On Children: Bring Forth One Who Will Make Mention of God

Photo: An Azerbaijani Baha'i Community in 1927

Recently a provocative op-ed piece appeared in our local newspaper authored by a local university professor entitled "Religion plays very different roles in America, Europe." The entire article is definately worth reading, but one section in particular caught my attention. Upon reading it I thought of the above photo of Azerbaijani Baha'is with row upon row of children. Now I don't know how difficult life was for these Baha'is back in 1927--the active persecution of Baha'is in Azerbaijan by the Soviets did not begin until 1937--but if this lovely photo is any indication, they were not afraid of bringing children in the world. My wife and I were not afraid either, as our four adult children would indicate. Here are the two paragraphs from the article.

[T]he U.S. and Europe have not converged toward a single set of values but rather have temporarily crossed paths and are once again growing apart.

[A] lack of faith appears to correlate with demographics; people who don’t believe don’t believe in having children. Across Europe, declining birth rates mean an aging population and a shrinking work force. In contrast, in the U.S. birth rates remain high, even among non-immigrant populations.

And then I thought of this quote from Baha'u'llah on marriage and children:

In this Day, however, let them give up the life of seclusion and direct their steps towards the open world and busy themselves with that which will profit themselves and others. We have granted them leave to enter into wedlock that they may bring forth one who will make mention of God, the Lord of the seen and the unseen, the Lord of the Exalted Throne.

Baha'u'llah, Bisharat (Glad-tidings)