Be Fruitful and Multiply
I hate to pick on people. And I really don't like picking on the same person twice in one day. So I'll refrain from picking on Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, for his op-ed piece in Saturday's Louisville Courier-Journal. Instead, I'll pick on the Courier-Journal for deciding that the piece was worthy of publication. (Mohler had originally written it for his website in 2003.)
Mohler argues that couples who decide not to have children are morally irresponsible. "Though childlessness may be made possible by the contraceptive revolution," he writes, "it remains a form of rebellion against God's design and order." Mohler concludes, "The church should insist that the biblical formula calls for adulthood to mean marriage and marriage to mean children."
Yes, there are several examples of biblical couples who are called to have children and who are blessed through their children. (Some biblical heroes also had children with mulitple wives and with their wives' servants. I hope that Dr. Mohler does not endorse such behavior simply because it is biblical.) But I would argue that the Bible does not call for "adulthood to mean marriage." Paul, for example writes, "To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is well for them to remain unmarried as I am. But if they are not practicing self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion" (1 Corinthians 7:8-9, NRSV). He also writes, "He who marries his fiancée does well; and he who refrains from marriage will do better" (1 Corinthians 7:38, NRSV). We also have no evidence that Jesus married or had children; many consider the very suggestion offensive. We know that Peter was married (Matthew 8:14), but his wife is absent from the Gospels and Acts and there is no mention of Peter and his wife having children.
More importantly, Christians believe in a living God. For the ancient Israelites childlessness threatened their identity and existence as a people. They were a small nation among more populous and powerful empires, and they had to keep their numbers up. Christianity today is not nearly as vulnerable as Israel was. Moreover, more than 6 billion people live on this planet, and nearly half of them are dirt poor and involuntarily skipped a meal today. The church needs to be less concerned about producing more people and more concerned about caring for the people currently walking the earth.
The Bible certainly affirms strong family relationships (for example, see the Book of Ruth or consider that our relationship with God is described as a child-parent bond). But many types of families are represented and affirmed in the Bible, just as many types of families are represented in the church. I have no problem with couples having children. My wife and I have a child and cannot imagine life without him. Still, I feel no need to pressure other people to reproduce. Raising a child is a big commitment and one that should be made carefully.
Mohler argues that couples who decide not to have children are morally irresponsible. "Though childlessness may be made possible by the contraceptive revolution," he writes, "it remains a form of rebellion against God's design and order." Mohler concludes, "The church should insist that the biblical formula calls for adulthood to mean marriage and marriage to mean children."
Yes, there are several examples of biblical couples who are called to have children and who are blessed through their children. (Some biblical heroes also had children with mulitple wives and with their wives' servants. I hope that Dr. Mohler does not endorse such behavior simply because it is biblical.) But I would argue that the Bible does not call for "adulthood to mean marriage." Paul, for example writes, "To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is well for them to remain unmarried as I am. But if they are not practicing self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion" (1 Corinthians 7:8-9, NRSV). He also writes, "He who marries his fiancée does well; and he who refrains from marriage will do better" (1 Corinthians 7:38, NRSV). We also have no evidence that Jesus married or had children; many consider the very suggestion offensive. We know that Peter was married (Matthew 8:14), but his wife is absent from the Gospels and Acts and there is no mention of Peter and his wife having children.
More importantly, Christians believe in a living God. For the ancient Israelites childlessness threatened their identity and existence as a people. They were a small nation among more populous and powerful empires, and they had to keep their numbers up. Christianity today is not nearly as vulnerable as Israel was. Moreover, more than 6 billion people live on this planet, and nearly half of them are dirt poor and involuntarily skipped a meal today. The church needs to be less concerned about producing more people and more concerned about caring for the people currently walking the earth.
The Bible certainly affirms strong family relationships (for example, see the Book of Ruth or consider that our relationship with God is described as a child-parent bond). But many types of families are represented and affirmed in the Bible, just as many types of families are represented in the church. I have no problem with couples having children. My wife and I have a child and cannot imagine life without him. Still, I feel no need to pressure other people to reproduce. Raising a child is a big commitment and one that should be made carefully.
posted by Tinley | 6:34 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home