Christians from both sides of the political spectrum, left as well as right, have made the mistake of politicizing faith; and it would be no improvement to respond to a weakening of the religious right with a rejuvenation of the religious left. Whichever side it comes from, a politicized faith is faithless, foolish, and disastrous for the church—and disastrous first and foremost for Christian reasons rather than constitutional reasons.

Contrary to the assessment of some conservative commentators, nowhere does the “Manifesto” condemn evangelical political engagement. Rather, it rightly points out that political engagement, while certainly the duty of every Christian citizen, is not the priority of the Church. In calling for the Church to rise above the din and the noise of politics, some have characterized the “Manifesto” as a demand for Christian withdrawal from the political process. Some read Guinness’ call for “civility” as a call for compromise on the issues important to conservatives, a ruse to get us to drop our guard on abortion and same-sex marriage while the liberals change the priorities to global warming and AIDS/HIV. This erroneous conclusion misses the point of what civility means in the marketplace of ideas.

In reality the “Manifesto” pricks our consciences by pointing out that the place of the Bible in the pulpit as the authoritative word for moral and spiritual change in the culture has been drowned by pro-family political action committees to which the Church has abdicated its prophetic office. We declare in our creed that we have no king but Jesus, yet betray by our actions that our hope is firmly rooted in the outcome of the next presidential election. We have taught our people how to vote (and for whom to vote) all the while leaving them clueless as to how to pray (and for whom to pray). While we frantically sort through labels to determine whether we are on the right, left or middle we are deaf to the Word which calls us heavenward (cf. James 3:13-18).

Nothing I have said here should be interpreted as suggesting the “Manifesto” is above thoughtful analysis. My chief concern is with the “interpretation of suspicion” we have imposed on the document. We have allowed our prejudices against some who signed it to call into question the integrity and intentions of those who wrote it.

No one connected with the drafting of the “Manifesto” claims for it a divine imprimatur, as if Dr. Guinness had just returned to us with face aglow from Sinai having received the “Manifesto” on tablets written with God’s own finger. It is, after all, a human document with equally human short-comings. But so was Luther’s 95 Theses. History gives witness to the truth that statements rooted in Scripture endure while those committed to a political agenda quickly fade. History will judge where the principles articulated in “An Evangelical Manifesto” have their roots.