[Flying Walrus]

Hello all,

You may have noticed recently in the media an upswing in interest in being child-free by choice. My wife and me (both Christians) have been married about three years and are seriously considering this option. Neither of us have any desire to have children, seem to have any parental DNA, or particularly like begin around children for long periods of time.

It's not hard to find a number of reasons for not having children (effect on the environment, how hard society is on children growing up these days, ending up doing it just because it is the 'expected thing' rather than having any strong positive desire to do it and so on). What there isn't is any discussion of this from a Christian perspective.

So, my question to the forum is this: What is the Christian viewpoint on having children within marriage? Is it an absolute command if physically able, or is there some discretion available? What scriptures do people look at on this issue?

Looking forward to seeing what opinions are out there.

Best Regards,

Flying Walrus