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[Escape]

I'm researching overpopulation and means to reduce it, and keep coming across Christian websites worrying themselves endlessly about dropping birth rates across the world. In my books, overpopulation strains the planet and humans' ability to live in harmony with all of God's bounty (trying to recreate religious language here). So why the focus on increasing births and population? I know Islam also preaches having as many kids as possible, but I had understood that was an attempt to "take over the world".

[jimwalton]

I'm not aware that it's a "Christian" thing. It's a personal decision. I'm not a Catholic, but it's my understanding that traditionally Catholic parents had more children because of the Church's rules about contraception, but that has no bearing on Protestants. As far as I know. there's no rule or understanding of "We have to have lots of kids! We're Christians!" People have what they personally choose for their families.

I agree that overpopulation is a growing problem (pun intended). It's astounding that the earth can sustain a population of 7.5B, but it's hard to imagine we can go much higher without even more serious problems than now exist.

> why the focus on increasing births and population?

I know of no focus on increasing births and the population.

> I had understood that was an attempt to "take over the world".

It is the desire of Christians to take over the world on the basis of "love for one's neighbor" and spreading the truth to every corner. But Christians have no goal of taking over the world via sheer force of numbers.

I know the Bible says, "Be fruitful and multiply" (Gn. 1.28), but that's a blessing, not a command. The verse specifically says, "God blessed them and said," not "God commanded them and said..."

Van Leeuwen says, "This is not a commandment, but a blessing. It does not refer to what humans must do to please God, but to what God does for and through humankind. The text says God blessed them and said to them 'be fruitful and multiply.' Fertility is not a command but a blessing. The filling of the earth is a gift of God’s wisdom and shows forth his glory as Creator (Ps. 103.24, 31; Isa. 6.3). Cf. Gn. 24.60. The upshot is that God does not command humans to be fruitful. Rather, he himself will bless his creatures and see to it that they are fruitful."

[Hyperdrive]

> I know of no focus on increasing births and the population.

He's probably thinking of the much more fringe Quiver Full people (https://www.quiverfulladoptions.com), or Quiverfull theology (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiverfull). Is that right, Escape?

[jimwalton]

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiverfull) estimates the number of adherents or subscribers to this position as quite minuscule: "One 2006 estimate put the number of families which subscribe to this philosophy as ranging from "the thousands to the low tens of thousands." With 2.2 billion Christians on the planet, it's not exactly representative of our faith.