A friend of mine passes his copies of a magazine called Ivy league Christian Observer to me when he is finished with them. This magazine is published by a ministry to the eight Ivy League universities called Christian Union. Each issue is filled with stories of what God is doing in those schools.
A recent issue tells an amazing story about Kevin Roose, a Brown University student who transferred to Liberty University in his junior year to see what a Christian university would be like. Roose had no intention of converting to Christian faith; he was, in fact, on an undercover mission to write about his experiences there as an "expose" for the unbelieving world to read about. His book, The Unlikely Disciple, was published following his graduation from Brown.
The good news is that he had many positive things to say about his experience there. In general, he came to "appreciate the positive effect a sober, prayerful, non-promiscuous environment had upon him." One thing that touched him personally was the response of his roommate when Roose revealed his deception at the end of his year there. "How could I not forgive you when I've been forgiven so much?" said the roommate, as Roose shook his head in disbelief. Roose's response: "I never expected the people here to apply the principles of their belief to their lives in such a real way."
By now you should be wondering what this has to be with the Manhattan Declaration! The point is this. The most negative reaction of Roose to his experience at Liberty concerns their political views, which Roose called "distasteful" and "reprehensible." To the unbeliever, it is incomprehensible that our views on sanctity of life, sexuality, and personal freedom could be informed by an ancient book (as opposed to popular opinion and the nightly news). We might be nice people (sometimes), but we shouldn't be allowed to influence public opinion and policy.
It is precisely when our Biblical views are translated into how we interact with the culture (including what laws we advocate and support) that the world wants to tell us to "shut up!" The disarming love with which Roose was accepted at Liberty did not dissuade him from his already steeped prejudice that Christian views on the very issues outlined in the Manhatttan Declaration are not just terribly misguided, but downright dangerous. That prejudice had been nurtured in the God-hating atmosphere of the society Roose was raised in, and thirteen years of secular education had not taught him to tolerate such views, even in the most likeable people he had ever met.
This is the battle that is ahead for those who take the Manhattan Declaration seriously: no sympathy, outright hostility, gross misrepresentation and misunderstanding. Will we be able to respond as humbly and lovingly as did these students at Liberty University?
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