By Andy Comiskey

The main resistance I hear from Christians friends when I implore them to fight gay marriage is: “Christians should stay out of politics,” or “We should not legislate morality.”

Now admittedly, if one views the world around him or her as a necessary evil to be tolerated at a distance with those in his or her community of faith, then the conversation ends. But if one takes seriously the public good as an aspect of faith, then we can talk.

As members of a democracy, each of us can have a say in what that public good can be, and how we can influence that good. Yet we do so with care. In a pluralistic culture that values a variety of religious beliefs, we cannot insist that all can or should share our particular faith. Faith informs what we assume the public good to be. Yet we must make our case for the public good using language and reasoning that can be understood by all, not just the faithful.

For me, the public good of marriage is at stake. California’s Supreme Court ruling in May mandated ‘gay marriage’ and in so doing interjected evil into the most important institution of civilized society. In resisting the Court, I am not asserting anything radically evangelistic upon the masses. Informed by ‘the great cloud of witnesses’ that surrounds the Judeo-Christian tradition of marriage, I am simply seeking to protect the true and historic definition of marriage. For the good of all.

It is naïve and short-sighted for any Christian to stand idly by while gay activists change the DNA of marriage. It justifies an apt criticism of American faith which Pope Benedict XVI made during his recent trip to the USA. He noted the coexistence of strong faith and an equally strong secular society; he observed how that divide resulted in Americans not living out the beliefs they espoused. “Thus, there is a growing separation of faith from life…We need to reassess the values underpinning society, so that a sound moral foundation can be offered to young people and adults alike.”

Let’s seek to consider how we might live out a commitment to the values that underlie marriage. Then we can (and I think should) ask how we might influence others to resist gay marriage. For the good of all.

From DesertStream.org