In the trenches

Marriage | The word from activists against gay marriage: If the battle hasn’t come to your state it will; be ready to work hard and be weary | Jamie Dean

Photo by Joel Page/Reuters/Landov

Surrounded by Catholic, Orthodox, and evangelical leaders at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 20, Chuck Colson revealed a 4,732-word document representing a year's worth of ecumenical work. Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship, described the Christian-based Manhattan Declaration as a "call to conscience for the church" and a "clear message to civil authorities" on issues pertaining to life, marriage, and religious liberty.

The 148 original signatories included evangelical leaders like J.I. Packer and Tim Keller, and prominent Catholics like Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia. (WORLD founder Joel Belz and editor in chief Marvin Olasky are also signatories.)

A lengthy section on marriage includes a confession that the church has often failed to uphold the institution of marriage and offers an adamant defense of traditional marriage: ". . . we pledge to labor ceaselessly to preserve the legal definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman and to rebuild the marriage culture. How could we, as Christians, do otherwise?"