Josh Brahm will be speaking on practical dialogue tips; the Equal Rights Argument, and understanding and responding to “My Body, My Choice” at University of California – Berkeley on September 8, 2018.

Many conversations surrounding abortion focus on the personhood of the unborn, but the strongest pro-choice arguments grant the entire pro-life case that the unborn is a full human being. They go on to claim that abortion should still be legal because women have a right to control their own bodies. Josh Brahm will explain how a comprehensive discussion about abortion needs to address more than just the humanity and personhood of the fetus, but also a woman’s right to her own bodily autonomy as it relates to pregnancy.

Speaker: Josh Brahm, President, Equal Rights Institute

This event has been sponsored by Pro-Life San Francsisco

Date: September 8, 2018
Time: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Event: Understanding and Responding to “My Body, My Choice”
Sponsor: Pro-Life San Francisco
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Venue: University of California, Berkeley
Location: Dwinelle Hall 2594 Hearst Ave
Berkeley, CA 94720
Public: Public
Registration: Click here to register.
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PODCAST: Back Alley Abortion Arguments in 5 Minutes

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Download Audio MP3 | 00:05:39

Timothy Brahm explains how now more than ever, pro-choice advocates are turning to the back alley abortion argument. Watch this video to learn how to respond graciously and persuasively.

Related Links:

Subscribe to the Equipped for Life Podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Subscribe to ERI’s other podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Dialogue Principle #11

“It’s easy to just denounce the other side as evil. It’s hard to listen to them. It’s hard to try to understand them. It’s risky to treat the other person like a decent human being because then you might have to take them seriously. It’s always more comfortable to dehumanize someone you disagree with, and make no mistake, thinking of someone as though they are Snidely Whiplash dehumanizes them. If you don’t like it when pro-choice people dehumanize the unborn, then you have no business dehumanizing pro-choice people.”

 

For more of the context of this quotation, click here to read the full article, “Snidely Whiplash Is Not on Facebook.”

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One Thing Every Pastor Can Do to Prevent Abortions in Their Congregation

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Image: Pastor preaching to congregation

Estimated reading time: 20 minutes.

There is a long list of steps pro-life advocates would like to see their pastor take to stop abortion, and, unfortunately, pastors find that list intimidating. They can’t do everything, and they often don’t feel like anything that they can do would actually make a difference. I’d like to suggest one minimal (and not even controversial) leadership decision that pastors can make that is likely to save lives within their congregations.

My view of what church leaders should do about abortion has evolved over 13 years of full-time pro-life work. I used to get very angry when I thought about pastors who are silent on this subject, because I earnestly believed that most of them were either cowards or shamefully apathetic to a serious evil in our country. I had a bad experience nine years ago with a pro-abortion-choice usher at one of the largest Protestant churches in Fresno, California who debated me about abortion in the foyer while her pastor preached. When I later told the story on the pro-life podcast I hosted, I needed to physically stand up because I was so frustrated by the experience.

I’ve since calmed down a bit, thanks partially to Scott Klusendorf. I remember that, when Scott was writing his book The Case for Life, he told me that he wanted to take a different approach with silent pastors. Instead of lecturing them, he wanted to come beside them, realizing that many of them aren’t doing anything because they don’t know what they should do.

I’ve since tried to emulate Scott’s attitude toward pastors. That’s become easier as I’ve talked to more pastors and parish priests who struggle with what to say about abortion. For many of them, their silence is not due to cowardice or apathy, but due to a very understandable concern of emotionally damaging their congregants whom they know are post-abortive. I’m not saying that the best response to that fear is silence on abortion. I’m merely acknowledging that when a pastor is shepherding hundreds of people, and he knows that some of them are post-abortive, it’s at least understandable for him to be very concerned for their well-being if someone says something in church that equates abortion to killing babies.

Click the video below to watch a video version of this article.