Reducing a question to scale can sometimes be a helpful intellectual step toward understanding. Just how wide is the divide between liberal and conservative Christianity? Just look at the current issue of TIME magazine.

When the California Supreme Court struck down that state’s definition of marriage as a union of a man and a woman it announced a great social and moral revolution. Unless reversed by means of a constitutional amendment, this decision effectively redefined marriage and set a precedent that will reverberate across the nation.

The California Supreme Court’s 4-3 decision striking down the state’s definition of marriage as a union of a man and a woman throws open the door for a massive redefinition of human relationships. The people of California approved Proposition 22 by a huge margin in 2000, clearly stating their understanding of marriage and their desire to protect marriage from legal revision. By a one-vote margin, their state Supreme Court renounced the will of the people.  The ruling is both revolutionary and radical.  It sets the stage for a much broader reorganization of human society.

The United Methodist Church voted this week to maintain its official policy that homosexual activity is “incompatible with Christian teaching.” The policy of the church also prohibits the recognition or celebration of same-sex relationships.

“Honey, we may be married, but we still know how to have a good time, don’t we?” That statement was made by Joshua Janson, age 25, to his husband, Benjamin McGuire, also 25. The reality of young homosexual men getting married in Massachusetts caught the attention of The New York Times Magazine and writer Benoit Denizet-Lewis.