Statement of Faith

Statement of Christian Faith and Values

The Corporation operates through Orthodox, Catholic, and Evangelical Christians, acting together in obedience to the triune God of holiness and love, who has laid total claim on our lives and, by that claim, calls us with believers in all ages and all nations to seek and defend the good of all who bear His image. We call upon all people of goodwill, believers and non-believers alike, to consider carefully and reflect critically on the issues we here address as we, with St. Paul, commend this appeal to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. While the whole scope of Christian moral concern, including a special concern for the poor and vulnerable, claims our attention, we are especially troubled that in our nation today the lives of the unborn, the disabled, and the elderly are severely threatened; that the institution of marriage, already buffeted by promiscuity, infidelity, and divorce, has now been redefined to accommodate fashionable ideologies; that freedom of religion and the rights of conscience are gravely jeopardized by those who would use the instruments of coercion to compel persons of faith to compromise their deepest convictions. Because of the sanctity of human life and the dignity of marriage as a union of husband and wife, we are compelled by our Christian faith to speak and act in their defense. In this declaration, we affirm:

1) the profound, inherent, and foundational principles of justice and the common good, the equal dignity of every human being religious liberty. It is our duty which is grounded in the character of God, the example of Christ, and the inherent freedom and dignity of human beings created in the divine image. We are Christians who have joined together across historic lines of ecclesial differences to affirm our right—and, more importantly, to embrace our obligation—to speak and act in defense of these truths. We pledge to each other and to our fellow believers that no power on earth, be it cultural or political, will intimidate us into silence or acquiescence to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in its fullness, both in season and out of season. May God help us not to fail in that duty. (Excerpts from The MANHATTAN DECLARATION, released November 20, 2009, edited with permission and in context.)