w/ this piece of sh*t: ESA used to be (relatively) more liberal about these things. Maybe they had a post-Obama-Election Freak-Out, to join the Wingnuts...]

Frank Remkiewicz aka “Tree” said...

See Real Anglicans as well.

JCF said...

Another day, another EWTN homily positively *orgasmic* about this obscenity...

IT said...

JCF why do you watch that stuff? Can't be good for your blood pressure.

episcopalifem said...

This document sickens me.

And I'm so glad you didn't link, IT. I won't link to it either. Ugh.

it's margaret said...

IT --I did blog on the Manhattan Declaration. Called it Pornographic. I think it was in the post previous to where you commented --saying that we should be blogging on it... The Manhattan Declaration is like looking at the cross to justify crucifixion....

http://leaveitlay.blogspot.com/2009/11/pornographic.html

IT said...

Thanks Margaret. I had not realized that your post linked to the article about the declaration.

\My exhortation to speak out was not really to us individual bloggers but to institutions and people in power. We are in a sort of echo-chamber here, and I am not confident we ourselves are effecting ANY change at all.

I keep ending up with Matthew Arnold.

JCF said...

JCF why do you watch that stuff? Can't be good for your blood pressure.

I know, it's my secret vice! [The Sin that Dare Not Speak Its Name. ;-p]

There's lots o' lovely liturgical stuff thereon, which doesn't have to do w/ phobic RANTING...

[Pssst! I don't really have high blood pressure---and it was tested again at the Free Clinic's office, just TODAY! But that's my excuse for why I avoid places like "SitLimp" and "Virtue-less" like The Plague. Those yahoo sites don't have the draw of EWTN's liturgy!]