Has Religious America Finally Awakened?

As we reported Monday, some high-profile religious leaders have issued a manifesto urging people of faith to fight back against liberal social policy and rampant secularism.

The document is entitled "The Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience," and it basically says that American Christians are under fire, that their belief system is being demeaned.

The declaration opens with these words: "Christians are heirs of a 2,000-year tradition of proclaiming God's word, seeking justice in our societies, resisting tyranny and reaching out with compassion to the poor, oppressed and suffering."

Then the document goes on to say that pro-abortion ideology is prevailing in our government and that all human life is being diminished as a result.

The statement also says that marriage is under siege: "We must stop glamorizing promiscuity and infidelity and restore among our people a sense of the profound beauty, mystery and holiness of faithful marital love."

The manifesto then goes on to say that same sex and multiple partner marriage is causing the erosion of the marriage culture in America: "Marriage is made possible by the sexual complementarity of man and woman. No one has a civil right to have a non-marital relationship treated as a marriage."

So obviously these religious leaders are throwing down the gauntlet on life and marriage.

But then they up the ante, urging Americans of faith to actively oppose anti-Christian laws: "Unjust laws degrade human beings. They lack any power to bind in conscience. [Martin Luther] King's willingness to go to jail, rather than comply with legal injustice, was exemplary and inspiring."

That's a strong statement because it encourages civil disobedience.

The clerics who wrote the manifesto end by saying: "We will not comply with any edict that purports to compel our institutions to participate in abortions, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide and euthanasia, or any other anti-life act; nor will we bend to any rule purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual partnerships [and] treat them as marriages."

So the question becomes: Will Americans of faith rally to this provocative point of view? If they do, the culture war will become very intense.

And that's "The Memo."

Pinheads & Patriots

Celebrity chef Paula Deen was recently giving out turkeys and hams at a charity function. Well, things got a little out of hand, and Ms. Deen got whacked with a ham right in the kisser. She took it with a great deal of humor saying, "I just got hit with a hog."

For grace under fire, Ms. Deen is a patriot.

On the pinhead front, Christmas is coming and that means the toymakers are gearing up big time. But unfortunately, Mattel, which makes Barbie dolls, is marketing two questionable images.

The first is the "Burka Barbie," which is just dumb. Not really offensive, just dumb.

The second is "Sugar Daddy Ken." A sugar daddy is apparently a rich guy who spends lots of money on younger women. Great message for little girls, right?

The CEO of Mattel, Bob Eckert, is a pinhead. Give the kids a break, OK.

— You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Pinheads & Patriots" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the FOX News Channel and any time on foxnews.com/oreilly. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com