Some Have Babies; Others, Regrets!

By Philip P Eapen

This book examines the relevance of the creation mandate for human beings to multiply and fill the earth in today's world. It evaluates popular notions about the world being over-populated in the light of available scientific evidence.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Philip P Eapen
• Release date: Mar 20, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476432717

Philip P Eapen

Philip Eapen, an environmental scientist by training, devoted his life to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ ever since he realised that the world needs Jesus Christ more than anyone or anything else. Apart from sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, Philip also teaches Christians in order to equip them for service.

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Some Have Babies; Others, Regrets!

By Philip P. Eapen

Published by Philip P. Eapen at Smashwords

Copyright 2012 Philip P. Eapen

PhilipEapen dot com

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®,

Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973,1975, 1977, 1995 by

The Lockman Foundation

Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

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Table of Contents

1. Prologue

2. The Bible and Population Growth

3. Is the World Over-populated?

4. Will a Growing Population Slow Economic Growth?

5. Human Population Growth and Extinction of Species

6. The True Face of Family Planning in the Majority World

7. The True Face of Family Planning in India

8. Are Indians Children of a 'Lesser Monkey?'

9. Conclusion and Recommendations

Selected Bibliography

1. Prologue

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you may discern the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

The second verse of the twelfth chapter of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans is a popular text among Bible-believing Christians. And yet, many sincere Christians think that this verse is just about fashions, hair styles and makeup, cinema, and beauty parlours. Many of us fail to see the ungodliness and foolishness inherent in the world's current fashion of prolonging adolescence, postponing or avoiding marriage, and delaying conception. To make matters worse, we in India have accepted the myth of overpopulation as gospel truth. Population control (government imposed norms), as opposed to family planning (voluntary spacing of children), has become an unwritten doctrine. Yet, we fail to see the worldliness in these.

Bitten by the population bug, Ghulam Nabi Azad, India's Union Minister for health said, An 18-year-old girl and a 21-year-old boy who haven't achieved anything in life are not meant to get married. The minister, like most Indian grown-ups, hasn't realised that an 18-year-old woman is not a girl and that a 21-year-old man is not a boy. If he wants to see his sons and/or daughters as toddlers all the days of their life, I have no problem. But if he extends that to all young adults of India, we'll have a real problem at hand.

Moreover, marriage, according to the honourable minister, is only for those who have achieved something in life. In case you are listening, Sir, just surviving till the age of 18 or 21 in India is an achievement in itself. Marriage is not just for achievers. Obviously, the minister wants Indian families to have lesser number of children. To that end, he now recommends that young adults delay their wedding until they achieve something. My contention here is that we should not become ghulams, slaves, of an illusion that fertility is forever.

Ask any urban young man or woman what the ideal age for marriage is, and you will most probably get figures above 25 (for women) and above 30 (for men). In cosmopolitan cities of India, women, including Christians, find it difficult to think of getting married before 30.

Is there an ideal age for a man or a woman to enter married life? Many believe that the 'ideal' age for wedding varies from person to person. The people to whom I spoke consider several parameters or factors before arriving at a suitable age for wedding. Completion of studies, financial independence through a stable job or a profitable business/profession, achievement of certain financial or career goals, et cetera. Indeed, the age at which people realize these goals vary. If an 'ideal' age for wedding should depend on these variables, it is difficult to arrive at a generalized figure.

There are others who think that physical age is not what matters. These friends think that a person should be 'emotionally mature' before they marry. At what age do people attain emotional maturity? Who defines emotional maturity and what is the standard against which we may measure our emotional maturity levels? Again, we run up against a wall that we cannot scale. Some might say that it is nonsense to talk of attaining maturity. Each individual has a certain level of maturity at each age and should be content with it. Who would want to be in their seventies, at the height of some abstract 'emotional maturity' before he considers marriage?

Education, career, ownership of a house or vehicle, financial stability … the age at which one attains these varies. For instance, a scientist may gain a Ph.D. by the age of 26; however, a theologian may top-off his education with a Ph.D. at the age of 40. My contention is that we cannot and should not let educational or career or financial goals to decide the age at which we marry. There is a better indicator – a natural, scientific indicator – that should tell us when our young women and men ought to consider marriage. In a sea of variables, there is one relatively reliable parameter. And that is the biological clock that God has placed in our bodies.

The Bible clearly teaches us that one of the goals of marriage is to prevent sexual immorality. "Yes, it is good to live