On Nov. 20^th 2009, at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, Chuck Colson, surrounded by Catholic, Orthodox and evangelical leaders, unveiled a nine-page, 4,732-word document entitled "The Manhattan Declaration - A Call of Christian Conscience". Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship described the document as a "clear message to civil authorities" on issues pertaining to life, marriage, and religious liberty.

The names of well-known evangelical leaders, such as J.I. Packer, Tim Keller, Wayne Grudem, Albert Mohler and Ligion Duncan, etc. appeared among the 148 original signatories. Additionally, popular evangelical blogs, like Justin Taylor's - Between Two Worlds (now hosted by The Gospel Coalition) have strongly promoted the document and encouraged evangelicals to add their signatures to this declaration.

A few evangelical leaders, such as Albert Mohler, have publicly expressed their reasons for signing. One, Dr. Neil Nielson, president of Covenant College even wrote about "Why I Almost Didn't Sign the Manhattan Declaration".

However, other evangelical leaders such as Alistair Begg, Michael Horton, John MacArthur and R.C. Sproul have found it necessary to address the issue and post, via the web, the reasons why they have not signed the document.

Most recently, the popular evangelical apologist, James White, Director of Alpha & Omega Ministries, in a strongly worded statement, called for evangelical leaders to publicly remove their signatures and support from this document. The conclusion of his statement says; "Finally, I call upon those who have been caught up in the euphoria of "joining together" at the cost of the gospel to withdraw their signatures from the Manhattan Declaration, but to do so only in conjunction with a clear affirmation not only of the noble elements of defense of life, marriage, and freedom, but to do so in the context of an open and public profession of the centrality of the gospel as the sole means by which the hearts of men and women can be changed to God's glory. I call upon pastors and elders to give serious consideration to this matter, and to address it openly, in light of the concerted effort of Colson, George, and others, to promote this document and its ever clearer compromise of the gospel itself."

Further still, some evangelicals have begun to wonder outloud what impact this growing tention over the declaration will have on the "Together for the Gospel" organization (which is made up of signers and non-signers alike).

Just a few days ago T4G member, Ligon Duncan, in his role as president of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, wrote an article on The Manhattan Declaration on the Reformation 21 website. In one of the concluding paragraphs of that article he states: "The issue boils down to a matter of judgment, not a disagreement in principle, between those Council members who signed and didn't sign. The non-signers believe that the content of the document and the associations of the primary authors imply an ECT-like confusion about the Gospel. The signers believe that the explicit assertions and emphasis of the documents relate only to areas of principled social-ethical agreement between evangelicals and non-evangelicals. Further, they believe that it is important for individuals from the major quadrants of the historic Christian tradition to speak on these pressing matters in solidarity."

On the program today, I will speak with Dr. Ligon Duncan about the Manhattan Declaration and the issues it has raised in the evangelical community. Dr. Duncan has graciously agreed to be on the program to further articulate why he signed and answer some of the questions raised by those who disagree with evangelical participation in this declaration.

NOTE: this is a live call-in radio program. I will be taking calls during the broadcast. However, if you call please keep your questions/comments brief to allow other callers access. Additionally, you may want to submit your question/comment via email (Kevin@KnowingTheTruth.org) prior to the program, I will do my best to work them into the conversation. My Twitter account (KnowingTheTruth) will also be up and running during the program.