Wednesday, October 28, 2015 Book Review: Aborting Aristotle- Examining Fatal Fallacies in the Abortion Debate by Dave Sterrett

Dave Sterrett is the founder of Disruptive Truth, a non-profit organization that is disrupting culture with the truth of the Gospel. When his book Aborting Aristotle arrived in the mail this reader was very grateful. It could not have come at a more appropriate time. Like many, I have been deeply troubled by the contents of the videos released by the Center for Medical Progress that reveal Planned Parenthood has not only been aborting babies, but selling their body parts. One evening, after viewing some of the videos, I found myself unable to sleep and lying on the floor in my daughter's room, trying to comprehend what I had just seen. I have always known that abortion is a brutal process, but these videos graphically demonstrate just how gruesome the business (and make no mistake, that is what it is) of abortion has become.

As I recall my own reaction to the videos I am further reminded of how emotionally charged the topic of abortion can be. This is one of the primary reasons this author believes Dave Sterrett’s book is an important contribution to the ongoing abortion debate. The author not only persuasively makes the pro-life case using logical arguments and sound philosophical principles, but he also takes a unique approach to the discussion.

Book Review: The Case For Life: Equipping Christians to Engage the Culture by Scott Klusendorf

I have been quite excited to read Scott Klusendorf's The Case For Life: Equipping Christians to Engage the Culture (paperback, Kindle, Video Trailer, Interview, Life Training Institute). From my elementary school days, I have been exposed to pro-life Christians who have faced ridicule, fines, physical harm, and even jail time for their commitment to the unborn's right to life. It was not until my exposure to Christian apologetics that I became aware that the fight was more than each side just emoting at one another. In this book, Klusendorf provides the scientific case for the humanity of the unborn and the objective moral wrongness of killing them. He addresses many common and powerful challenges to the prolife position. The book is divided into four parts and is 243 pages in length. This review will provide a chapter-by-chapter summary then conclude with my comments.

Part 1- Pro-Life Christians Clarify The Debate
Chapter 1- What Is The Issue?
Klusendorf begins by clarifying that there is one issue that is up for debate- the one issue that will make or break the case for the pro-life position. He explains that every other issue in the discussion is a red herring if this one issue is not resolved first. The key question that anyone must ask before they decide to act on something is "What is it?" In the context of the pro-life/abortion debate the action is killing and "it" is the unborn. We must determine if the unborn are human or not before we decide if it is justifiable to kill it. Klusendorf points out that if the unborn are not human, then there is no more justification needed to remove it than is necessary to remove a tooth (and any efforts to lower the number of abortions is really worthless); however, if the unborn is human, then no justification is sufficient to deliberately kill it.

Book Review: Embryo—A Defense of Human Life

In the wake of the Kermit Gosnell trial, it is safe to say that the elite Western culture no longer recognises the unborn human being as a life worthy of protection. It does not even seem to be worth our sympathy. The killing of a newborn child is now, in journalistic newspeak, merely “inducing labour and terminating a viable fetus”. Such a termination might be tasteless and a tad barbaric, but it is not murder. After all, if we concede that decapitating a 24 week old human being outside the womb is wrong, we might have to wonder why it is right to dismember it in the womb. Pro-life arguments might begin to seem a little too rational for comfort. Better to flush those conservative thoughts away, and ignore the issue altogether.

Pro-Life Ethics MP3 Audio by Scott Klusendorf

In this audio, bio-ethicist Scott Klusendorf presents a talk at a Gordon College convocation, receiving a standing ovation for his pro-life case. For more pro-life resources, go here.

Full MP3 Audio here.

Listen.

Advanced Pro-Life Apologetics Course

Successful pro-life apologists pursue four essential tasks. First, they clarify the debate by focusing public attention on one key question: What is the unborn? Second, they establish a foundation for the debate, demonstrating to critics that metaphysical neutrality is impossible. Third, they answer objections persuasively. Fourth, they teach and equip. Below are a number of great resources (and extensive notes here). This content from Life Training Institute.

