Why I cannot sign The Manhattan Declaration (click to read):

(warning: snarkiness ahead)

No, no, no. I simply cannot sign a document such as this. Why? Because it does not reflect the heart of Jesus. Not really. I know that’s a bold statement. Truthfully, it is not a bad document and it carries within it many important issues and good intentions. However, I find the whole thing another humongous adventure in missing the point. And I feel that we have lost our soul.

The Preamble recalls the contributions of Christians throughout history- from the times of rescuing infants from trash heaps during the reign of the Roman Empire to the abolition of slavery, from Christian women “standing at the vanguard of women’s suffrage” to work against human trafficking and AIDS in Africa. Cool stuff, really. However, looking at ourselves through such a selective memory can be dangerous. Various forms of Christian theology continue to give a double message in regards to a woman’s value and voice, especially within our own communities. Christians also owned slaves and used the scriptures to justify their actions for centuries. During the 1980’s when AIDS first came to the forefront, Christians in America abandoned the ravaged gay community with the belief that the disease was God’s judgment and they deserved it. I remember distinctly when they turned their backs en masse on various members of our Dallas community who were revealed to be dying from AIDS. It was cruel.

I am very glad for the ways in which Christians have acted justly and honorably in world-changing ways over the millennia. That was and is as it should be. I do believe we have had a powerful effect for good. However, if we do not remember that we are slow learners and have much more growing to do as far as loving our brothers and sisters here and worldwide, we will continue to make atrocious mistakes such as those above. As it has been said, those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. (There’s a really, really brief mention of “imperfections and shortcomings” in the declaration which does little to acknowledge our culpability.) And humility is a virtue that we also value. We need to be humble enough to realize we have blown it and need to work hard to win trust back. We need humility to become who we are meant to be. We are not there yet. But the journey of humility and becoming could be a real testimony to Jesus. No, seriously, it could.

The document is said to be written out of concern for the poor and vulnerable which is fitting for a Christian manifesto. However, the agenda is primarily two things: pro-life legislation and anti-gay marriage. They also include the “the rights of conscience and religious liberty” but seem to be fairly vague when it comes to implementation. But anyhoo, first of all, the writers seem to forget that the vast majority of abortions in the country are done for economic reasons. Passing legislation to end abortions only leaves people in dire straights. Why wouldn’t the writers ask us to put our time, passion and oh yes, our own money in finding a way to engage the lives of the men and women who are facing unwanted pregnancies? What education or help do they need? Jobs? Childcare? To simply make this a matter of legislation may satisfy our selfish hearts but do little to actually help the poor or the vulnerable. My theory is that it is easier to write a document or pass a law than to get your hands dirty by actually moving into a poorer neighborhood and making friends and having a direct and yes, sacrificial but real impact on people’s lives. I know that even speaking that way freaks people out but that’s what God did. He went slumming – He moved in and actually became one of us and gave up quite a bit of His entitlement. We already know that story. So, why do we think we can hide behind a document or law when it comes to people’s lives and call it Christian?

Second, there is much debate over gay marriage and civil unions and what impact those things may have on society. However, very few (if any) of the authors listed have published anything that I can find that has any scientific or psychological knowledge or insight about the homosexual orientation. Love would mean at least giving a damn enough to learn, wouldn’t it? Maybe it might mean reading a few books outside the ones that only reinforce what you want to believe? More importantly, wouldn’t asking forgiveness for the way Christians have treated the gay community (and still do in some sects) be a much more powerful way to win hearts and possibly, to win enough respect to earn the right to speak? That paragraph is not in this declaration. And imposing our moral ethics on others is not what Jesus taught. It wasn’t His way.

They also mention a “marriage culture”. I am all for marriage, and for healthy marriage especially. I have been married a long time and that came by a lot of hard work and commitment. But this document is meaningless until we get our ducks in a row as far as what a healthy male-female marriage is. The rigidity and refusal of complementarian theologians to see the harm that their condescending view of women’s “roles” has had on both men and women continues to damage people. I have counseled too many couples who have been harmed and confused by that stuff. It breeds a false sense of masculinity as well- something that is far from the picture of the Bridegroom (who lay down everything dudes, who didn’t grasp power, and who taught a pattern mutual submission of the entire body for which marriage can be a model). Oh, if these theologians/writers could even just admit that their exegesis has some major craters holes in it and they might just possibly, infinitesimally, maybe perhaps, once in a while could be a wee tad bit wrong and just might, maybe, possibly have a thing or two to learn and there might just possibly, maybe, be a reason to reconsider things. Just sayin’. Half of the church worldwide is affected by the views on women (as are the surrounding cultures), but I can understand if you’re busy. Sigh.

