“The Manhattan Declaration is an over 4,000-word statement of beliefs signed by over 400,000 people described as ‘a call to Christian conscience’ crafted in 2009. The app version, which includes a four-question poll on same sex marriage and abortion, launched in mid-October,” Martinelli reports. “A spokesperson for the Christian organization told the Daily Caller that the group is appealing Apple’s decision. ‘We’re making the argument that if [Jobs] would take a look at the Manhattan Declaration himself, he’d see it’s not written with any rancor. It’s written on a very even keel..] It’s just appealing to things that people want to come together on, that millions of Americans agree on.'”
Full article here.
Billy Atwell blogs for The Manhattan Declartation, “There are moments in non-profit work, if your goal is to spark social change, when you feel comfortable knowing that your methods are effective. One of those moments is when your radicalized opponents lambast you as homophobic, anti-choice, anti-woman, or something similar. I do not find comfort in these words, or find them in any way accurate, but appreciate that the message of truth is at least reaching their ears.”
“The Manhattan Declaration iPhone application was released October 14, 2010 as a resource to our loyal supporters,” Atwell writes. “But to a radicalized blog dedicated to promoting abortion, denigrating the dignity of women and the unborn, and supporting unnatural unions, this application is the scourge of human existence. What does that tell me? It tells me that we’re doing something right.”
Full article here.
The Manhattan declaration can be read in full here.
Reading the comments again, which side of the debate on this page is spewing the hate speech? Obviously the Christophobes.
I don’t agree with the folks behind this app at all, but I do believe in the First Amendment, so Bloom, no I don’t believe in quarantining ideas just because we don’t like them. The nature of free speech is that, short of the direct incitement to violence, it can be freely given and freely ignored.
I also believe in a company’s right to decide what it wants to sell. And I think the law gives Apple that right, short of antitrust or other legal constraints. While I do not agree with all of Apple’s political views either, I think they have the right to decide what to sell in their store. If it makes some people mad, either way, that is one of the perils of a nominally free market.
The appropriate place to read the “Manhattan Declaration”
is before the start of every NASCAR race during the
‘invocation’ when some preacher huckster prays to
Jesus that no driver gets hurt while military fighter jets
are flying overhead and soldiers AWOL from fighting
in Iraq or Afghanistan are parading around with flags.
for those worrying about this groups rights- don’t forget Apple edits song titles – won’t sell certain books etc. this is no different. And as this group says they have millions of followers they don’t need an app for them then
Why is it that the ultra anti choice, anti freedom of religion and anti privacy always runs to the freedom of speech clause when an individual or non-governmental entity exercises their rights to not provide these small minded individuals or entities a platform to further spew their intolerance and hate? Freedom of speech does not require me or any other person or non-governmental entity to provide you any privileges in my house, web site or business to spout or post your narrow minded bigotry. Bravo Apple for removing toxic material that is offensive to some members of society.
Dont fsck with my rights!!!!! As a woman its very insulting with these fscking xtians believing the bullSHIT they believe. HATERS? bring it bitches. U started that shit and were just calling u out. If it were the other way around ud b feeling the same. Lyers, hypocrites.
@ cogitoergomac
“…direct incitement to violence…”
You’re on a slippery slope here. Can
you precisely define the difference
between “incitement to violence”
and “direct incitement to violence”?
Atheist. Intelligence prevails. Now that is how I “think different”. The only intelligent answer is to realize there is no God. At least not in the way the bible, koran, or “man” thinks of God.
May The Force be with you.
40% in favour of seinstating the app.
You can tell that Americans make up a significant part of this forum!
If u feel so threatened by gay marriage then why do u need an amendment? Can i vote on ur bad marriages? Feeling the need to keep others down makes u feel so holy. Sorry to tell u but the bible was written by MEN NOT GOD. Religeon is there only to control people and there wallets. Power n money is what xtianity is all about.
Which clause is that?
@MacInfo
Really? So you’re telling me there was a point in your life when you chose to be straight?
As a gay man myself, your logic and ignorance baffles me. I don’t know why anyone would actually choose to be gay; choose to have more than 1,500 less rights and privileges that you enjoy on a daily basis and choose to be discriminated against by your own community, friends and even family. Maybe one day you’ll choose to gay and you can see for yourself. When that day comes, call me, we’ll grab a drink.
