please welcome eric teetsel. [applause] eric, i am going to start with a bread question for you.hy does marriage matter to society? >> how much time do you have? i was thinking about this panel today and realized it was five years ago this sunday by chuck olsen passed robby george about through the first draft of what came to be known is the manhattan declaration. as you said, a manifesto, a wake-up call to the church to be the church of the most important issues of our time, life, marriage and religious liberty. i thought i would read a bit of what the manhattan has to say about this question. it describes marriage as nothing less than the crowning achievement of god's creation. marriage is the first institution of human society. indeed, it is the institution on which all other human institutions have their very foundation and vast human experience claims it is the most important institution for sustaining the health, welfare and education of all persons in a society. marriage matters to case it is good and it plays a central role in god's story for the world in which we live. t

and i'm going to turn first to eric teetsel.r of the manhattan declaration, i call of christian conscience on life marriage and religious liberty founded by chuck colson in 2009. he works to make sure that the declaration served not only as a manifesto by dave movement which continues to inform the public about these issues. eric attended wheaton college and worked at colorado christian university before coming to washington to serve with the values and capitalism project at the american enterprise institute. last year eric was one of several young leaders profiled in "the new york times" under the headline young opponents of marriage undaunted by battle ahead. please welcome eric teetsel. [applause] gonick i'm going to start with a broad question for you. why does marriage matter to society? >> i was thinking it was five years ago this sunday that chuck colson passed robby george with offering the first draft of what came to be known as the manhattan declaration as you set a manifesto but a wake-up call to be the church of the

please welcome eric teetsel. [applause] i'm going to start with a broad question for you.matter to society? i was thinking about the panel and realizing it was five years ago that they tasked him with offering the first draft of what came to be known as the manhattan declaration as you said the manifesto but a wake-up call to the church to be the church on the most important issue of the time, life, marriage and religious liberty. and i thought that i would read just a bit of what the manhattan has to say about this question. it's the first institution of society and indeed it is the institution of which all other human institutions have their very foundation. marriage is the original and most important institution for sustaining the health, welfare and education of all persons in a society. it plays a central role in god's story for the world in which we live. that fact i think is underscored by what for me is about what is coming to the question of marriage and the bible begins with a wedding and it ends with a wedding in a city between christ and his church. of the mill