Gay Marriage and Islamic Polygamy

One can only tolerate that which with we disagree.

We may disagree with another person's religious beliefs, e.g., Islam. Yet, we should tolerate their beliefs on the civil or social level. If, however, a Muslim man wants to acquire another wife, this will entail him changing the laws of the land which would make polygamy legal. At this point it would require a political and social debate. The Islamic community would need to show that polygamy would serve as a public good.

There would be considerable opposition to this legal change, especially from the Christian community. But democracy is open to exchange and competition of ideas.

This is the same with gay marriage. It is an issue of civil debate. The Christian community is tolerant of homosexuals. But we don't believe that homosexual marriage is in the interest of the public good. So, it is not because of bigotry we oppose it. It is because we don't believe it serves in the interest of the public good.

Importance of Understanding Culture

A Christianity that is indifferent to its cultural environment is captive to its culture. A faith that is not aware of its culture reinforces the cultural definitions which so easily dupe the believers who live in it. Nowhere is this so evident as in the ready Christian acceptance of the cultural ideology that religion is essentially a private matter of spiritual experience, that religion is a matter of private choice rather than a universal obligation. Against that assumption, we must insist that Christian faith is intensely personal but never private. The Christian gospel is an emphatically public proposal about the nature of the world and our place in it. It is a public way of life obliged to the truth. --adapted thoughts from Richard John Neuhaus