The class will meet next Sunday, May 24.
This will be our final class meeting. We'll wrap up on Pro-Life Apologetics and also answer as many of your questions as we have time for. If you haven't sent me yours yet, please do so soon.
Last time, we did a quick review of the Ten Universal Principles, and briefly considered reasons why people might be pro-abortion. For a powerful analysis of the mindset from someone who has been there, please see Jen Fulwiler's article.
The class then practiced applying the principles we have learned this year to respond to a set of common arguments for abortion. I split the class into "breakout rooms" and each "room" discussed and responded to one such argument. We then discussed the student responses. You guys came up with some great answers, and I'm proud of you. The main thing that needs work now is how to respond in a way that keeps the dialogue open.
Pro Tips:
- Stay calm. Pray for your opponent and for the conversation.
- Agree whenever possible.
- Ask questions. Don't monologue, don't interrogate.
- Have empathy for those who disagree. Speak the truth in love.
- Sometimes pro-lifers are well-meaning but offputting. Don’t do that. It just makes things harder for you.
How to quickly make the case for protecting life against abortion? The key is to focus on the central question: "What is the unborn?" When someone brings up an argument for abortion, a great strategy is to empathize with the difficulty, and then "trot out a toddler" by applying the same argument to a toddler. This brings it back to the central question. Then, we can show, using science and philosophy (applying the principles we've learned this year) that the unborn is a human person deserving the same respect as a toddler.
Here are 3 critical questions to ask a pro-choice person:
- If something is growing, it is alive, right?
- If it has human parents, isn’t it human?
- And human beings like you and me are valuable, aren’t we?
We also talked about asking the right questions of those who say that they are "personally opposed" but yet want to keep abortion legal. This will clarify that what they are really saying is: "I personally oppose abortion because it kills babies; yet I think others should be allowed to kill those babies."
You can find these tips and more in your copy of the book, Persuasive Pro-Life. Some of you have already received it, and I am working on getting it out to the rest of you. For other good sources of pro-life education, please see the Resources post at the blog.
If you missed the class or want to review:
- Check your email for the link to the class recording.
- Please see "Resources" post below for the sources used in class.
Future class meetings:
May 24 - Wrap Up + Your Questions (last class for the year)
Happy Easter!
Suchi / Mrs. Myjak