The Manhattan Declaration: “Evangelical” Ecumenists Unite with Rome to Advance Rome’s Cause
There have been a number of good, detailed analyses and exposés of the Manhattan Declaration. One that we would recommend was written by ex-priest Richard Bennett, entitled Catholic Agenda Embedded in the Manhattan Declaration.[2] There is no need, here, to write a lengthy analysis along similar lines, for the declaration itself is fairly straightforward and simple, and any true Christian who critiques it would in general do so for the same reasons as all other true Christians would. Thus, although we most certainly add our voice of condemnation to the declaration, if we were to analyse it in depth we would be merely repeating the good labours of other men.
In brief, however, it is a very simple matter to lay out why true Christians must oppose it, and that is because it is a thoroughly ecumenical document! If there was no other reason than this for opposing it, this one would be sufficient.
This fact is made very evident in the quotation given above from the document: “We, as Orthodox, Catholic, and Evangelical Christians, have gathered… to make the following declaration…. We act together in obedience to the one true God…” It does not matter what “good” points there may be in the document; the fact that it was a thoroughly ecumenical project, with professed “Evangelicals” working on it, and signing it together, with Romanists and Eastern Orthodox, those enemies of the Lord Jesus Christ, His Church and His Gospel, is all that any true Christian needs to know in order to reject the document with disgust and contempt. Regardless of any “good” points it might make, it is nothing less than a betrayal of Christ and His Gospel. And as one reads through it, one sees the subtle attempts to present Romanism and Eastern Orthodoxy as Christian.
Various top-ranking Roman Catholic officials have enthusiastically signed the document, which proves its ecumenical nature. One of the original signatories, Romish bishop Salvatore Cordileone, stated: “I can say that this gathering in Manhattan and the Declaration which ensued represent a critical turning point in our nation’s history and a new ecumenical moment. After centuries of differences and at times even hostilities, we experienced a new sense of unity, common purpose and just plain joy to be in each other’s company. We realized that we can still respect differences while also doing what Pope John XXIII urged us: to focus on what unites us.” [3] There we have it, straight from the horse’s mouth. No true Christian should put his signature to a document enthusiastically endorsed by the bishops and priests of Antichrist. True Christians simply cannot unite with false ones in order to fight against society’s evils, without betraying the cause of Christ and His truth. There can be no common ground between believer and unbeliever, righteousness and unrighteousness, light and darkness, Christ and Belial (2 Cor. 6:14-18). And we cannot fight evil by joining with the forces of evil. The Lord will never bless such efforts.
Besides, the very things which the document claims it is seeking to defend – life, marriage, and religious liberty – have been destroyed by Romanism throughout the centuries. The Papacy claims to be “pro-life” but has massacred millions; it claims to be pro-marriage but refuses to allow its priests to marry and is a system riddled with sodomites; and it claims to defend religious liberty but has denied religious liberty to Protestants and others wherever it has had the power to do so. Thus, in addition to everything else, the Manhattan Declaration is a document of utter hypocrisy, and it is disgraceful that men claiming to be “Evangelicals” have signed it. They clearly are not true Evangelicals, and do not even understand the real nature of the Gospel and its call for total separation. By signing this document, they are in fact proclaiming, not the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but the false “gospel” of Roman Catholic social justice! We suspect, however, that many of them, being wolves in sheep’s clothing, know very well that they are advocating a Roman Catholic social justice agenda.
Filed under: rome