"We are travellers…not yet in our native land" – St. Augustine
This is Benson, born premature at 22 weeks — before the age of viability. Doctors never expected him to live, and they generally do not save babies this small, but they made an exception…
Click on the image to launch the video
There’s been a lot of talk on Social Media about “The Trolley Problem”, as though this somehow defeats the pro-life position. Here is a great response from Catholic Answers:
So it turns out that the actor James Franco likes to talk philosophy! I recently watched a video of him talking to a lady named Liz Harman on the subject of abortion.
Now, I try to be charitable when speaking about those who hold different views from my own. However, I have to say, having heard many arguments in favour of abortion, this lady presents one of the dumbest arguments I’ve ever heard!
She clearly commits one of the most basic logical fallacies out there: the circular argument. The really shocking thing, though, is that she teaches philosophy at Princeton University! To quote a far wiser teacher, “Logic! Why don’t they teach them logic in these schools?”
Over the past week, I’ve shared several short posts pointing out that Planned Parenthood doesn’t seem to understand irony (Post 1 | Post 2). I’m now starting to think that there’s some kind of conspiracy theory! Has Planned Parenthood has accidentally hired someone who is pro-life to head up their marketing department?
The latest advertising campaign from the abortion provider begins with the words “Watch. Share. Slay“:
What an unfortunate choice of words! The introductory paragraph attempts to explain this rather questionable title:
If there’s anything we’ve learned from Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, The Avengers) over the years, it’s this – every single one of us has a hero inside ; and its our responsibility to use our superpowers to slay.
Erm, Planned Parenthood, this isn’t sounding any better… What exactly is being slain here? In Joss Whedon’s TV show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it is evil beings which are slain: vampires, demons etc. Tell me, what exactly gets slain at Planned Parenthood?
You know, I don’t think that Planned Parenthood, the abortion provider, gets irony. This was one of their recent tweets…
Across the dinner table a few months ago, we were discussing the subject of books and what we each thought were the “Must Read” books for adult Catholics. Today I would like to say a few words about a book which I think is the number one book on the subject of pro-life apologetics, “Persuasive Pro-Life” by Trent Horn from Catholic Answers.
I had originally intended to take some time to write a longer review, but since you can currently pick up a copy for $5 or download the eBook for free, it seemed wise to write a shorter review and have it published before the sale comes to an end:
The first thing which should be highlighted is that, although this book is published by Catholic Answers, none of the arguments outlined in the book are based on the Bible or even the existence of God. All arguments are based on easy-to-understand science and clear logic. Even if you are a pro-life atheist/agnostic, you will find this book extremely useful.
Typically, if I like a book, it’ll be in large part because of the way it is organized. This book is no exception. Trent assigns a separate chapter in his book to each pro-choice archetype. These archetypes include:
The Tolerant who personally don’t like abortion, but believe other people should be able to choose it.
The Skeptic who deny that anyone can know when life begins.
The Disqualifier who claim that unborn children do not have a right to life because the unborn are different from born humans.
The Autonomist, for whom it does not matter whether or not the fetus is a human being, because a woman has a right to bodily autonomy.
…
In each chapter, Trent addresses the essential arguments used by each archetype. He then goes on to explain the faulty science, incorrect assumptions or poor logic which are at work. The chapter then concludes with a (somewhat) imaginary dialogue between Trent and a pro-choice advocate. I particularly liked this feature since this shows how to apply practically what you have learned in that chapter. Not only that, it demonstrates how one can engage in pro-life apologetics in a respectful, productive and persuasive manner.
What other pro-life books would you recommend? Who else is going to the Walk For Life this weekend?