Written by Once you have given man an erect penis, telling him to use it is redundant. Procreation is an instinct embedded in all life forms, so the commandment, “be fruitful and multiply” is the epitome of stating the obvious. A dog doesn’t need to be told to hump. But humans think we might not have figured that one out on our own.
So what’s the harm in treating this as a revelation? Well, it has been used to condemn the use of contraceptives, which has helped spread AIDS, create unwanted pregnancies, and overpopulation. And then there is the condemnation of homosexuals. All this from a commandment which was not only written on our hearts, it was written on our sex organs.
Be fruitful and multiply was good advice at the time it was given. But if you treat it as a commandant from God, then we are obliged to follow it, even to our own, overpopulated destruction. That’s the trouble, not the benefit, of advice written in stone.
I’d have to be downright forced to be fruitful and multiply (I’m stopping up my tubes in July just to ensure this doesn’t happen), but you’re right– no one would have to tell me to go through the motions.
I wish people would talk more openly about overpopulation. We seem to think it’s a problem only in the most destitute countries, even though the ecological impact of the US alone is enough to scare Al Gore into a coma.