Most so-called “Christophobes” are leary of “Christians” with good reason. There are, of course, millions of Christians who are simply living their lives and don’t get in anyone’s face about anything. But the Christian right is composed in large measure of bonafide zealots whose mission is to ram their beliefs down other people’s throats. All I have to say to them is “STFU!”
It is interesting that folks talk about how hateful the Manhattan Declaration is, have you read it? While I have not read every comment I seem to find the four letter words describing the supporters of the Manhattan Declartion. You will find no words like that in the document, nor will you find people of the opposite opinion degraded or devalued. Instead of a real discussion all these folks (the ones making the comments on this blog) seem to be able to do is attack the character of the people who are taking a stand. These folks are baciscally making an “ad hominem” argument. In plain english, if you can’t really discuss the issue, just attack the people making the argument. Apple should let the app back in the app store.
There is nothing to stop this group from making a web site (which I assume they’ve already done), which is easy to get to with mobile Safari. Freedom of Speech is a right to be free of government interference (within limits), not private business.
Stop pushing the gay, anti-marriage, anti-American agenda you commies! Put it back in the App store.
To Tim – 40%? You are surely joking, using a new form of math or skipped over 80% of the posts. I see them running about 4 to 1 (at best) in support of Apple or against religious bigotry. Says a lot about the open mindedness of the readers of MacDailyNews. That said, I am sure ur Christian right wingers and a.m. Talking heads will blame it on Soros, or MSM, or Obama, or whatever the latest evil of the day flavor may be
Soros, or MSM, or Obama = Ultimate EVIL
If Christianity is supposed to make human kind a better specie then why did Christians kill and torture so many people during the inquisition tribunals and the throughout history? Why did they kill so many during the Crusades? So on and so forth…
Pull all hate-apps and never allow any other.
Chill out, would you? The hate your spewing is making it difficult to read your posts.
Fsck your God. Keep it in your church, not on a public forum like an App Store.
Obviously, MDN felt the site needed more clicks.
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Apple can do anything it wants in regard to its App Store. That’s how capitalism works. I’m surprised to see right-wing folks complaining about that.
Personally, I think parts of the “Manhattan Declaration” defy logic. For example, the declaration’s concern about the destabilization and destruction of the family relates much of that to gay marriage. Sorry, but I’m not reading lots of news stories about gay men and women abusing children they’ve adopted. Guess who does that? It’s invariably young wives and husbands, or young women who have a boyfriend.
This part is blatantly false, highly political and inflammatory…The President and many in Congress favor the expansion of embryo-research to include the taxpayer funding of so-called “therapeutic cloning.” This would result in the industrial mass production of human embryos to be killed for the purpose of producing genetically customized stem cell lines and tissues. At the other end of life, an increasingly powerful movement to promote assisted suicide and “voluntary” euthanasia threatens the lives of vulnerable elderly and disabled persons. Eugenic notions such as the doctrine of lebensunwertes Leben (“life unworthy of life”) were first advanced in the 1920s by intellectuals in the elite salons of America and Europe. Long buried in ignominy after the horrors of the mid-20th century, they have returned from the grave. The only difference is that now the doctrines of the eugenicists are dressed up in the language of “liberty,” “autonomy,” and “choice.”
That section reeks of the same screaming ignorance embodied by the shrill cries of “death panels” that we heard last year.
What is the “increasingly powerful movement to promote assisted suicide and “voluntary” euthanasia (that) threatens the lives of vulnerable elderly and disabled persons.” Are the funeral homes behind this?
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”rolleyes” style=”border:0;” /> What utter crap.
I wonder how the Manhattan Declaration writers deal with the scores of embryos created. . .and later discarded. . .through infertility treatments? I guess those are OK.
Anyone who has watched a family member’s condition deteriorate while waiting for a transplant might have something to say about the future possibility of cloning one with the help of that person’s own stem cells.
Perhaps the Manhattan folks would think it’s better that the family member die.
your=you’re
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” /> I always mess that one up when typing. My bad grammar is making my posts difficult to read.
@ Noahsdaddy,
Nice language.
BIG TY TO APPLE.