Introducing Marriage Generation

Have you heard of the just-launched pro-marriage initiative called Marriage Generation? A group of friends just launched it: Chris Marlink , Eric Teetsel, Andrew Walker, and yours very truly.

Just this past week we met in Washington, D. C. to strategize about its promotion. While in town, I also attended the Marriage March, which went off with a bang. The diversity and youthfulness of the crowd encouraged me. It was a joy to represent CBMW during this momentous week and to connect with such like-minded DC friends and institutions as Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA), the Manhattan Declaration, Heritage Foundation, the Institute for Religion & Democracy, and the Family Research Council. Mark Tooley of the IRD penned some gracious thoughts on these events here.

Marriage Generation (Twitter here) is not formally associated with a particular organization or ministry, and it’s actually intended to be a place featuring a broad range of pro-marriage voices. I just did an interview with Kevin DeYoung; here’s a piece from Moriah Sunde on the meaning of her husband. It’s poignant and powerful.

MG articulates five core principles about marriage. I would encourage you to think these over, sign your solidarity with them, and incorporate them into your conversations as a thinking evangelical:

1. Virtually every civilization throughout human history has recognized and upheld marriage as the permanent, exclusive and comprehensive union of one man and one woman.

2. Marriage uniquely provides for both the creation and nurturing of children.

3. The State has a compelling interest in upholding the meaning and purpose of marriage because marriage is the beginning of family, and family is the foundation of society.

4. Affirming the meaning and purpose of marriage through the law is an important and necessary step, but an insufficient one. As a society, we must redouble efforts to promote a culture of marriage and family, for the common good of all current and future citizens.

5. Recognizing the dignity of every human being and ensuring they receive the full protection of the law can and must be accomplished without redefining the meaning and purpose of marriage.

Read more from Marriage Generation at the blog, and sign the statement here.

By the way, if you want to see a fairly remarkable debate, check out Ryan Anderson’s recent appearance on the Piers Morgan show. Ryan winsomely made a very strong public-square case for marriage. See also these helpful remarks from Andrew Walker in a NewsMax interview. His discussion of the three major reasons to support marriage is very sharp.