
Faithfully navigating tensions between population growth and environmental concerns may require asking different questions than culture asks.
By Andrew Spencer
Concern about global human population growth makes headlines periodically as fears about humanity’s contribution to climate change continue. This is nothing new. However, simultaneously, due to a globally declining birthrate, there are others warning of a coming social upheaval due to population decline. At the heart of the population debate is the question of what it means to be human. Are humans good for the world? Are humans merely consumers, or are they producers as well?
The tension between those pessimistic about the nature of humanity and those much more optimistic has been a regular feature of Western culture since the Industrial Revolution. Care for the environment is good, as is concern for the general wellbeing of humanity. The tension between environmental concern over population growth and demographic concern about population decline can pull well-meaning Christians in two directions. How can Christians respond to these loaded cultural questions? We must ask a different question than those on either side of the debate.
Population and the common good
Christians generally begin with the assumption that humanity has a rightful place in the world because of God’s creational design. Not everyone shares that view. There are those, like Patricia MacCormack, who see human extinction as the necessary solution to environmental problems. This position views humans primarily as consumers. For example, in The Ahuman Manifesto, she asserts, “Humans do not create symbiosis. Humans do not reciprocate. Humans use.” Thus, her solution is to “cease reproduction of humans” and to “care for this world at this time until we are gone.” According to MacCormack, pursuing the common good requires eliminating the human population. This is an extreme position, but a “substantial decrease of the human population” has been part of the Deep Ecology movement for decades. More recently, popular environmentalists like Jane Goodall, have reiterated a vision for a drastic reduction in human population.
“Christians generally begin with the assumption that humanity has a rightful place in the world because of God’s creational design.” — @SpenceSpencer01 Share on XHowever, Scripture generally affirms the goodness of population growth. When writing to the Jewish exiles headed into captivity, Jeremiah encouraged them to “pursue the well-being of the city” (Jeremiah 29:7, CSB) specifically by having the next generation marry “so that they may bear sons and daughters. Multiply there; do not decrease” (Jeremiah 29:6, CSB). So, in the midst of social and economic hardship, God urged His people to increase for the sake of the common good. As city planner Jane Jacobs argued in Vogue magazine in 1970, “People are producers as well as consumers.” When humans steward creation well, we are a blessing to creation and each other. Yet, Christians should be cautious about claiming that maximizing population growth is a moral duty.
Population and the Bible
God’s first command to Adam and Eve was to “be fruitful, multiply” (Genesis 1:28, CSB). Despite the effects of sin on the human condition, God issued a similar command to Noah and his sons after the flood (Genesis 9:1). God’s general plan for humanity seems to have been for couples to have children and for the overall human population to grow.
In the New Testament, however, it isn’t clear that having children is a moral imperative for Christians. First, Jesus never married or had children. He was perfectly obedient to God’s law, which enabled Him to be the substitutionary sacrifice for sinful humans (Romans 5:19). We should be cautious in requiring anything of Christians (apart from repentance) that Jesus didn’t do. Second, Paul argues refraining from marriage is better than being married because of the potential distraction the marriage union brings (1 Corinthians 7:25-38). By implication, therefore, Christians who don’t marry will not have children. Third, Jesus warned of the suffering of mothers who are pregnant or have newborn babies in coming tribulations (Luke 21:23-24). His warning could give prospective parents pause about having children.
“We should be cautious in requiring anything of Christians (apart from repentance) that Jesus didn’t do.” — @SpenceSpencer01 Share on XYet the consistent teaching of Scripture is that children are a blessing (Psalm 127:3-4; Matthew 19:13-14). Even though Paul encouraged unmarried celibacy (1 Corinthians 7:6-8), his ethical teaching about the family presumed there would be children (Ephesians 6:1-4). In fact, until relatively recent developments in contraception, normal marriage relations (1 Corinthians 7:1-5) consistently assumed the potential for pregnancy. So intentional childlessness also seems to be abnormal for married Christians.
However, as we weigh the evidence of Scripture, it doesn’t appear having children is a moral duty for believers. As a result, whatever the apparent demographic consequences, we shouldn’t teach Christians that having large families is a command from God. Instead, we need to focus on faithful stewardship.
Stewarding population well
The Christian life is one long stewardship of the time, talents, and resources God has put in our charge. We know the quality of our works in this life will be tested by fire one day (1 Corinthians 3:12-15). Our task is not simply to preserve creation in some pristine state or maximize human population but, like Adam, to cultivate creation and take care of it (Genesis 2:15). God showed His concern for creation when He judged the nation of Israel for failing to give the land a Sabbath rest (2 Chronicles 36:21) along with other violations of the law. We’re part of creation, but we’re a special part with unique responsibilities toward creation. We must keep the good of all creation, including humans, in view as we seek to live faithfully in all areas of life.
“The Christian life is one long stewardship of the time, talents, and resources God has put in our charge.” — @SpenceSpencer01 Share on XThis holistic focus means navigating tensions between arguments for population growth and human extinction sometimes requires asking a different question. Our goal shouldn’t primarily be to steer society away from a demographic cliff or environmental destruction but to embody and encourage faithfulness within our spheres of influence.
Can we avoid the problems the activists forecast? I don’t know for certain. However, I’m convinced that before we take action to avoid any potential crisis, we must first ask what Scripture calls us to do. And often, as with human population, I find that neither side of the cultural debate truly addresses all the biblical concerns. Ultimately, I’ll be held accountable for how well I stewarded the resources God entrusted me with, no matter what the outcome is (Matthew 25:14-30). The primary question I’m seeking to answer is how to do that well.
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