Special offer

The Manhattan Declaration- How we CAN make a difference.

Reblogger
Real Estate Agent with Remax Estates Properties DRE #0892215

This is very important to get out and sign up. Thanks Bob for your great information. I signed up and passed it on as soon as I heard from Mike F.

Be blessed and keep fighting to Save America and God in America!

Original content by Bob & Bonnie Horning

This came across my email a day before Thanksgiving, and I would have posted it had it not been a time I relish spending with just my family and those we invite into our holiday gathering. During these times, nobody uses a cell phone, computer or anything that takes our attention away from OUR time together. It's a very simple, few page document, stating how we feel about where our nation should be heading, especially in such dark times.

In the past, I've had some disagreements with how Focus on the Family has gotten their message out and some of the tone they have used at times. After reading this very carefully, I feel it's an important step and attempt to unify the Body of Christ in a way that exudes love and compassion and should offend no one. With the exception of the powers of darkness. This is non-denominational and non-partisan motivated and a wonderful way to start bringing us back to the root of all our problems, the fracturing of the family unit and the lack of love for each other in our society.

I urge everyone who reads this to click on the link "adding your name" and put your stamp on it.  All together we are much more powerful than those who oppose us. Love and Blessings to each and every person who takes the time to read and sign this. And love and Blessing to each who doesn't. Nobody is excluded from His great love. Nobody is that special to not be loved by God.

The letter:
    
Dear Friends,

On the eve of Thanksgiving, as millions are gathering to express their gratitude to God for His myriad blessings, it's fitting that we pause to discuss a historic development within the American church.

As many of you already know, I, along with Dr. Dobson and more than 150 Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant clergy, academics and organizational leaders, recently signed a remarkable expression of collective Christian conscience and commitment. It's called the Manhattan Declaration, and it's intended to make clear a significant point: As Christian Americans who believe each person's life is a gift of infinite worth, we have an urgent, ongoing responsibility to continue standing for biblical principles in the public square.

This past Monday's Focus on the Family® radio broadcast featured a discussion about the purpose and goal of the declaration. Joining Dr. Dobson on the program were two great friends of our ministry, Dr. Robby George and Chuck Colson, two of the primary drafters of the document. I was honored to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Robby and Chuck at the Washington, D.C., news conference unveiling the declaration last Friday, but I was unable to join their radio conversation. Given the magnitude of this document, though, I'd like to share with you now why I was so eager to sign it--and why I hope you will, too. 

It is important, first off, to note that the Manhattan Declaration is not a partisan or political statement--I shared the podium last Friday at the National Press Club with Republicans and Democrats alike. Instead, it addresses and elevates four specific areas of universal consensus. Some have referred to these as "threshold issues," meaning they represent the foundation of our faith and the pivot point from which everything else flows. This is the bedrock. If we can't agree on these areas of doctrine, everything else will be of reduced value. These four areas are:

1.    The sanctity of human life.
2.    The sanctity of marriage.
3.    The protection of religious liberty.
4.    The rejection of unjust laws.

We have been committed to these baseline principles since Dr. Dobson founded Focus on the Family in 1977. Our conviction on these matters runs deep; motivating our movement has always been the heartfelt belief that these principles are not ours, but the Lord's, and that they promise to help and heal a broken world.

The document is a fresh and lively presentation, a renewed rallying cry to those who have been engaged in this historic effort of spiritual and cultural conversion. This is not a manifesto for culture war; it is a prescription for cultural change. It is also a thoughtful invitation to those who might be sitting on the periphery, perhaps hesitant to join this effort, maybe because they've never been fully aware of the consequences of inaction.

As a unified body, we are acknowledging that our faith is strong and redemptive, but it's not necessarily a comfortable and easy pursuit. Standing up for our beliefs can often come at great cost. But as Dr. George highlighted at last week's news conference, even the secularist philosopher Socrates once posed a relevant question Christians should easily answer today. "Is it better to suffer an injustice," he once asked, "than to commit it?" By affixing our signatures to the Manhattan Declaration, we are answering an unequivocal "yes."

Although many American Christians understandably feel under assault, the degree of faith-based domestic persecution cannot compare with the ghastly violence perpetuated against believers in other parts of the world. In the Sudan, for instance, hundreds of thousands of Christians have been slaughtered not because of what they're doing, but because of the One in whom they believe. It is a wise people who act to protect the freedoms they enjoy.

And so I ask you to join me and my friends and colleagues in embracing and standing up for these crucial biblical principles. How? You can start by reading the document, in its entirety, by clicking here. What I think you'll notice is that, in addressing the issues noted above, The Manhattan Declaration is an excellent example of achieving the balance of Truth and Grace required of us as followers of Jesus. This is a document that exhorts us to champion Christian truths in a Christian manner. It stands for something.

Then, after you've read the declaration, consider adding your name to the list of signers--and urge your friends and family to do the same. We are all imperfect. But if we honor God by promoting biblical principles, resisting our sometimes insatiable and admittedly prideful motivations, He will honor us.

On behalf of my wife Jean, our boys Trent and Troy and the entire Focus on the Family staff, may you and yours enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Sincerely,
Jim Daly
President and CEO
Focus on the Family

I hope you all had a most excellent Thanksgiving, it's our most favorite holiday of the year, especially when the Packers win! - Bob

Posted by

Ocean

 *All views used in these pictures have been sold by Mary C. Thomas

                                                                 

                                        Mary C. Thomas Realtor- 310-946-2205

This blog is property of Mary C. Thomas copyright 2008

 

 

Comments (0)