“ The Manhattan Declaration: A Call to Christian Conscience ” is a declaration issued on November 20, 2009 by a group of American Christians of various denominations and received widespread support and public outcry. The main purpose of the declaration is to protect “the fundamental truths of the public good and justice,” which “are increasingly being attacked by influential forces in our society,” such as the inviolability of human life , the dignity of marriage as a conjugal union of husband and wife, freedom of conscience and freedom religion . [one]
The declaration was posted online at http://manhattandeclaration.org/ . On October 4, 2012, the declaration was signed by more than 532 thousand people.
History
The first version of the declaration was presented at a meeting of representatives of various Christian faiths - Orthodox , Catholics , Anglicans and Evangelists - in the New York area of Manhattan on September 28, 2009 [2] . The preliminary text was composed of three people - Professor Robert George of Princeton University , Professor Timothy George of Samford University and Chuck Colson, head of the Center for Christian Worldview in Virginia , - but then it was finalized with the participation of other participants in the meeting.
Initially, the declaration was signed by more than a hundred people, mainly clergy and leaders of various Christian organizations. Among them were bishops and cardinals , for example, the Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, Metropolitan Jonah and Cardinal Justin Francis Rigali . [3]
On November 20, 2009, the text was made public at a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington [4] , and then posted on the Internet on a special site where anyone who agrees with its terms could sign the declaration. (The site has English and German versions of the declaration.)
In the first week after publication, more than 150 thousand people signed the declaration. [five]
The authors propose to all signatories of the declaration, as the next steps, to promote its dissemination (including through social networks ) and widespread public discussion. [6]
Key
The declaration consists of a preamble and a main part containing three sections: “ Life ”, “ Marriage ” and “ Religious Freedom ”. Each of the three sections is preceded by quotations from the Bible , on which the Christian understanding of the corresponding field is based.
The authors express concern that in the United States , as well as throughout the world as a whole:
- “The lives of the unborn, the disabled and the elderly are at risk”;
- “The institution of marriage, already shaken by licentiousness, infidelity and divorce, risks being revised and adapted to popular ideologies”;
- “Freedom of religion and freedom of conscience are in serious danger from those who can use coercive instruments to force believers to compromise with their strongest beliefs.”
In contrast to these trends, the declaration proclaims:
- “The deep, natural, and equal dignity of every person as a creature created in the image of God, with inalienable rights to equal dignity and life”;
- “Marriage as a marital union of a man and a woman, appointed by God from creation, and historically understood by believers and unbelievers as the main social institution”;
- "Religious freedom, which has its foundation in the Personality of Godhead, the example of Christ , and the inherent freedom and dignity of people created in a divine image."
Preamble
For two millennia, Christians , following the Word of God, have contributed to the search for justice in society, the fight against tyranny, and compassion for the poor, oppressed and suffering. And in today's conditions, they are also called to testify of the Good News, to protect the inherent dignity of a person and to stand up for the common good.
Life
The US government is dominated by pro- abortion ideology and the desire to make abortion legal at any stage of embryonic development. This is one of the manifestations of the “culture of death” that has spread in society, which devalues life at all stages and claims that imperfect, immature or uncomfortable lives can be rejected (this applies to the use of embryonic stem cells , and to cloning to obtain organs and tissues, and to euthanasia ). Christians do not accept such an attitude and in what form, considering it a distortion resulting from the loss of a person’s dignity and the inviolability of human life: “We follow a consistent ethic of love and life for all people under any circumstances.”
Marriage
In modern society, the culture of marriage is being destroyed, which is manifested in an increase in the number of illegitimate children, widespread extramarital cohabitation and a high percentage of divorces. Another sign of the destruction of this culture is attempts to revise the concept of marriage to recognize same-sex and polygamous relationships. Christians urge respect for those who are homosexual and polygamous, and refrain from scornfully condemning them. However, this does not negate the rejection of such behavior and regard it as a sin . We should work towards preserving the legal definition of marriage as a union of one man and one woman and restore the culture of marriage.
Religious Freedom
No one should be forced to profess any religion against desire, nor should believers be forbidden to worship God according to how their conscience dictates it, or to freely and publicly express religious judgments. However, there are now frequent cases when religious institutions, firms and service providers of various kinds are forced to carry out actions that are immoral or lead to bankruptcy: doctors are forced to have abortions, shelters are forced to give children for adoption to same-sex families, clergy are persecuted for preaching Bible principles against homosexuality . However, all this threatens the general welfare and culture of freedom and can lead to despotism .