Ultimately, this is why I cannot sign this:

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.  It is our duty to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in its fullness, both in season and out of season. May God help us not to fail in that duty.

This is our obligation???? No, brothers and sisters, it is not. We are Christians. First and foremost our obligation is to love. Jesus was very clear on this. He never asked us to be the moral police or even the truth police. (Shocking, I know.) He asked us to actively and sacrificially love others and then work at keeping our own houses in order. (Our own- this means us, not them out there who tick us off because they aren’t doing it right and certainly not as good as us.) And rights? Rights? You know what Jesus did with His rights, right? Is that not a classic example of cultural syncretism? Why aren’t these Christian leaders teaching us about how to lay our rights down?

To take a real “stand” that flows from love would mean an incarnational and consistent engagement with the people that this document affects. Seriously, how many babies are we willing to adopt? How much child care will we subsidize out of our own pockets? Have the declaration writers invited their gay neighbors to dinner yet? Have you? Are the authors willing to move to the Congo and die alongside those being extinguished by ethnic hatred there? Are any of us willing to go that far? You have to admit, a bunch of middle to upper middle class white guys doing that would certainly grab media attention and maybe make an impact that would shake the core of this self-centered world. It might even make a real difference the way that sanctions and bombs have not. Call me cynical but something tells me this is not in the plans for the writers of this document.

They do talk about noble things like assisting those who are facing genocide and ethnic cleansing, as well as human trafficking. I am happy to hear this and I hope these folks can help to wake the church up to the desperate needs that exist outside our own political agendas and American lifestyles. But what will this mean? Is it maintaining personal passivity and demanding the government do all the work? Is it enjoying smug self-righteousness when the “right” bills pass? I have worked hard in support raising for a ministry to help women leave the sex for sale trade and are so often met with empty promises and glazed eyes. It is not a ministry that Christians want to write about in their Christmas letters. They hate the sound of human trafficking and yet, cannot face that it is also happening right in their own cities, maybe with their own neighbors. (Do you really think all au pairs are voluntary and getting paid a good wage?) Love is not glamorous work, folks. If preachers begin to preach the reality of the cost of effecting Jesus’ kind of justice in this world they will have really small congregations, but maybe they will really be the Church.

Jesus was a subversive. He engaged in relationship and story, calling people back to dignity and love. He was hands on, poor as dirt, and reviled by those who like comfortable lives. To begin to call Christians to live as He did is a major undertaking. It will cost us everything. He asks way more of us than this declaration does. Even so, I do believe the hearts behind it meant well. They crafted the words carefully and are not mean-spirited. But they utterly miss the heart and example of Jesus. This declaration will only serve to stir up more of the “us and them” mentality, to create more dividing lines and to misrepresent the GOOD News to a hurting world. Enough, folks. This declaration is cowardly by comparison to what Jesus has called us to be.

What if they wrote up a document that called the Church to really be who we really are and challenge us to be people who don’t hide behind moral documents and laws but who truly live in sharp contrast to this world? And, what if the “contrast” was described as not merely that we’re “happy” and don’t see “R” rated movies and know who to condemn, reject and avoid, but that we’re people who’d rather live in a smaller home than see another family go homeless, or take the bus so car money can go to the local non-profits that provide free legal aid to battered women and their kids. Do you see my point? The folks who wrote the Manhattan Declaration (not to be confused with the Manhattan Project which was about creating the ultimate weapon of mass destruction and nuking millions of innocent people) and who have been described as “prominent Christians” can do way, way better than this paper.

Write that document (as described above) and then perhaps I’ll sign it.

Other blogs on the same topic:
by Dr. Robert Prescott, a Mainstream Oklahoma Baptist (click)

Brian McLaren#1

Brian McLaren #2

a lawyer looks at the Manhattan Declaration

Good posts from a different point of view:

Rev’s Rumbles

Scot McKnight, Jesus Creed