Let’s Talk About It

I’m hoping we can spark conversations on this page about what Nightline is covering, how we’re covering it, and what you think about it. I’ll try to do that by dipping into our message boards and responding to some of the lively debate that always seems to be going on over there. So, let’s begin here . John Berman’s report on our January 13th program on the “Quiverful Movement” has triggered several great, ongoing discussions on the board. A little background: Quiverful enthusiasts are fundamentalist Christians who “trust the Lord for family size,” and believe that God’s plan as revealed in the Bible is for married couples to have many children—to “be fruitful and multiply.” They believe birth control is contrary to God’s wishes, and they take their name from Psalm 127:5: "As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them." One viewer, going by the moniker biodiv, has raised an important question. In our time, is it selfish to have so many children? Here’s biodiv’s post: “What amazes me is that the very same people who are so angry by any form of birth control have little if any concern for their natural world. Their only focus is themselves and the propagation of as many people as possible, but care nothing for the destruction now occuring to the environment. Where is the anger regarding the fact that mankind is causing more plant and animal extinctions than in 67 million years. If these folks could look into a crystal ball to see what this world will look like in 50 or 100 years they may think differently.” Now, I’ve got nine brothers and sisters, so I understand the joys (and the stresses) of growing up in a big family. I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything. And I also have personally experienced the sometimes subtle, sometimes not-so-subtle prejudices of some people against those of us from big families. To a certain kind of person, ten kids is a bit, well, gross. Even loony. All my life, I never minded the judgmental comments; I knew the love and truth in our family—and that was enough. But biodiv is raising a serious issue. Can it really be God’s plan for people to populate the world without any regard to the consequences of the sheer number of human beings on the resources of the planet? Can God—who so many of us believe graced men and women with such powerful insights into the human predicament and such ingenuity in addressing it—really not want us to use our wit and will to steward the earth responsibly, whatever that might mean? Are we to be as helpless in the face of our natures as the beasts of the field? Or are we different? Are we empowered—by God Himself, in the view of many believers—to take a more active role in shaping our common destiny? It’s a lively discussion. Thanks to all involved. Join in.