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Tragically, our culture is already confused. A recent Gallup poll revealed that 40 percent of Americans, and 61 percent of younger Americans, think same-sex marriages should be legal.

Clearly, our culture has severed the tie between marriage and its purposes: procreation and spousal unity. Even many Christians accept the notion that sex is intended primarily for pleasure. And if sex is merely recreational, what's the rationale for denying marriage to gay couples? If heterosexuals can legalize their "recreation," why shouldn't gays?

Christians have to regain the high moral ground, making—to our secular neighbors—the natural order arguments that define the purposes of sex as unitive and procreative, and marriage as the stable, one-man, one-woman institution in which to rear children. This means we will have to be just as critical of heterosexuals engaging in extramarital, recreational sex as we are of homosexual behavior.

The stakes could not be higher. If we fail, we will embark on a social experiment no culture in history has dared attempt—and which no culture can survive.

Copyright © 2003 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Christianity Today's earlier coverage of Lawrence v. Texas includes:

The Next Sexual Revolution | By practicing what it preaches on marriage, the church could transform society. A Christianity Today editorial (Aug. 27, 2003)

The Marriage Battle Begins | Profamily and gay activists agree: Texas decision sets significant precedent (Aug. 11, 2003)

Opinion Roundup: Does Lawrence v. Texas Signal the End of the American Family? | Evangelicals may not agree on antisodomy laws, but they're all concerned about what the Supreme Court's decision of them means (June 30, 2003)

The Lawrence v. Texas opinion is available at the Supreme Court web site.

Dick Staub earlier interviewed J. Budziszewski on our site.

The Clash of Orthodoxies is available from Amazon.com and other booksellers

Recent Charles Colson columns for Christianity Today include:

Being Here | Why we should sink our roots in the places we call home (July 28, 2003)

Beyond Condoms | To alleviate AIDS, we must sharpen our moral vision. (June 10, 2003)

Taming Beasts | Raising the moral status of dogs has created a breed of snarling, dangerous humans. (April 3, 2003)

Faith vs. Statistics | Beware of doing ethics by crunching numbers. (Jan. 28, 2003)

Just War in Iraq | Sometimes going to war is the charitable thing to do. (Dec. 10, 2002)

A Clan of One's Own | Hacking through the jungle of identity politics. (Oct. 9, 2002)

Undaunted | Bioethics challenges are huge. But so is God. (July 31, 2002)

The Wages of Secularism | New laws won't prevent another Enron. (June 4, 2002)

More Doctrine, Not Less | We need to proclaim truth to a truth-impaired generation. (April 15, 2001)

Post-Truth Society | The recent trend of lying is no accident. (March 4, 2002)

Drawing the Battle Lines | We need to be informed and discerning about the Islamic worldview. (Jan. 9, 2002)

Wake-up Call | If September 11 was a divine warning, it's God's people who are being warned. (Nov. 5, 2001)

The New Tyranny | Biotechnology threatens to turn humanity into raw material. (Oct. 5, 2001)

Merchants of Cool | We should be angry that the media hawks violence and that parents allow it. (June 6, 2001)

Slouching into Sloth | The XFL is but the latest sign of the coarsening of our culture. (Apr. 17, 2001)

Checks and (out of) Balance | Moral truth is in jeopardy when the courts enter the business of making law. (Feb. 27, 2001)

Pander Politics | Poll-driven elections turn voters into self-seeking consumers.(Jan. 3, 2001)

Neighborhood Outpost | Changing a culture takes more than politics. (Nov.8, 2000)

MAD No More | In this post-Cold War era, it's time to rethink our nation's defensive strategy. (Sept. 27, 2000)

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October 2003, Vol. 47, No. 10