I oppose gay marriage – I support gay unions in a legal sense but a legal contract can never be marriage. When my wife and I met with our pastor prior to getting married, we were clearly told that our union was tripartite – between she, me and God. What God has blessed, let no man tear asunder.

After thinking about it for a bit and looking at the larger context, I have to ask myself if gay marriage is as big a problem as no marriage at all. Children born out of wedlock, women with children from multiple fathers, single mothers raising families without a father (in some cases, this truly may be the best option).

In my mind, these are two distinct issues that are intertwined, two branches that share a common root. Gay marriage is more of a philosophical issue because gays are such a small, but apparently powerful, segment of society. This issue demands that religious rights of Christians be changed by changing our religious rites. Single parent households are a economic and social issue due to their statistically proven detriment to the country. The common root is that each are moral issues with cultural implications.

Every great civilization of history has had defined organizing principles. The Romans had a clearly defined legal and social structure and prospered as long as they adhered to it, coming to an end in 476 AD. As the dust settled from Rome’s pre-medieval version of the Rock’s “San Andreas”, the Christian church became the only reliable institutional framework. As a result, for the next 1500 years or so, most of the most successful and dominant cultures of the western world were built on Christian principles.

The great dynasties in Europe, Russia and England and the nations resulting from those alternately and often simultaneously ruled the world. There was a time the sun never set on the British Empire and to some extent that could be said about France, Spain and believe it or not, the Netherlands (New York City was once New Amsterdam – the Dutch were bankers to the world at one point). All of these were exclusively Christian.

To some extent, like Rome when each began to walk away from Christian cultural organizing principles, they began to fall and their people suffer. Hitler perverted Christian faith to support his atrocities and they fell, taking 6 million Jews and hundreds of thousands of others with them. Russia adopted Marxism, rejected Christianity, fell and are now living under mob rule and the tyranny of Ras al Putin. The UK is now an afterthought in world politics. The EU is a confused, socialist mess on its way to bankruptcy.

America has been isolated to some extent but the faster we turn away from our Christian cultural organizing principles, the faster we fall. President Obama may not be the anti-Christ but he did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night because our fall has accelerated under his rule.

I refuse to judge any individual for their support of, or participation in, any same sex union. That is not my right or duty to do so. Similarly, I would not deem to tell a heterosexual male or female that they had to marry if they have a child together. Both are individual choices that I have no capacity to judge – but what I do have the capacity to observe and comment on is the fact that both acts are negatively portrayed in Christian teachings and that both seem to correlate with a general decline in our culture and society.

It is totally anecdotal (and as James Taranto points out, anecdote is not the plural of data) but I do see a general disregard and disrespect for a cultural organizing principle, one that includes God and some pretty basic, effective spiritual laws and one that has supported the advancement of humankind for 1500 years. Europe’s problems – rising Islamism and Jew hatred – are directly correlated to the closing of Christian churches. America is following a similar path.

Does correlation equal causation? No. Is Christian culture the only cause for prosperity in the Western World? No. Is it perfect? No. Have serious mistakes been made in the name of Christianity? Yes. Are there other factors contributing to the ups and downs? Yes.

What is inarguable is that when cultures begin to deviate from their organizing principles (shared and common beliefs) that hold them together, they eventually fall. As we have transferred more and more leadership to the central government, that government has increased its drive to secularism. We currently have the most secular president in the history of our country. At best he is agnostic, at worst he is anti-Christian. Even progressive presidents like FDR lent spiritual leadership to the country in difficult times, often praying during his “Fireside Chats” and beseeching God for help during his speeches. We receive no spiritual guidance from President Obama – all he offers are Marxist “opiate of the masses” platitudes when he has to be seen as religious.

I think that people turn away from God and Christianity simply because they have rules and these rules inform people that what they want to do is forbidden. The Holy Bible is spiritual law and it is up to the individual to accept or reject them as they will but one thing I know about human nature is that people are often the most angry and defensive when they are called out on things that they know they are not supposed to be doing. I see that as an explanation to the vicious and visceral reaction to opposition to gay marriage – but that is only an observation. I cannot judge, that is between them and God.

I think our decline as a nation has a cause and I do see a relationship with the decline in belief in God. My opinion is my opinion and certainly open to debate but I think it is worth consideration.