"An Evangelical Manifesto" (Updated)

"Conservative Christian leaders who believe the word 'evangelical" has lost its religious meaning plan to release a starkly self-critical document saying the movement has become too political and has diminished the Gospel through its approach to the culture wars."  Here's more from the AP story:

The statement, called "An Evangelical Manifesto," condemns Christians on the right and left for "using faith" to express political views without regard to the truth of the Bible, according to a draft of the document obtained Friday by The Associated Press.

"That way faith loses its independence, Christians become `useful idiots' for one political party or another, and the Christian faith becomes an ideology," according to the draft.

The declaration, scheduled to be released Wednesday in Washington, encourages Christians to be politically engaged and uphold teachings such as traditional marriage. But the drafters say evangelicals have often expressed "truth without love," helping create a backlash against religion during a "generation of culture warring."

"All too often we have attacked the evils and injustices of others," they wrote, "while we have condoned our own sins." They argue, "we must reform our own behavior."

One of the daybooks says the statement is to be released at 9:30 (ET) this Wednesday at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.   Here's the accompanying blurb from the organizers:

Os Guinness, author of "An Evangelical Manifesto"; John Huffman of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church; Richard Mouw of Fuller Theological Seminary; David Neff of Christianity Today; Richard Ohman of Colonial Penn Insurance; and Larry Ross of A. Larry Ross Communications hold a news conference on "An Evangelical Manifesto," to "clarify the confusions and corruptions surrounding the term 'Evangelical' that have grown so deep that the character of what it means has been obscured and its importance lost."

You may recall that Os Guiness was a drafter of The Williamsburg Charter, a statement on religious freedom that was released in 1988 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Virginia's call for the Bill of Rights.

UPDATE (5/16):  I've written two other posts about this statement.  They are here and here.

Comments

[Grupetti]

It put a smile on my face to see Land and Dobson being Left Behind here. I'm really curious to see the full list of signers.

[Melissa Rogers]

Grupetti, what did you think of the statement?