Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience.

ARTICLE ANALYSIS.

Abstract.

This is an article analysis paper. The article analyzed is the Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience. The paper describes the purpose of the article, its perspective and the massage contained in the article. Also, the paper outlines the implications of taking or not taking the counsel offered in the article.

Article analysis.

The article to be analyzed is a manifesto known as the Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience that was drafted on 20^th October 2009 by Christian leaders from the catholic, evangelical and orthodox denominations and it was released four weeks later. This article is analyzed below.

(a)    The main purpose of this reading is to proclaim God’s word, avow the sanctity of human life, protect intrinsic human dignity, affirm religious liberty, promote common good, protect and promote traditional marriage, promote compassion and philanthropy; and, acknowledge the role of the Christian church in preserving western culture and resisting tyranny (“Manhattan Declaration”, 2009).

(b)   The key questions addressed by the author is the need to preserve the traditional institution of marriage in the contemporary society and the need promote religious liberty. Related to these questions is the need to promote the dignity of human life by obviating abortion and homosexual unions (“Manhattan Declaration”, 2009).

(c)    The most important information in this reading is the declaration of three basic foundations of a civilized, humane and religious society. These three basic foundations are outlined below. First of all, the declaration sincerely affirms the equal inherent dignity of each person as a being created in the image of God, and thus possesses inherent equal rights to human life and dignity. Secondly, the declaration defines marriage as the conjugal union between one man and one woman as ordained by the laws of God since creation; and, also as they have been understood traditionally by both Christians and non-Christian alike as the basic institution in every society. Finally, the declaration affirms the importance of religious liberty as based in the nature of God; and the intrinsic freedom and human dignity of each individual as a being created in divine image (“Manhattan Declaration”, 2009).

(d)   The main conclusion in this reading is that the church and other non-Christian religious institutions have three main duties which are stated hereafter. First of all, they have the duty to promote and protect human life and dignity by dissuading the culture of death and eugenics, obviating abortion, discouraging the practice of euthanasia and discouraging stem cell research (and cloning). Their second duty is to preserve the institution of traditional marriage by obviating divorce, homosexual unions, infidelity, and polyamorous relationships (and unions). Their third duty is to promote and protect religious liberty by impeding attempts aimed at eliminating (or undermining) conscience clauses in the constitution, showing respect to other religions and promoting religious values in the contemporary media (“Manhattan Declaration”, 2009).

(e)    The main concepts in this article are: protection of religious values and the traditional marriage institution. Equal protection of religious values is the foundation of religious liberty and moral (and ethical) laws. The author states that there must immunity from any form of religious coercion because this is the basis of an untrammeled conscience. Religious liberty promotes free conscience which is essential in averting the rise of tyrannical administrations. The author states that traditional marriage is a conjugal legal union between one man and one woman. The traditional marriage institution dissuades individuals from engaging in sexual deviancy thus reducing the need for abortion (“Manhattan Declaration”, 2009).

(f)    The main assumption underlying the author’s thinking is that all religions have their basic foundations in the teachings found in the bible. This is exemplified by the fact that the author quotes passages from Genesis, John and Mathew (“Manhattan Declaration”, 2009).

(g)   If the author’s line of reasoning is taken seriously, the main implications are that human dignity will be upheld and preserved; the traditional marriage institution will be strengthened and religious liberty will be affirmed by the constitution (“Manhattan Declaration”, 2009).

(h)    However, if the author’s line of reasoning is not taken seriously, the main implications are that the marriage institution will collapse, the culture of death will become more established in the society and the erosion of religious liberty will lead to the rise of tyrannical governments (“Manhattan Declaration”, 2009).

(i)     The conservative approach (or point of view) to life, marriage and religious liberty is presented in this reading (“Manhattan Declaration”, 2009).

(j)     My opinions on the concepts that have been presented in this reading are outlined below. The concepts are lucid, logical and analytical in nature. These concepts must be adhered to if the society is to preserve itself as a humane, civilized, conservative and religious society. The society would ultimately collapse if these concepts are discarded. Thus, these concepts promote and protect human life, human dignity, traditional marriage institution and spiritual heritage of a society.

(k)   As a future counselor, I will base most of my counseling advice on these concepts as most people in America are religious conservatives.

                                                        Reference.

“Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience.” MANHATTAN DECLARATION. 2009. Web. 10 Oct. 2012.