In my previous column, I wrote that the unique Judeo-Christian value system that forms the moral basis of American society is under attack by two forces -- the Islamists and the Left. As a prime example of the latter, I offered the movement to redefine marriage to include people of the same sex.

Two leading voices of gay rights, the national gay newspaper The Advocate and the prominent writer Andrew Sullivan, headlined that I equated Islamic terrorists with supporters of same-sex marriage.

I am used to being caricatured -- "Far-Right Columnist Compares Same-Sex Marriage Advocates to Islamic Terrorists" -- rather than have my arguments against redefining marriage responded to. So these reactions did not shock me -- though Andrew Sullivan disappointed me, since we have a long and mutually respectful relationship: He published my writing in his book on same-sex marriage, and I have given him extensive time on my radio show.

So, for the record, I consider the great majority of supporters of same-sex marriage to be thoroughly decent people, and the great majority of supporters of Islamic terror to be loathsome.

But the fact that most supporters of same-sex marriage are thoroughly decent people with loving intentions, as opposed to supporters of Islamic terror who are filled with hate and love death, in no way denies my premise that both are waging war against Judeo-Christian civilization. And that was the subject of my article.

Any further insinuation that I morally equate the people who support same-sex marriage with those who engage in or support Muslim terror is either deliberate distortion or an indication of an inability to think critically.

In my view, proponents of same-sex marriage fall into three categories.

One is the secular Left -- people who seek to end the dominance of Judeo-Christian values in American life. These individuals tend to be the leaders and among the most active supporters of same-sex marriage.

They are animated by their fear and loathing of Bible-based Christians (and Jews) whom they regard as religious fanatics. Destroying the Judeo-Christian definition of marriage is one part of the secular Left's assault. Every vestige of Judeo-Christian America is targeted: public celebrations of Christmas, the mention of God in public schools, "In God We Trust" on our money, the use of the Bible at inaugurations, and much more.

But the end of Judeo-Christian marriage would be by far the Left's biggest success in remaking America in its image.

A second group consists of many well-meaning Americans who are not leftists and who do not yearn for the end of Judeo-Christian values. They simply believe that same-sex marriage is either the right thing to do or, even if wrong, not a big deal.

You can get almost any policy approved by vast numbers of Americans by appealing to their goodness -- which is what the cause of same-sex marriage does. When the average American hears the word "intolerance," he jumps through hoops to avoid being associated with such an awful thing. Moreover, it takes a great deal of thought to understand why tolerance has nothing to do with whether we should change the definition of marriage and family. One can tolerate gay couples, move next door to them, invite them over for a barbecue, love them as fellow family members or just as fellow human beings, and still fight for the preservation of marriage as every civilization has known it.

The third group of supporters of same-sex marriage is the religious Left. Their social values are generally identical to those of the secular Left, but they think of those values as religious. These Jews and Christians say they support same-sex marriage not despite their religious identity, but because of it.

Of the three groups, these individuals, whose sincerity I do not question, are the most confused. Those who wish to overthrow Judeo-Christian values are clear. Those who don't want to overthrow Judeo-Christian values but just want to be tolerant and open-minded are less clear. But those who claim that Christianity or Judaism demand redefining marriage and family are the least clear.

There is nothing in mainstream Christianity or Judaism that supports same-sex marriage. There is nothing biblically supportive -- and there is much biblically opposed -- and there was not one major religious leader or thinker in Jewish or Christian history prior to the present generation who argued for same-sex marriage.

Religious supporters of same-sex marriage have either substituted their own feelings for God, for the Bible, and for religious law or they have simply attached a cross or a yarmulke to their leftist politics.

Clergy and laypeople who stand the Bible on its head, no matter how well-intentioned they may be, are thoroughly distorting Judaism and Christianity. Intellectual honesty demands that they either support same-sex marriage solely from a secular standpoint or create a new religion from which to do so. If Judaism and Christianity do not stand for man-woman marriage and the father-mother family, they stand for nothing.