December 6, 2009
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A couple of weeks ago a group of Evangelical, Catholic and Orthodox Christians came out with a document called “the Manhattan Declaration.” It’s a couple of page long declaration of common historical Christian beliefs on the sanctity of life, marriage and religious liberty and a promise to uphold those beliefs and oppose any laws that would change or ask Christians to violate these beliefs. Sounds pretty good, right? So far, over 25 thousand people have signed it, and you can too, but I don’t think I’ll be doing so. Maybe I’m cynical, but I’m not sure what the point of this is, a sort of flexing of Christian political muscle to make a demonstration of power? Is that how Christians should behave? Should we be spending our time at all on political solutions to cultural problems?
I have to say that there is something about this that reminds me of the Israelites at the time of Eli who marched out with the Ark of the Covenant as if it were some kind of talisman, presuming that God would be on their side against the pagan Philistines, when in fact God was sending the Philistines as a punishment for the Israelites’ sin. Why do these people think that America is seeing these kinds of cultural issues? And why do they think that political petitions are an effective way to deal with them?
I know why I think that we’re seeing these issues. Romans 1:21-32 spells it out.
21Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.24Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 26For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
28And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
The Bible says that when men stopped worshiping God and start following idols, he gave them over to all sorts of sin, including the sins outlined in the Manhattan Declaration. These sins are not the root of the problem, but the fruit of deep rebellion. Oddly, the book I am currently reading, a secular biography of missionary Matteo Ricci to China in the 1500′s, recognizes this connection, saying, “To Isaiah… sodomy was the punishment for idolatry,” yet how often have you heard any of these cultural conservatives link them? We see these things in our culture because God, as a sign of his judgment, has allowed them. And if God has allowed them, if we fight them by political means, are we fighting against God’s will, just as the Israelites did with the Philistines? Can we legislate away God’s judgment? It’s kind of a doomed strategy, isn’t it?
The only strategy that works in the Bible is repentance. And although the writers of the Manhattan Declaration mention repentance once (“Insofar as we have too easily embraced the culture of divorce and remained silent about social practices that undermine the dignity of marriage we repent, and call upon all Christians to do the same.”) they don’t really strike to the heart of the matter. They don’t address the idols and sins of the church. They seem to point outward at others as the sinners and causes of our social problems, while claiming for themselves the mantle of Christians in times past who did noble things in rescuing abandoned babies, ending slavery and the like. Maybe it’s not nice of me, but it calls to mind the Pharisees saying that if they had been there they wouldn’t have killed the prophets like their fathers did.
I’d feel a lot better about the future of the causes of sanctity of life, marriage and religious liberty in America if the divorce rate in American churches wasn’t nearly the same as the rest of the US, if nearly half of “born again” males hadn’t looked at internet porn in the past week, if most Christian teens weren’t having sex before marriage, if Christians weren’t buying useless, made in China junk with crosses on it or putting bumper stickers on their Cadillac Escalades that say “Don’t be fooled, my real treasure is in Heaven.” I’d feel better if the Atlantic couldn’t run an article about the role Christians preachers played in creating the housing bubble.
Ezekiel 16:48-50 says” ‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.” Does that at all describe America? American churches? Are we really in the position to assume the mantle of those Christians in the past who changed their culture through their cultures? Are documents like the Manhattan Declaration the way to do so?
Comments (4)
I wish you wrote more often. You are so grounded and I miss – so DEEPLY miss your insight. We went to the christmas program for our old church this weekend with our exchange student. My husband and I walked away a little embarassed and puzzled and confused about the direction of the church. One a few years ago I would have thought was a solid church. Our home schooling baby sitter did a miley cyrus rendition pop star dance with back up dancers that made my jaw drop. I can fairly say I wouldn’t let my kids watch this and think it’s cool to see Miley much less to confuse it in church. Not any more than I was into the NKOTB or Britney Spears.
I told Sean when we came home, going to church has become like putting my hand on a hot stove. I feel like it’s wrong, but I have to, but it’s wrong. I’m SO confused. It’s really easier to believe there isn’t a God except I have to much faith to unevangelize myself. The bible makes sense, but the church has nothing to do with it. The church has become a social, community club. Maybe that’s all it really ever was.
I miss blogging and the way xanga was. Faceook makes it easy to be lazy and just say a little.
A Miley type dance in CHURCH? Yikes! I don’t even know what to say to that. The lack of discernment is SO disturbing.
You’re right Danielle. The solution to sin is the gospel (preaching and believing, which includes repentance), not legislation and joint declarations . We need to address the heart of the matter and not its symptoms. The way to salvation is ultimately not in government reform that favors Christian values but restoring Christians to a right understanding of their sinfulness and our daily need for a Savior.
But I did find somethings that resonate with me in the declaration. As the Declaration states, government is becoming more coercive about imposing their immoral laws upon Christians. I found it edifying to be reminded how precious my freedom is as I read examples of how the government has become intrusive and belligerent towards people of the faith. Already tax money is being used to fund abortions at Planned Parenthood centers and abortion clinics abroad and to fund public schools that impose homosexual values upon children, while churches lose their licenses to function simply because they oppose civil unions. The authors were justified in their outlining the history of Christian involvement against moral evils as a way to defend our faith against liberals and atheistic antagonizers who charge us as narrow-minded, judgmental, and self-righteous. Granted, had this declaration been targeted to other Christians, the historical regurgitation of Christian acts of mercy and justice would have been self-indulgent and self-aggrandizing. But this is a declaration to the public filled with naysayers who are charging us with hate-crimes and discrimination.
We Christians are the true humanists here not the other way around. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness have been distilled from biblical understandings on conception, marriage, and liberty in Christ.
But at the same time, we Christians should also pause to express where we have sinned. And to reflect that in all this mess, the only person who can correct this all is the Son of God, not our legislative finesse and finagling and bartering and politicking.
This Declaration is a mixed bag for me.
You’re right Leah, I agree with what the Declaration says and I think that those things definitely need to be affirmed and I went back and forth on it and read it several times, and read different people’s takes on it, both for and against. I think that your last couple of sentences sum things up very elegantly.