tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19769805.post5928185414928535344..comments2023-11-02T09:14:47.151-05:00Comments on Bill's Thoughts: THE MANHATTAN DECLARATIONBill Ballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13573859102823530876noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19769805.post-19469234938205934842009-12-10T11:20:13.681-06:002009-12-10T11:20:13.681-06:00Manhattan Declaration Comments.
I began this resp...Manhattan Declaration Comments.<br /><br />I began this response to your comments by composing a 6 page treatise on the declaration. I abandoned that after concluding that the core issue was the separation of church and state. I re-wrote a two page treatise on my view that the price of the freedom of Christians from government coercion to do or not do something which violates our conscience, is the willingness to allow that freedom to others. This morning after watching the Today show, I abandoned that also.<br /><br />This morning on the today show a family was featured who had adopted 9 children and clearly, by their comments, raised them in a Christ centered home. The father had died, but the faith of the family in the work and power of Christ remained strong. Another guest was the young woman who had been kidnapped by an escaped murderer and talked him into surrendering as they discussed their past family roots in Christian homes. She spoke openly about her changed life after that event by faith in Jesus Christ. <br /><br />As I basked in the joy of the message of the gospel going out on a widely watched network program, a sad comparison came to my mind. These simple uneducated believers displayed something to the world. They displayed love, the declaration displays righteous indignation. They displayed joy in the face of trials, the declaration displays anxiety over the current political administration. They displayed peace, the declaration displays fear of government action against Christians. <br /><br />These simple believers showed a total focus on the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The declaration is whitewashed with references to love for sinners, but it is at heart a dark document focused on the evils of homosexuality and abortion. The core message of the declaration is not celebration and joy in the power of an omnipotant God who holds thefuture in his hands. It is instead a message of fear of a rising darkness in the secular world.<br /><br />A wise friend once told me that there are two kinds of Christians; “prodicals” who fall on their knees and pray “God be merciful to me, a sinner”, and “pharisees” who stand tall and pray “God, thank you that I am better than those evil and sinful people who don't understand your law as I do”.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com