Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered. (C.S. Lewis)

Clear, coherent thinking about marriage is utterly necessary in our current cultural moment. And the beautiful thing about marriage is that it has an objective structure. What marriage IS is clear, whether or not we choose to admit it.

Last week I taught a special lecture entitled “What is Marriage?” My goal was to speak simply and clearly to that fundamental question, showing why only the conjugal view of marriage is philosophically defensible. I chose to work from a natural-law perspective in order to a) help Christians think more broadly about the issue and b) make common cause with those who don’t yet espouse a Christian worldview.

Below you will find audio files for both the lecture and the Q&A, as well as video of the lecture. In the lecture I acknowledge my dependence on the written work by Girgis, Anderson, and George on this subject, which I highly recommend. I am also indebted to the fine people who attended the event and put forward some challenging and thoughtful questions.

What Is Marriage? [Teaching Audio] [Q&A Audio] [PDF Lecture Outline}