The biblical vision of marriage is astoundingly rich and important. God established marriage as the life-long union of a man and a woman in covenantal faithfulness, integrity, and monogamy. As the Scripture makes clear, marriage is a deeply moral institution, touching the most intimate and spiritual dimensions of our lives. Of course, it is also the metaphor for the relationship of Christ and the Church, Bridegroom and Bride.

Is the battle against same-sex marriage already lost? With homosexual marriage now legal in Massachusetts and with momentum toward legalization now spreading across the nation, homosexual advocates are increasingly confident that victory is in sight. Now, some conservatives are beginning to wonder if the gay activists might be right. Christopher Caldwell, writing in The Financial Times, notes the momentum of the gay rights movement as it achieved its great victory in Massachusetts. “In gaining full legal marriage rights in an important state, American gays have effected the quickest transition from pariah status to protected status in the history of civil rights movements.” Caldwell appears certain that same-sex marriage is now an established social reality. Today, Dr. Mohler asks if some conservatives have already admitted defeat.

The Federal “Marriage Protection Amendment” is set to hit the floor of the U.S. Senate today, though opponents may block a yes or no vote. In any event, it is an important event. Opponents of the measure have now found their mantra, arguing that it is “wrong to write bigotry into the Constitution.” In other words, the only motivation for protecting marriage is bigotry. The opponents are also trying a new tactic, arguing that the decision is best left to the states.

Observing the landscape of America’s contentious debate over marriage, scholar Stanley Kurtz of the Hudson Institute, remarks, “It has become necessary to offer a case against polygamy.” That such a claim would appear so utterly reasonable in our times is a clear sign that marriage is in big trouble. That trouble is not, for the most part, localized on the issue of polygamy, but the question of polygamy hangs over current controversies concerning same-sex marriage and the legal status of marriage as a social institution. In today’s Commentary, Dr. Mohler considers Kurtz’s new article in the current edition of the Weekly Standard.

Don’t get too excited, but I have found a basis for some agreement with John Shelby Spong, the liberal retired Episcopal bishop of Newark, New Jersey. It probably had to happen sooner or later.

“For the first time in its history, Western civilization is confronted with the need to define the meaning of the terms ‘marriage’ and ‘family.’” So states author Andreas J. Kostenberger who, with the assistance of David W. Jones has written God, Marriage, and Family: Rebuilding the Biblical Foundation. Read Dr. Mohler’s review and commentary on the book today.

The big news out of Britain today is the announcement that a 63-year old psychiatrist is pregnant, thanks to a donor egg and the services of the controversial Italian fertility specialist, Dr. Severino Antinori.

Former Sen. John Danforth addressed the Log Cabin Republicans this past Saturday night, accepting the group’s enthusiastic approval when he called efforts to ban same-sex marriage as “silly.” The Log Cabin Republicans are committed to the homosexual agenda, and seek to influence the Republican Party in this direction. Sen. Danforth, who retired from the Senate in 1995, is just the kind of Republican the Log Cabin Republicans would like to see set the direction of the party.

The Christian Science Monitor offers a report that confirms once again what many observers have noted — that marriage is fast disappearing as a normative social institution, especially among the young in Europe.