It has already been noted by many others that one reason western Christianity, especially western mainline Christianity, is in decline is that we have not only failed to properly instruct our children in the Christian faith, but that we have failed to have children.
There are, of course, a myriad of factors and reasons involved in this failure (birth control, abortion, fewer marriages, people marrying later in life, more divorces) but it is, in fact, biblically speaking, a failure.
The first command given to Adam and Eve was the command to increase and multiply:
Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground. (Genesis 1:28)
We have to be careful here. The command was not to increase and multiply and subdue for the sake of increasing and multiplying and subduing. The command was given because God, in his mercy, determined to use his human creatures as vehicles, or means, to establish his kingdom.
In other words, the people of God are commanded to get married and have babies in order to accomplish the very same end in view in Matthew 28:18-20:
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Evangelism and reproduction are two prongs of the same mission, establishing God's dominion, his kingdom authority, over the earth.
Of course, this will only and ultimately be completed when Christ returns to judge the living and the dead. And yet our "meantime" mission is clear: Have babies and make disciples.
But for some reason even orthodox Christians keen on evangelism seem much less eager when it comes to having babies.
Why is that?
Selfishness?
Some would say so.
Babies are difficult. They require attention, commitment, self-sacrifice, and financial support. When couples, even Christian couples, explain why they are choosing not to have kids more often than not you will hear something about their tenuous finances, their career/education goals, their lack of time" for Christian couples these reasons/excuses are very difficult to reconcile with God's command.
It's never the right time to have a baby. You'll never have enough money. You're career will never reach just the "right" plateau. You will always have more to study and there will never be a break.
But God did not say, "increase and multiply if and when you have the time and resources" " He simply said, "Increase and multiply."
He also said:
" do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:31-33)
In other words: Trust and obey. God will provide.
In the long term, obedience to God in this regard is key to restoring orthodox Christianity in the west.
In fact, given the revisionist disdain for both procreation and evangelism, restoration is almost a certainty. They will produce fewer offspring and fewer converts. The average age of their congregants will continue its exponential rise. They will slowly die off without heirs, victims of their own ideas.
But again, our long-term victory hinges on our eager obedience to the two means God has given us to extend his dominion. This means that we must continue to spread the gospel but it also means:
Young orthodox Anglicans must have lots of orthodox Anglican babies.
This requires first either getting married and having babies the old fashioned way or getting married and adopting. But, regardless of the method, obeying the first command, "increase, multiply, subdue the earth' is key to undermining revisionism and restoring orthodoxy in the west. While our Worthy Opponents, rejecting the idea that procreation is the primary purpose of marriage, invest in gay marriage, fret over the sustainability of the earth, and limit their offspring via birth control and/or abortion, we, thinking and acting biblically, are, or should be, extending the kingdom of God.
But having babies is only one half of the equation.
We must have orthodox Christian babies raised in orthodox Christian homes who will grow up to be orthodox Christian warriors and take their places on those little stone bridges.
But that is fodder for another article. I think I've said enough for today.
Matt Kennedy is a regular columnist for the American Anglican web site Stand Firm
