I am a very infrequent contributor to the list, but I feel I should add to this discussion. I don't doubt that many Christians and Jews have acknowledged that they have fulfilled the conditions of this particular directive, but the unfortunate truth is that a great deal of them do not seem to have not acknowledged this. Devout Christians, particularly Catholics (as far as I understand), continue to view even simple physical contraception (condoms, etc) as an affront to God, and to treat is as a heinous offense against their faith. Many religious people do indeed seem to consider it their duty and their divine right to produce as many offspring as they are able. This is one of my great complaints against "faith" as it is practiced today: that the oft-translated, and therefore highly convoluted, words of goat herders from 3000 years in the past continue to be treated as divine guidance and as the absolute directive for how everybody should live their lives.
Thanks for your time. Please let me know what you think. -Todd Sigley [email protected] On Wed, Dec 7, 2011 at 6:20 PM, Warren W. Aney <[email protected]> wrote: > The phrase "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it and rule > over the fish of the sea and over the winged creatures in the heavens and > over every creature that crawls on the ground" is from the Hebrew bible, so > it is part of both Jewish and Christian tradition. Many, if not most, > conservative, mainstream and progressive Jews and Christians are now > acknowledging that we as humans have fulfilled the conditions of this > directive (we've filled the earth and subdued it) so now it's time to go on > to the next step and be responsible rulers. > As Edward O. Wilson (a self-proclaimed agnostic) puts it: "Science and > religion are the two most powerful forces of society. Together they can > save creation." > > Warren W. Aney > Tigard, Oregon > > -----Original Message----- > From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Nathan Brouwer > Sent: Wednesday, 07 December, 2011 00:53 > To: [email protected] > Subject: [ECOLOG-L] overpopulation and the abuse of facts by religon > > As pointed out, many conservative Christians believe the mandate in Genesis > to "be fruitful and increase in number" is a directive to produce as many > children as possible. Whenever I have heard this argument put forward, > there is usually a science-sounding adjunct like, "and you know, the whole > population of the earth could fit into the state of Texas, each with a > ranch > house and a back yard." The logic seems to be that as long as there is > space to fit people we should keep populating the earth. (This logic was > recently put forward by the father on the popular TV show 19 Kids and > Counting. I have also heard this from the influential - and controversial > -- pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle). > > It seems this odd argument of fitting the word's population into Texas or > wherever adds a science-like justification to their faith-based values. > While its frustrating that this erroneous thinking is invoked I think it > indicates some level of appreciation for science, facts, math, even > modeling. A potential response could invoke the ecological footprint > concept and point out how much land it would take to feed a population of 7 > billion living in suburban ranch houses. >
