“Save the Planet: Have Fewer Kids” As shocking as I hope that sounds to you, that is the exact title of a news story that Yahoo! News ran on 8.4.09. A study released by Oregon State University concluded that one way to reduce your “carbon footprint” was to have fewer kids! Team member Paul Murtaugh was quoted as saying, “an added challenge facing us is continuing population growth (emphasis mine) and increasing global consumption of resources. When an individual produces a child - and that child potentially produces more descendants in the future - the effect on the environment can be many times the impact produced by a person during their lifetime.” Additional reasons that increasing population growth harms the environment are generation of more waste, more taxing of water supplies, more divorce effects such as two homes instead of one, and increasing obesity since food production is a major contributor to global warming!

If you are like me, by now you are either laughing at how foolish agenda-driven science can become or horrified at where agenda-driven science is taking us - or both!

The ridiculous end of this logic is that the planet can be saved if there were no more humans! If everyone will stop reproducing, eventually the human race will die off, and our planet will be free from this eco-destroying virus, homosapiens.

A couple of observations leap at me from this article. (1) The anti-biblical worldview that is at the heart of radical environmental preservation, animal rights, the pro-choice platform, and the cultural mindset that children are a bother and not a blessing has come full circle! They are now one-and-the-same cause! (Now, hear me well, I am for responsible care for our environment and animal life based on my belief in a Creator and His purposes for creation. I am in no way, however, inclined at ALL to pro-choice or the “children are burdensome” ideologies. Again, for the same reason. I believe in the Creator and His purposes for creation!) (2) In particular, the call to not have children - or to be fair - the call to have “fewer” children so as to save the planet, is in direct opposition to the biblical call to “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea (that includes whales!) and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:28) Some earth-lovers may reply, “Population growth is the problem! The last thing we need to do is ‘be fruitful and multiply.’ We have ‘multiplied too much already!” The truth is one only reaches that conclusion from selective data. We do have enough food to feed the world; we just choose to waste it! Resources are here for our preservation; we are not here for the preservation of resources! Nobody wants to talk about the scientific data that suggests the earth goes through climate change every so many years! Should we try to be less harmful and poisonous to the environment? Absolutely, as best we can. Should the government then heavily tax our people to pay for “green” initiatives, go further in debt as a nation or family in order to “reduce carbon footprint,” or pursue radical agendas based on selective science? Absolutely NOT!

This all leads to a most interesting question. Why does the Lord say “be fruitful and multiply” and the world says “have fewer children?” It is because the ultimate end of God’s command to “fill the earth” with humans is His own glory! More humans result in more missions, which results in more worship! (Genesis 1:28, Matthew 24:14, Revelation 5:9,10; 7:9,10) The world’s agenda will always be anti-biblical, anti-God’s glory! But in the end, God will be greatly glorified by every single human that has ever lived on this “passing” earth! (Phil 2:10-11)

In the final analysis, what this agenda leads to may be a surprise to many people. Fewer children actually results in less joy! That’s right! For those of us who are striving to live a biblical worldview, this comes as no surprise. Whatever leads to God’s glory also leads to our joy as well! And children are a blessing from the Lord and a joy to parents who appreciate and love them (Psalm 127:3-5)! I have two children of my own, and my wife and I hope to one day have even more! I simply cannot describe the joy that overflows my heart when I play with them, hear them say “I love you Daddy,” pray with them at bedtime, or just have fun together. They are a blast! I take pictures, collect their drawings, and soak up as much as I can - And it is a joy!