An Evangelical Manifesto Let the Dialog Begin
May 8, 2008“Manifesto aims to make ‘evangelical’ less political” - USA Today
“‘An Evangelical Manifesto’ criticizes politics of faith” - CNN
“Christian Clerics Circulate ‘Evangelical Manifesto’ Urging Faithful to Avoid Single issue Politics” - Fox News
‘Evangelical Manifesto’ Aims to Depoliticize Religion - NPR
“‘Manifesto’ vexes evangelicals” - The Washington Times
“Evangelical leaders say their faith is too politicized” AP
These are the headlines reporting on a new document published and signed by various evangelicals entitled “An Evangelical Manifesto”. The purpose of the manifesto is stated as: “…. first to address the confusions and corruptions that attend the term Evangelical in the United States and much of the Western world today, and second to clarify where we stand on issues that have caused consternation over Evangelicals in public life.”
In the executive summary, it is stated: “First, we reaffirm our identity. Evangelicals are Christians who define themselves, their faith, and their lives according to the Good News of Jesus of Nazareth.”
The core of the Evangelical faith is stated with these basic beliefs:
- Jesus, fully divine and fully human, as the only full and complete revelation of God and therefore the only Savior.
- The death of Jesus on the cross, in which he took the penalty for our sins and reconciled us to God.
- Salvation as God’s gift grasped through faith. We contribute nothing to our salvation.
- New life in the Holy Spirit, who brings us spiritual rebirth and power to live as Jesus did, reaching out to the poor, sick, and oppressed.
- The Bible as God’s Word written, fully trustworthy as our final guide to faith and practice.
- The future personal return of Jesus to establish the reign of God.
- The importance of sharing these beliefs so that others may experience God’s salvation and may walk in Jesus’ way.
With this core theological understanding in place, they state that: “Second, we wish to reposition ourselves in public life. To be Evangelical is to be faithful to the freedom, justice, peace, and well-being that are at the heart of the good news of Jesus.”
I love this statement from the Evangelical Manifesto web site:
“As an open declaration, An Evangelical Manifesto addresses not only Evangelicals and other Christians but other American citizens and people of all other faiths in America, including those who say they have no faith. It therefore stands as an example of how different faith communities may address each other in public life, without any compromise of their own faith but with a clear commitment to the common good of the societies in which we all live together.”
This seems to be pretty solid and an important statement to be made to the culture. Those who have signed it are making a statement that the way the world sees Evangelicals is not necessarily a clear representation of ALL Evangelicals. It recognizes that the Evangelical movement has lost it’s way in some ways and needs to be redirected and redefined.
I look forward to reading the complete 20 page document. To do the same, and to see who has and has not signed the manifesto, check out their web site here.
