Tindog posted a thought-provoking article about the motivation of the “Pilgrims” on his blog. And, yes, it provoked my thoughts. “Hey, you thoughts! You’re momma dresses you funny!” No… No, not like that. Sorry.

He asked (edited for brevity):

Would I have the courage and faith to put my family onto a ship … leave everything I have, everything I know to start over completely from scratch … and do it all, not for the chance to strike it rich, but because it was what God was instructing me to do. Honestly, … I don’t know if I could let go of my house, my car, my stuff, my safe and comfortable life and trade it for an uncertain and potentially disastrous future. And not just me, but choose that path for my wife and daughters, too.

I certainly understand his sentiment, but might I posit the following:

To really compare your faith and grit to that of the Puritan Pilgrims, you have to submerge yourself into their time and predicament. Tindog correctly recalls that the reason they left the comforts of home was that they “believed that the Church of England had become so tainted by politics and man-made doctrine that it was beyond reform.” In fact, the Church of England, and it’s chief (the King) didn’t take kindly to criticism and severely persecuted the Puritans. (ref: Wikipedia)

So the real question becomes: Would you be able to risk your comfort, health and safety (and that of your family) if the State (and by that I mean governing body with the power to take all of those things away from you anyway) insisted that your religion was not only false, but an affront to said State, and that same State had every intention of doing all in it’s power to stamp out your religion even if it meant jailing or killing you or your family?

I think the answer just got a lot more elementary.

And all this brings me to one (of the many) major news item I missed during my absence last week, the Manhattan Declaration (click the image for the official website).

Please, no matter what your religious belief or affiliation, read the declaration. It will only take a few minutes. If, after you’ve read it, you find that you agree, sign it, then live it.

In short, the Manhattan Declaration is a historical, unprecedented statement of unity among the various Christian faiths in the U.S. It establishes that, regardless of our differences, Christians must stand up against government and cultural pressure and stand for 1) the sanctity of all human life, 2) the sanctity of marriage, and 3) the right of religious expression. It also recognizes that, at times, non-violent civil disobedience may be required in order to maintain our religious beliefs. I don’t mean to sound like a doom-and-gloom conspiracy theorist, but there may yet come a day where we Christians must make that Puritanical decision to turn our back on comfort, health and safety in obedience to God. God help us if it comes to that. (But don’t worry. He will.)