Manhattan Declaration

The following is an email I received soliciting me t sign a petition supporting the "Manhattan Declaratipon". The Declaration's goals are described in the email.

I composed the response at the bottom as I have not seen any comparable reply to thee solicitations. Common sense is the least common thing in the world, it would seem.
JSH
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Subject: Manhattan Declaration
Friends, If this is your religious persuasion, I invite you to go to the website below and sign the "Manhattan Declaration".

From the website:

We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are:
1 the sanctity of human life
2 the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife
3 the rights of conscience and religious liberty.
Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of society, they are inviolable and non-negotiable. Because they are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture, we are compelled today to speak out forcefully in their defense, and to commit ourselves to honoring them fully no matter what pressures are brought upon us and our institutions to abandon or compromise them. We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
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I am puzzled why anyone would want to interfere with any other person's right to live life as they wish. For example, the proposition that a gay couple's desire to wed somehow "threatens the institution of marriage" seems completely without any logical basis. If I, a male heterosexual, want to marry a woman, how could two gay people getting married threaten me in any way? How could that threaten the "dignity" of my marriage? My marriage's dignity is something I have to maintain. No one else has anything to do with it. Seems like the objection is just a tabloidism - a catch-phrase to use as a rationalization for trying to interfere with other people's rights. If one is a confident, comfortable, married heterosexual, homosexuality is no threat at all. (If I like vanilla ice cream and you like pistachio, how does that threaten the "dignity" of MY ice-cream?}

The same truth applies to all matters of faith and belief. If one's faith is genuine and solid, one doesn't need 10,000 people agreeing with you. In fact, it doesn't matter if no one else shares your belief. Belief and faith are entirely personal. It is not something proven by counting on a crowd.(As I recall it, when Jesus was on the cross he didn't ask for a show of hands or count the crowd of his supporters. He just called out to his Father.)

So, as far as stem cells, abortion, "matters of faith and belief", all these are personal matters. They are not something to be put up to a vote and the majority rules (and the minority should be punished or jailed.) Personal faiths and beliefs, are personal. They don't require consensus. If a consensus is required, one didn't have a true belief in the first place. It was just insecurity - searching for the reassurance of the crowd mentality.

J.S. Hochman MD