A coalition of 152 Evangelical, Catholic and Orthodox leaders have issued a 4,700 word statement addressing the sanctity of life, traditional marriage and religious liberty. The Manhattan Decalration: A Call to Christian Conscience is more than a list of convictions. The document is a pledge to engage in civil disobedience in defense of the outlined principles, if necessary:

“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 anti-life act; nor will we bend to any rule purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as marriage or the equivalent, or refrain from proclaiming the truth, as we know it, about morality and immorality and marriage and the family.”

Signatories include nine Catholic archbishops, by my count, and the primate of the Orthodox Church in America. That’s along with a number of prominent evangelical clergy, scholars and activists. The declaration was officially made public at a noon press conference at the Washington Press Club yesterday.
I am in agreement with much that is said in the document, and particularly support the principle that religious liberty is necessary for a free and just society. I do have some problem with the intention behind the document, however. Many news sources are speculating that this is an attempt to revitalize the Religious Right, to send a message to those in power that the religious community is a still a force to be reckoned with. Perhaps. But one of the authors of the document gave another reason for it’s writing.

We argue that there is a hierarchy of issues,” said Charles Colson, a prominent evangelical who founded Prison Fellowship after serving time in prison for his role in the Watergate scandal. “A lot of the younger evangelicals say they’re all alike. We’re hoping to educate them that these are the three most important issues.

Really? The “three most important issues”? That’s a bold statement. And what are the issues that are drawing younger evangelicals attention, anyway? Much research shows that young evangelicals are pro-life in similar numbers to their elders. They seem to be more pro-life than senior citizens in the church, as a matter of fact. But get a group of young Christians talking about social issues and you are also likely to hear about climate change and justice issues – human trafficking, militarism, and especially global poverty. Let’s just focus on that last one for the moment. Are the signatories of the Manhattan Declaration confident that preventing civil society from recognizing same-sex marriage is a more central issue for Christians than addressing poverty? Are they serious? Let’s see…in the parable of the sheep and the goats Jesus separated the blessed from the cursed based on how they treated the hungry & thirsty, the sick, the stranger, the naked and the prisoner. If that’s not enough reason to prioritize serving those in need, consider that James 1:27 says that “Religion God your Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

My point is not that the sanctity of life and same-sex marriage are non-issues for the church. I am staunchly pro-life myself, though unlike many of the signatories this extends to a rejection of the death penalty. As for same-sex marriage, I think it would be acceptable to have civil same-sex marriage and preserve “traditional” marriage within the context of faith communities. But I understand other Christians on both the left and right disagree with me. What bothers me is the implication in Colson’s remarks that all Christians must have have identical political priorities. His hierarchy seems to me to be less rooted in scripture than in the present political climate.

The Manhattan Declaration: A Call to Christian Conscience

Sharon Autenrieth is a homeschooling mom, volunteer coordinator for Good Samaritan Ministries of the Metro East, and adult ministries director for Good Samaritan Church of the Nazarene in Collinsville, IL. Her interests include music, film, and . Sharon lives with her husband, Kevin, and their five children.