As major fan of products produced by Apple, I was disappointed to read this morning that it had pulled an, “anti-gay app” from the iTunes store, as the headline put it.
Anti-gay? What could this app be? My mind set to racing. Perhaps the Westboro Baptist Church loonies finally became tech-savvy enough to create an app. Maybe there was a fringe group who decided to write an app about the abomination of homosexual behavior. Labeling the app as, “anti-gay” made me think that it must be something profoundly negative and inherently belittling of homosexual behavior.
What I found was that Apple had been beckoned by activists at the Huffington Post to pull the app bearing the Manhattan Declaration.
App affirming marriage as one man and one woman gets the boot from iTunes.
If you don’t know, last year (right around Thanksgiving, as a matter of fact), religious leaders from Evangelical, Catholic, and Orthodox traditions united to sign a statement that was billed as, “a call of Christian conscience.” Most notably, Chuck Colson and Robert P. George were chief in developing the document that explained historical, philosophical, and theological support for pro-life, pro-marriage, and pro-religious liberty positions.
Now, the statement was not without controversy upon its release – even within the Christian world. Dr. John MacArthur and others declined to sign onto the statement because it conflated Protestant and Catholic theology – a conflation the Reformers died to separate under the Reformation’s cry of sola scriptura.
Naturally, for those who wish to expand the rhetoric of pro-choice politics, redefine marriage, or limit religious freedom to freedom of worship, the Manhattan Declaration was a lightening rod for criticism. But the most “lightening” came from same-sex activists.
But, my purpose is not to recall the history (or histrionics) of all that has happened since the November 2009 release of the Manhattan Declaration. I want to look at the current complaints and compare it to the target. Is the Manhattan Declaration a statement of Orthodox belief or little more than a belittling, bigoted rhetoric of an out-of-touch religious right?
About Jeremy Dys
Jeremy Dys is the FPCWV's President and General Counsel. In addition to his duties of providing strategic vision and leadership to the FPCWV, Dys is the chief lobbyist and spokesman. Dys is regularly featured in local, state, and national print, radio, and television outlets. He lives close to Charleston with his wife and growing family.