Videos:
Session #1: What is the Issue—The Nature of Moral Reasoning (52 Min.)
Session #2: What is the Unborn? (1:08)
Session #3: What Makes Humans Valuable? Part 1: The Substance View of Human Persons (52 min.)
Session #4: What Makes Humans Valuable? Part 2: The Religion Objection (15 Min.)
Session #5: Who Makes the Rules? Abortion: Law, Metaphysics, and Alleged Moral Neutrality (38 Min.)
Session #6: What is my Duty? The Bodily Autonomy Arguments of Thomson, Boonin, and McDonaugh (54 Min.)
Session #7: Catholic Social Justice Teaching and Other Objections (46 Min.)
Session #8: Equipping Yourself to Engage at Your Church (46 Min.)

Texts:
1. Gilbert Meilaender, Bioethics: A Primmer for Christians (Eerdmans, 2005)
2. Agnetta Sutton, Christian Bioethics: A Guide for the Perplexed (T&T Clark, 2008)
3. Scott Rae, Moral Choices: An Introduction to Ethics (Zondervan, 2009)
4. Scott Klusendorf, The Case for Life: Equipping Christians to Engage the Culture (Crossway, 2009)

Suggested Reading:
1. Francis J. Beckwith, Dignity Never Been Photographed: Scientific Materialism, Enlightenment Liberalism, and Steven Pinker (Ethics in Medicine, Vol. 26:2, Summer 2010)
2. Francis J. Beckwith, The Human Being, a Person of Substance: A Response to Dean Stretton
3. Christopher Kaczor, The Ethics of Abortion: Women's Rights, Human Life, and the Question of Justice (Routledge, 2010)

Online Apologetics Conference 2013

This year Athanatos Christian Ministries is hosting its fourth annual Online Apologetics Conference. The conference will be held on April 21st,  22nd, and 23rd, 2013. This year's theme is: A Defense of the Faith is a Defense of Life. Christian apologetics training with an emphasis on defending life.

On the 21st of April, a number of apologists will present guest lectures free of charge on a variety of apologetics topics. Use this link to find out more about the conference and the sessions.

Find the Online Apologetics Conference on Facebook and Twitter.
Apologetics 315 is happy to sponsor this event. (For those who are interested, Brian Auten will be speaking on the 21st on the topic, "Apologetics Training as a Lifestyle.")

Check it out.

Book Review: The Case for Life by Scott Klusendorf

In a culture that does not regard an embryo to be a human person with rights, we have organizations like Planned Parenthood receiving millions of dollars to fund abortions. Pro-lifers have been forced to retreat into a corner as they continue to lose the abortion debate in both the legal and social arena. Does the pro-life position have any merit? Can pro-life Christians enter the marketplace of ideas and defend their views while making an impact in our culture? Scott Klusendorf in his book The Case For Life delivers a powerful resource that aims at not only providing a philosophical, biblical, and scientific pro-life case, but equipping Christians to dismantle the common pro-choice arguments and rhetoric that are steeped in our culture. Klusendorf divides the book into four main parts:
1. Pro-Life Christians the Debate
2. Pro-Life Christians Establish the Foundation for the Debate
3. Pro-Life Christians Answer Objections Persuasively
4. Pro-Life Christians Teach and Equip

Scott Klusendorf vs. Nadine Strossen Debate: Abortion: Is it Right or Wrong?

Scott Klusendorf, president of Life Training Institute. debates Nadine Strossen, former president of the ACLU, on the topic of Abortion: Is it Right or Wrong? Video of the debate Found on Randy Alcorn's video channel. For more resources, see Klusendorf's books: Pro-Life 101 and The Case for Life. Also check out this interview with Scott Klusendorf.

Full Debate MP3 Audio here (1hr 40min)
Listen.

