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The Manhattan Declaration:
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“Although
I obviously agree with the documents opposition to same-sex
marriage, abortion, and other key moral problems threatening our
culture, the document falls far short of identifying the one
true and ultimate remedy for all of humanitys moral ills: the
gospel. The gospel is barely mentioned in the Declaration. At
one point the statement rightly acknowledges, ‘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’and then adds an
encouraging wish: ‘May God help us not to fail in that duty.’
“Yet the gospel itself
is nowhere presented (much less explained) in the document or
any of the accompanying literature. Indeed, that would be a
practical impossibility because of the contradictory views
held by the broad range of signatories regarding what the
gospel teaches and what it means to be a Christian.”[1]
Whenever you
see a broad ecumenical coalition gathering together to sign some
sort of agreement, statement, covenant, declaration, manifesto, or
whatever name they call it, be on the lookout for
Dominionism. The
agreement, statement, covenant, declaration, manifesto, etc. may
sound all well and good. It probably represents any number of worthy
causes, ideologies and agendas. And this is precisely how people are
hooked in to signing on. After all, how could you be AGAINST saving
unborn babies, good marriages, and morality?But there are a number of red flags that indicate that these types
of documents have other agendas, causes and ideologies than meet the
eye — most of which can be lumped under the generic category of
Dominionism. What is meant by this? The idea that man, by his works
— especially political, structural or mystical — can reverse the
tide of evil that the document purports to address.There are other indicators of Dominionism. Here are just a few:
1. ECUMENISM.
These documents typically represent a broad ecumenical coalition of
diverse theological groups, and are are characterized by a
theologically diverse “who’s who” list of well-known signers.
Doctrinal differences are set aside in order to achieve the
appearance of some sort of common purpose. As John MacArthur pointed
out in his brief but excellent critique of The Manhattan
Declaration, this ecumenism “seriously muddles the lines of
demarcation between authentic biblical Christianity and various
apostate traditions.”[2]2. COVENANT.
Most of these agreements, statements, covenants, declarations,
manifestos, etc. require that you have to SIGN ON. This act of
signing is a psycho-social tool, creating a “formal joining up
process, a type of psychological contract in which one aligns their
life’s purpose with the organization’s purpose.”[3]
In other words, once you sign on, it glues your sense of commitment
to the purported ’cause’ represented in the document.3. BAIT AND
SWITCH. These agreements,
statements, covenants, declarations, manifestos, etc. are all
cleverly worded. But what are you really signing on to? Is there
another agenda lurking beneath the surface? Take The Manhattan
Declaration, for example. There are indications in the wording that
there are some political agendas afoot, such as changing laws, or
definitions in law, even (alarmingly) civil disobedience. While the
document may ostensibly give lip service to changing people’s
hearts, without the Gospel it is more about changing laws. One can
reasonably assume that The Manhattan Declaration is a clear signal
that there is a marshaling of forces to start up the drumbeat for
some new legislative or political activities in the near future.
These types of activities usually require the State to define things
that are of the Church, another symptom of classic Dominionism.4. COMMON
GROUND FOR THE COMMON GOOD.
These “civility” documents are rife with the terms like “people of
good will,” “conscience,” “ethics,” “justice” and “morality.”[4]
But how are these terms defined? These terms can be so redefined as
to EXCLUDE those who cannot or will not, for whatever reason,
conform. Depending on how these terms are defined, they can actually
exclude biblical Christians, particularly those who practice
biblical separation.For example,
carefully read these excerpts below from The Manhattan Declaration
and ask what is really meant by popular phrase “the common [or
public] good.” Next, ask how it would be prescribed or
enforced — for example, “the church through service to others.”
Just because the phrase uses the word “biblical” does not mean that
it is.“Like
those who have gone before us in the faith, Christians today are
called to proclaim the Gospel of costly grace, to protect the
intrinsic dignity of the human person and to stand for the
common good. In being true to its own calling, the call to
discipleship, the church through service to others can make a
profound contribution to the public good.”“The biblical purpose of law is to preserve order and
serve justice and the common good; yet laws that are
unjust – and especially laws that purport to compel citizens to
do what is unjust – undermine the common good, rather than serve
it.”
5. THE MISSING GOSPEL
OF SALVATION. Significantly
minimized in such documents, if you carefully examine them, is the
Gospel of Salvation. Replacing it is the gospel of man’s endeavors,
causes, concerns and activities. John MacArthur, commenting on this
very issue, wrote: “Anything that silences, sidelines, or relegates
the gospel to secondary status is antithetical to the principles we
affirm when we call ourselves evangelicals.”[5]
This de-emphasis of the Gospel of
Salvation happens to be a key indicator of the presence of
Dominionism.There is much more that we could say and write.[6]
Those who have a passion for
discernment research can follow the fascinating rabbit trails to
learn more about the interesting list of “who’s who” of document
signers,[7]
what they believe, their connections and
interests.[8]
There is plenty of evidence that this whole thing is about
Dominionism.[9]Suffice it to summarize our cynicism about The Manhattan Declaration
by suggesting that readers sit up and pay notice to what might
surface in the coming months as a Christian Right-morphing-into-Emergent
ecumenical political agenda.The
Truth:
“…present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,
which is
your reasonable service. And
be not
conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that
good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans
12:1-2 (KJV)
Endnotes:
1. “The Manhattan Declaration,” John MacArthur, 11/24/09, http://www.shepherdsfellowship.org/pulpit/Posts.aspx?ID=4444
2. Ibid.
3. See page 42 of the monograph, “The Pied Pipers of Purpose: Human
Capital Systems and Church Performance,” especially noting footnote
64.
http://www.discernment-ministries.org/Purpose_Driven.pdf
4. For more information, read
http://herescope.blogspot.com/2009/01/new-global-civility.html
5. MacArthur, Ibid.
6. For additional reading, see:
http://www.biblicalintegrity.org/blog/?p=290
and http://www.biblicalintegrity.org/blog/?p=300 and
http://www.biblicalintegrity.org/blog/?p=329
7. “The Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience,”
posted with signers here:
http://demossnews.com/manhattandeclaration/press_kit/manhattan_declaration_signers
8. Start here:
http://demossnews.com/manhattandeclaration/press_kit/nov_20_press_conference_speaker_bios
9. For example, see Chuck Colson: http://www.colsoncenter.org/wfp-home
and http://demossnews.com/manhattandeclaration/multimedia.
Especially see Chuck Colson’s “Worldview Spheres,”
http://www.colsoncenter.org/search-library/worldview-spheres
and
http://www.colsoncenter.org/the-center/partners/12622-disciple-nations-alliance
which is pure Dominionism. See these Herescope posts for an
explanation:
http://herescope.blogspot.com/2007/06/neo-kuyperian-spheres.html
and also this:
http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/03/worldview-vision-part-1.html.
Also see
http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/03/transformative-worldview.html
and
http://www.discernment-ministries.org/ChristianImperialism.htm
© 2009 by Discernment Group
http://www.herescope.blogspot.com/
See its article
here.