Dr. Norman L. Geisler in this article gives his take on the “Evangelical Manifesto” and also gives the title of a couple of his books that give a full-fledged response to the Manifesto. It is interesting that those that wrote the Manifesto downplay certain critical Christian fundamentals of our faith but what else should we expect from those on the Evangelical Christian Left that are now compromising with the world and acting like Christianity was just another world religion to help socialize the world.
Christian Worldview Network – Brannon Howse – An Evaluation of the “Evangelical Manifesto”
Moses is dead, and there are many candidates vying for Joshua’s position. Or, to put it another way. Jerry Falwell is gone. Adrian Rogers is also with his Maker. D. James Kennedy has gone to his reward, Pat Robertson’s political aspirations failed, as has much of his influence. James Dobson officially retired as president of Focus on the Family and, despite his widespread pro-family influence, has never really had much of a taste for political activism. The former NAE president has fallen from grace, and the chair of evangelical leadership is wide open!
Enter, the Evangelical left with a handful of self-appointed leaders who propose a “Manifesto” which could be described as “the Evangelical Left strikes back.” Released on May 7, 2008 from the Nation’s Capitol, Fuller Seminary’s Richard Mouw, Os Guiness, Christianity Today’s David Neff, and others led the attempt to redefine Evangelicalism with a distinctive list to the left.
But beneath the polished rhetoric and catchy phrases, there lurks a deep danger, both in what they affirm and in what they do not affirm. First, a look at what they do not include in their admittedly “mere Christianity.” Nothing is said about the infallibility and inerrancy of the Bible, the very basis for all evangelical truth. Instead, we hear about the Bible’s as an undefined “supreme authority” or “final rule of faith and practice” which to neo-evangelicals and neo-orthodox means it is not without errors in history and science.
As leaders from the evangelical right have faded, a handful of the evangelical left have made their move to fill the vacuum. However, they do not rightfully represent historic evangelicalism, nor do they have an objective moral basis for meeting the needs of our culture. So, we should take them at their word when they say, “We speak for ourselves” and “no one speaks for all Evangelicals.” And, hopefully, few will listen to their voice as that of full-fledged and genuine Evangelicalism.