Pro-Life Interview: Scott Klusendorf

Today's interview is witth Scott Klusendorf, president of Life Training Institute. LTI is the first place to look for excellent resources to get better equipped to defend the pro-life position. Scott talks about defining abortion and its terms, the issue of the debate, the legal history of abortion, defending the pro-life view using science and philosophy, the four pillars of the pro-life argument, answering a litany of objections to the pro-life position, the right and wrong use of emotional appeals, taking on the right tone in the debate, how to get better equipped, and more.

Full Interview MP3 Audio here. (45 min)

Check out Scott's pro-life books:
• The Case for Life: Equipping Christians to Engage the Culture
• Pro-Life 101: A Step-by-Step Guide to Making Your Case Persuasively

More pro-life resources, media, and blog.

Enjoy.

Apologist Interview: Alan Shlemon

Today's interview is with Alan Shlemon of Stand to Reason. He talks about how he came to be part of Stand to Reason, how to speak with Muslims and understand the issues, the subject of pro-life tactics, pro-life training, pro-life arguments, dealing with the difficult subject of homosexuality, the art of communication and the power of using questions, and more.

• Check out his 64-page booklet on Islam: book / PDF
• Listen to Alan's debate "Should Abortion be Illegal?"
• Answering pro-abortion arguments diagram here. (sept 30)
• See Alan's chapter on homosexuality here.
• Audio by Alan on same-sex marriage here.

Full Interview MP3 Audio here. (54 min)

Enjoy.

Alan Shlemon & Cecili Chadwick Debate: Should Abortion Be Illegal?

In this debate at California State University San Marcos, STR's Alan Shlemon debates women’s studies professor Cecili Chadwick on the topic: Should Abortion Be Illegal? This fairly short but useful debate lasts 49 minutes (with Q&A). Also be sure to check out Alan Shlemon's pro-life arguments here. More abortion resources here. You can also watch the video segments of the debate here at the STR Place blog.

Full Debate Audio MP3 here.

Listen.

The Best Pro-Life Resources Online

If you are looking for the best place to find pro-life resources, start with Scott Klusendorf's Life Training Institute. With audio for defending the unborn, pro-life articles (check out "The Five-Minute Pro-Lifer"), podcasts, video, and more.

Looking for books to educate you on the pro-life position? On a recent Stand to Reason program, Scott Klusendorf recommended his top five suggested books:

1. The Unaborted Socrates (Peter Kreeft)
2. Precious Unborn Human Persons (Greg Koukl)
3. The Case for Life (Scott Klusendorf)
4. Defending Life (Francis Beckwith)
5. Natural Rights and the Right to Choose (Hadley Arkes)

For other pro-life resources on Apologetics315, click here.

Get equipped.

Pro-Life Logic by Peter Kreeft MP3 Audio

In this lecture given at Georgetown University, philosopher Peter Kreeft discusses the logic of the pro-life position. He discusses scientific law, natural law, civil law, and human rights. Another good pro-life audio resource.

Full MP3 Audio here. (70 min)

Listen.

What was last year's post? See here.

Three Helpful Audios on Abortion

Here are three good audios dealing with the issue of abortion. The first two are from Randall Niles and John Stonestreet's podcast Think Again. The third audio file is from Greg Koukl (see his podcast here). You may also want to check out Greg Koukl's booklet of the same title.

• The Value of Life Part 1 - MP3
• The Value of Life Part 2 - MP3
• Precious Unborn Human Persons - MP3

Listen.

More resources on abortion here.

A Case for Life MP3 by Scott Klusendorf

This compelling talk by Scott Klusendorf makes a case for the pro-life position without appeal to a particular religious position. Everything in the abortion debate comes down to one issue: what is the unborn? For more resources, see prolifetraining.

Full MP3 Audio here.

Listen.

Abortion Resources - Defend the Unborn

Stand to Reason has posted a page full of resources for educating and equipping people to defend the unborn. This page has a large list of resources, including: images and videos, Embryology pictures, and what the Bible has to say about abortion.

The video link posted here is graphic. It is intended only to reveal the sober truth behind what many think is a woman's choice.

Defend the unborn.