The Birth Dearth

"The 'birth dearth' is what demographers call plummeting birth rates in most of the industrialized world. Throughout Western Europe and East Asia, the birth rate is well below 2.1 births per woman -- which is the minimum needed to maintain a stable population. ... Throughout history, societies in demographic decline, usually as a result of disease, have faced two unattractive options: a decline in their standard of living or the replacement of their native population with a more fertile immigrant one. Europe has, essentially by default, chosen the latter. But as last week's bombings in London illustrate, turning millions of Islamic immigrants into 'Europeans,' however you define the term, is a dubious proposition. ... It's hard to imagine a better example of the importance of worldviews, and specifically in this case, the Christian one. [Mark] Steyn is right when he says that Europe's decline is directly linked to its hostility towards Christianity."

--Chuck Colson