Things just don?t add up. The polls tell us that a significant majority of American voters oppose same-sex ?marriage.? Yet congressmen and senators tell us that their phones aren?t exactly ringing off the hook over this issue. In fact, they?re hardly getting any calls on the subject at all?not even from Christians. What?s going on?

One explanation might be that, for many secularists who oppose same-sex ?marriage,? it?s just not that big a deal. The general public often shies away from controversial social issues, especially during election years, and no one wants to seem judgmental, after all, in today?s ?tolerant? environment.

But what about Christians? What?s our excuse for staying silent?

I think some don?t really believe this is such a critical battle. To them I can only say?wake up and pay attention. This issue has the potential to redefine and, ultimately, to destroy the institution of marriage in this country?and with marriage goes the family. You can?t ignore this.

But there are other Christians who recognize the importance of the battle over same-sex ?marriage? but are still not speaking up. For many of them, I think the problem is a lack of faith.

Now, that may sound harsh, but I can?t think of a better way to put it. A lot of Christians?even some of our most prominent leaders?seem to have succumbed to a ?What?s the use?? attitude. They believe that the cultural climate has turned so much against us that we?ll never be able to stop the advance of same-sex ?marriage.? And they have heard that we don?t have the votes to pass a constitutional amendment in this session of Congress?so they don?t even want to urge the House and Senate to vote. Some Christian commentators have sounded a defeatist note.

I understand the need to be realistic about the odds we are facing?yes, it?s a tough fight. But it?s quite another thing to believe that because we don?t have the votes today, there?s no reason to fight.

I worked in the U.S. Senate between 1956 and 1960. We fought hard for civil rights bills?against entrenched segregation. Every year the bills were blocked by filibusters. But we kept fighting year after year. So did leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr., and others. By 1964 the voting rights act was passed.

And what about Ronald Reagan, whom we honored just weeks ago?the man who led us to victory in the Cold War? He dared to demand that the Berlin Wall be torn down when almost no one else thought it possible. It took years, but it happened.