Moral Side

Responding to the President as He Affirms Same-Sex Marriage

Today, for the first time, President Obama publicly affirmed his support for same-sex marriage, a calculated political maneuver intended to energize his base in the months before the November presidential election. (Article)

At a time when most Americans’ primary concern is their ability to work to provide for their family, as crippling debt, record deficits, and fragile global markets loom over the economy, the President seems intent on having a national conversation about life, love, and religious liberty.  So be it.

The Manhattan Declaration is a coalition of the historic Christian faiths united in support of the sanctity of every human life, marriage as the conjugal union of a man to a woman as the bedrock of society, and religious liberty as the cornerstone of freedom. We promote a culture of life, love, and liberty in many ways. One is to equip you, our advocates, with the best resources on these issues.

Below is a list of ten articles and videos on the subject of marriage. Take an hour to skim them. Don’t try to memorize the data or recite the arguments verbatim; rather, reflect on them. Allow your mind to absorb the broad principles. As the national conversation on this topic reaches a fever pitch in the next few days, you will be primed as a witness to the truth.

One final thought: this is not a war to be won in the blogosphere or on Facebook. We are teachers, co-workers, family members, and friends in relationship with those who have yet to see. Be gracious, be patient, and be kind.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven. (Matthew 5:11)

What Is Marriage?

by Sherif Girgis, Robert George, and Ryan T. Anderson

Why I Am Optimistic about Natural Marriage

by Andrew Walker

Why Is Marriage Important?

by John Piper

Who Needs Marriage?

by Chuck Colson

Marriage in Society: The Generation Clash (pps. 47-57) Marriage in Society: The Generation Clash

by Matthew Lee Anderson

What Would Bonhoeffer Do?

by Eric Metaxas

Dennis Prager Debates Perez Hilton

Religion, Reason, and Same-Sex Marriage

by Matthew J. Franck

A Marriage in Full

by Gary A. Anderson

On Marriage and the Moral Limits of Human Sexuality

by Metropolitan Jonah

Petition in Support of Religious Liberty and in Opposition to the Proposed Federal Preventive Care Mandate

You are invited to read and sign the petition in favor of Religious Liberty and against the proposed Federal Preventive Care Mandate: click here.

 

Top Five Issues for 2011

What are the issues facing our communities, nation, and world in 2011.  I have identified five areas that shall be at the forefront in 2011.  The overarching theme for these five issues is the continuing assault on Western culture, values, and democracy.  I welcome your comments.

1. The Assault on the Foundational Values of the American Nation.  The values of the American Nation are threefold:  "Liberty," "E Pluribus Unum," and "In God We Trust."  If these sound familiar, they are printed on our coins.  These values are under assault.  Liberty, or equality of opportunity, is being replaced as a primary value by Equality, or the guaranteed equal outcome.  E Pluribus Unum (out of many, one), is being replaced by political correctness and divisive diversity.  In God We Trust, or faith in God, is being replaced by trust in government and an anything-goes I-can-co-what-I-want approach to morality.  Issues within this general area will be family, abortion, protection of children, education, marriage, drug-abuse, and religion in society.
2. The Conflict with Middle Eastern Fascism and Asian Communism.  Western Democracy has always opposed and been in conflict with systems that enslave and diminish human beings.  Western Democracy has defeated European Imperialism, European Fascism, European Communism, and Middle Eastern Imperialism in the Twentieth Century.  The conflicts for 2011 and for the Twenty-First Century are Middle Eastern Fascism (e.g., Iran), Asian Fascism (North Korea), and Asian Communism (China).
3. Border Security and Related Issues.  Illegal immigration, the smuggling of drugs and human beings across the border, protection against terrorists, cyber-terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and the current administrations lethargic and clumbsy response to these problems are a major area of concern for 2011.  One of the primary tasks of the federal government is protection of its citizens.
4. Economic Strains in the US and Western Europe.  This area includes the collapse of Western European socialism.  In the US there are the continuing conflicts over health care, taxation, national and individual debt, unemployment, and bailouts of large companies and state and local governments.  The uncertainties of the housing and financial markets are adding to the problems.  No longer will we be able to assume (or hope) that governments will be able to take care of every problem.
5. Transformation of the Christian Church.  I list this area of interest not because it is the least.  Indeed, it is the most significant, but will occur over a long period of time.  I list it last because it is something we can see God at work and join Him.  It is the NewReformation.  Mainline denominations (including Roman Catholicism) are collapsing under the weight of their bureaucracies.  Those organizations who focus on survival of the institution instead of continuation of the mission are fading.  Just as the Reformation of the 1500s and 1600s brought new life and new understanding of the Church and was fueled by new technology (the printing press); so too will this New Reformation bring new life and new understanding fueled by the Internet.  Denominational "brand names" will become less important.  The focus will shift from social issues to witnessing.  Organizations and ministry will become decentralized and local.  Mid-sized churches will disappear.  Small fellowships, para-church organizations, and mega-churches with satellites (mini-denominations) will flourish.

Manhatten Declaration Reaction to the Judicial Decision to Redifine Marriage in California

The outrageous decision overturning California's Proposition 8 appears to be a terrible set-back for the historic understanding of marriage as the union of husband and wife; but it may turn out to be a great opportunity for us. Let us explain.

