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Psalms 127:4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. 5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate. [The city "gate" was the place of political activity; this verse acknowledges the connection between population increase and political power. Indeed, today, Europe fears Islamic takeover purely from the huge increase in Islamic populations while Europeans, with their huge abortion rates, are declining.]
Proverbs 17:6 Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.
Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Genesis 8:17 Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. 9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. 9:7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.
Ps 113:7 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill; 8 That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people. 9 He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD. Deuteronomy 7:13 And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee. 14 Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle. Deuteronomy 28:4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. 23:1 He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD.
Compare God's glorious vision of population increase with the nightmare foreseen by today's leading "moral conservative" in the immigration debate, presidential candidate Tom Tancredo: “We talk all the time about the need to improve the quality of environment,” Tancredo said. “Look at what immigration has done here in the United States. The fact is that the country’s growth has been to a large extent the result of immigration, both legal and illegal. “If we continue on this path, there will be a billion people here by the end of the century,” Tancredo added “And if there are, what do you think that does to our environment? Americans consume more and produce more waste than anybody else. If you’re worried about the environment, why aren’t you worried about the fact we are bringing in millions and millions of people?” From a Des Moines Register article 6/9/7 to which Tancredo’s website provides a link.
I don't know how many people he scares with his figure of a US population of one billion within a century, but even if there were some basis in reality for such a projection, the figure wouldn't scare God, or anyone who believes Him. God would count it a blessing! Should we? Is God just stupid to think like that? Or is it that God's Word is not timeless after all, but the facts have changed since then, and now God would want us to kill off babies? By the way, even the Greek philosophers thought it necessary to "expose" (leave to die of exposure outside) imperfect babies, because of their unsustainable population!
"The Athenians...thought nothing of killing infants (a common practice in all ancient civilizations, even the "elevated' ones). One of the most influential thinkers in Western intellectual history - none other than Aristotle - argued in his Politics (VII. 16) that killing children was essential to the functioning of society. He wrote: "'There must be a law that no imperfect or maimed child shall be brought up. And to avoid an excess in population, some children must be exposed [ie thrown on the trash heap or left out in the woods to die]. For a limit must be fixed to the population of the state.'"
The greatest of the plagues of Egypt, Exodus 12, was the slaying of the firstborn child of every family. After that Pharoah set his slaves free. If Congressman Tancredo, or Iowa Congressman Steve King, were Pharoah, they would have said, "THANK you, God! I sure won't free the slaves if keeping them keeps blessings like THIS coming!"
We will not run out of space if we open up the doors wider to immigration. That is the argument of abortionists. If the entire world population were packed as densely as Chicago's 13,000 people per square mile, (less than half the density of New York City and the Los Angeles metropolitan area), they would fill up a metropolis consuming only 10% of U.S. land, leaving 90% for agriculture and parks. (Thanks to Dowingba.com for the perspective.) (Nor should world density increase very much more. The world's 6.3 billion population is projected to swell to 9 billion in 45 years, and then level off.)
Obviously adjustments would have to be made, such as Manhattan Island has made since it was traded for 24 beads. But change can be satisfactory. Most New Yorkers, for some inexplicable reason, like it better now than then, as proved by the fact they remain where they are rather than moving to countries with stone age cultures. New Yorkers back then would have said of today's population density, "physically impossible"! But each new human being who joins us, brings with him additional ingenuity which can help our population density work for us, just as it always has in every great city of the world.
My point is not that we should do everything we can to get the biggest population we can as soon as we can. My point is that here are millions of Mexicans already here who just need to be treated fairly. It is absurd to imagine that because we have no room for them we cannot afford to share with them the same opportunity to work with which God has blessed us!
We have room! At least on our land. The issue is whether we will make room in our hearts.
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Population paranoia promises that poverty increases proportionate to population. Have you seen evidence of that anywhere? Is the world poorer now than it was 100 years ago? Cities have ghettos, but not because of density; but rather because of corrupt government and unfair economic practices. Yet even ghettos, to this day, attract poor people from the countryside who anticipate a greater chance of employment where the population is denser! To this day, our most rural land is becoming less and less populated as its people move to densely populated cities faster than people are leaving cities for the countryside. And even most of those moving out of town are careful to stay within commuting distance of their city jobs! Even most of those moving to very rural areas are staying in touch with the financial opportunities of population density through internet business, or are retiring on incomes earned in population centers! Even farmers far from cities reap the blessings of population centers in the form of generous tax subsidies! The number of people actually living off the land, not dependent upon population centers, and even if you include full time farmers, has been steadily declining for two centuries.
And yet so many people shudder at the thought of population growth, including Christians! But who lives as if they believe it?
Density poses problems to be prepared for. But it also offers opportunities to be grasped, through the multiplied brainpower available to us. Against this perspective, it is tragically foolish to imagine we are defending our interests, by deliberately limiting the opportunity of other human brains to share their potential with us! We have room! At least on our land. The issue is whether we will make room in our hearts.
Especially where they are already here, taking up our land! To allow them on our land, and not allow their brainpower to help us use it more efficiently, isn't very bright. To do that, and then complain of feeling crowded, is like the bureaucrat who throws half his money out the window and then complains to the legislature that he doesn't have enough.
It isn't population density that makes anyone poor. It's corrupt government, and laws and religions of hate. Where there is freedom, and love of neighbor, technology flourishes, enabling us to use space better. Mexico has about 126 people per square mile to the U.S.'s 79.6, which makes us almost adjacent on a world density chart. Illegals aren't fleeing population density: they come, mostly, to California's 217.2 people per square mile.
Source: http://www.apagear.org/0502/english.html, http://www.voyagenow.com/travelreferences/en/wikipedia/l/li/list_of_countries_by_population_density.ht
Part of our solution surely must be to acknowledge the blessings we have, and share them.
As President Bush stated January 7, 2004, "The best way, in the long run, to reduce the pressures that create illegal immigration in the first place is to expand economic opportunity among the countries in our neighborhood. In a few days I will go to Mexico for the Special Summit of the Americas, where we will discuss ways to advance free trade, and to fight corruption, and encourage the reforms that lead to prosperity. Real growth and real hope in the nations of our hemisphere will lessen the flow of new immigrants to America when more citizens of other countries are able to achieve their dreams at their own home."
Social Security: Rod of God's Judgment