In conclusion, it is noted that the authors of the declaration acknowledge the obligation to comply with the laws until the laws become unfair or require that they do something unfair or immoral from the point of view of Christian ethics. In this case, the right to civil disobedience should be reserved:
| ... we will not agree with any decree that will oblige our organizations to participate in abortion, splitting the embryo, assisting in suicide and euthanasia, or something that threatens life, and we will not obey the law requiring blessing immoral sexual partnerships, consider them as marriages or the equivalent, or we derogate from the proclamation of the truth in our understanding of ethics and immorality, marriage and the family. |
Public Response
According to surveys conducted in Russia , clergy generally agreed with the provisions of the Manhattan Declaration and stated that state laws that were in direct conflict with the requirements of the faith should not be followed, and that in this case, believers reserve the right to civil disobedience [7] . On the contrary, Russian parliamentarians unequivocally spoke out against “legal nihilism” in any form and called the development of new, more advanced laws the only acceptable way to influence the law . [eight]
Reviews
- Archpriest Maxim Kozlov , rector of the temple of the Martyr Tatiana at Moscow State University [7] :
| I was very happy to receive this news. It seems that American Christians in their declaration repeat what was stated in the Fundamentals of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Social Concept , which explicitly speaks of the possibility of peaceful civil disobedience if the demands of the state go against Christian conscience and morality. |
- Priest Vladimir Vigilyansky , Head of the Press Service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia [7] :
| There is a clause in the Foundations of the social concept adopted by our Church that involves actions of disobedience to the laws of the state if they contradict the Christian commandments. The declaration adopted by American Christians is fully consistent with this point in the Social Concept of our Church. |
- Lyubov Sliska , Deputy Chairman of the State Duma [8] :
| It seems to me that this is another PR action, which is aimed at attracting attention. There are a lot of such actions in a democratic society and they take place constantly, therefore this is a normal phenomenon ... Regardless of regalia and status, people should understand that it is impossible to break the law. |
- Andrei Desnitsky , a biblical scholar ( Bible Translation Institute ) [9] :
| It is important that in this case, Christians of different faiths were able, not forgetting the differences between them, to identify common values for all of them and unite in the protection of these values. Yes, of course, questions about the primacy of the pope or the relationship between Scripture and Tradition are very important, and it would be hypocritical to pretend that they do not separate us. But when we come across some completely different system of values, for which both Scripture and Tradition are an empty phrase, we must say the main thing that unites us. We can remind this of a society of unbridled consumption, in which human rights begin to be interpreted as the arbitrariness of someone’s private desire imposed on everyone. |
See also
- Fundamentals of the social concept of the Russian Orthodox Church
- Abortion and Christianity
- Adopting and raising children in same-sex couples
Notes
- ↑ Hereinafter, the translation is given in the Russian text: Manhattan Declaration - “A Call to Christian Conscience” (Translation from English by Anna Danilova and Lyubov Makarova specifically for the site “ Orthodoxy and Peace ”, editor Alexey Markevich.)
- ↑ Web Site Blocked (inaccessible link) . Date of treatment December 6, 2009. Archived December 1, 2009.
- ↑ For a list, see http://manhattandeclaration.org/sign/list-of-religious-leaders-signatories Archived December 8, 2009 on the Wayback Machine (176 people on December 6, 2009).
- ↑ Web Site Blocked (inaccessible link) . Date of treatment December 6, 2009. Archived December 8, 2009.
- ↑ 150,000 Americans Signed Christian Social Declaration
- ↑ Web Site Blocked (inaccessible link) . Date of treatment December 6, 2009. Archived December 5, 2009.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Clerics of civil disobedience
- ↑ 1 2 Laws need to be improved, not ignored (parliamentarians)
- ↑ Voice from Manhattan (inaccessible link from 05/20/2013 [2289 days] - history , copy )
Links
- Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience (official site) (unavailable link from 05/20/2013 [2289 days] - history , copy )
- Manhattan Declaration - “A Call to Christian Conscience.” Full text of the document
- Over 150,000 Americans Sign the Manhattan Declaration