We weren't surprised that Judge Vaughn Walker, whose extremely liberal views about sexuality and marriage were scarcely concealed, would strike down the California law defining marriage as being between one man and one woman.

The real surprise is the language he used, describing the "ability to marry" as a fundamental right that cannot be denied gays and lesbians. This is devastating language for the cause of marriage. And it is complete nonsense. Every human society in history has placed restrictions on the "ability to marry." You can't marry your sister [or brother] or seven people at once.

What happens next is clear: The case goes to the Ninth Circuit (the most liberal circuit in the country) and then on to the Supreme Court of the United States.

But here is where we come in and where we have an opportunity for a great victory. The history of the Supreme Court shows that the justices are unwilling to usurp the authority of the people to exercise their constitutional right to set public policy when the people themselves make clear to the justices that they will not accept their judicial activism as legitimate. Where liberal justices have unconstitutionally acted against the will of the people (as in Roe v. Wade, Roemer v. Evans, Lawrence v. Texas), they have done so on the belief that the people were prepared to accept their usurpations. (Of course, in the case of Roe, they got a surprise: the people have refused to accept it, which is why abortion and the right to life remain potent issues to this very day.)

Even the most liberal justices have declined to expand "lifestyle liberties" where it was clear that public opinion opposed the expansion. For example, in 1997, the Supreme Court upheld Washington State's ban on physician-assisted suicide. The decision was unanimous-even the most liberal justices joined it. Why? Precisely because the Court perceived that the public was not prepared to support physician-assisted suicide! Writing for the Court in Washington v. Glucksberg, Chief Justice Rehnquist said:

"Throughout the nation, Americans are engaged in an earnest and profound debate about the morality, legality and practicality of physician-assisted suicide. Our holding permits this debate to continue, as it should in a democratic society."

This is why Judge Walker's gives us a golden opportunity. The battleground now shifts to public opinion. And the public debate over the redefinition of marriage is a debate we can and must win. Remember that in no state have the people popularly supported "gay" marriage. In every one of the thirty-one states that have put the issue before the people for a vote, true marriage has prevailed.

If the Supreme Court is faced with powerful public opposition to redefining marriage, they will be in the same position the justices found themselves in with assisted suicide.

This is why we're convinced God raised up the Manhattan Declaration---for this moment. So we can mobilize more public support. We need a million signatures. Please, get everyone you know to sign it. And we must mobilize, educate ourselves, our neighbors, and everyone within our own spheres of influence.

And then we want you to prepare to get involved in a critically important campaign coming up this fall. It is called the Pray and Act Campaign. The goal is to get Christians across America in every denomination and confession fasting and praying for 40 days, September 20 through October 30. This is not political. This is a time to cry out to God with repentance and ask for His mercy.

In the darkest moments of his battle to abolish slavery, William Wilberforce wrote that he believed God would still heed the prayers of His people. God did. Against all odds, slavery was abolished. Similarly, we believe that God will hear our prayers and will act again.

In His service,

Dr. Robert George
Dr. Timothy George
Chuck Colson

Federal Judge Ignores Voters in Reversing California Law on Marriage - a Second Time

U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker struck down as unconstitutional California’s Proposition 8 marriage law, passed by voter referendum in 2008, which recognized marriage as only between a man and a woman.

“Another flagrant and inexcusable exercise of ‘raw judicial power’ threatens to enflame and prolong the culture war ignited by the courts in the 1973 case of Roe v. Wade,” said Dr. Robert P. George, Founder of the
American Principles Project.  “In striking down California’s conjugal marriage law, Judge Walker has arrogated to himself a decision of profound social importance—the definition and meaning of marriage itself—that is left by the Constitution to the people and their elected representatives.”

“As a decision lacking any warrant in the text, logic, structure, or original understanding of the Constitution, it abuses and dishonors the very charter in whose name Judge Walker declares to be acting.  This usurpation of
democratic authority must not be permitted to stand.”

Judge Walker’s decision in Perry v. Schwarzenegger seeks to invalidate California Proposition 8, which by vote of the people of California restored the conjugal conception of marriage as the union of husband and wife after
California courts had re-defined marriage to include same-sex partnerships.

“The claim that this case is about equal protection or discrimination is simply false,” George said.  “It is about the nature of marriage as an institution that serves the interests of children—and society as a whole—by uniting men and women in a relationship whose meaning is shaped by its wonderful and, indeed, unique aptness for the begetting and rearing of children. 

“We are talking about the right to define what marriage is, not about who can or cannot take part.  Under our Constitution the definition and meaning of marriage is a decision left in the hands of the people, not given to that small fraction of the population who happen to be judges.”

“Judge Walker has abandoned his role as an impartial umpire and jumped into the competition between those who believe in marriage as the union of husband and wife and those who seek to advance still further the
ideology of the sexual revolution.  Were his decision to stand, it would ensure additional decades of social dissension and polarization.  Pro-marriage Americans are not going to yield to sexual revolutionary ideology or to judges who abandon their impartiality to advance it.  We will work as hard as we can for as long as it takes to defend the institution of marriage and to restore the principle of democratic self-government,” concluded Dr.
George.

The American Principles Project is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to preserving and propagating the fundamental principles on which our country was founded.  Through our efforts, we hope to return our nation to
an understanding that governance via these timeless principles will only strengthen us as a country.

Christians and Civil Disobedience