Early Reviews of "The Case for Life" [SK]

Reviews and/or Discussion:

Tim Challies

Justin Taylor

Randy Alcorn

Crossway Blog

Ian HughClary

Vitamin Z

Pastor Bookshelf

Library Thing

4/15 Update: Stand to Reason also has a review.

SK

The Smart Pro-Lifer: A Reading List [SK]

I'm often asked what books aspiring pro-life apologists should read, so I'm reposting links to my personal favorites. I begin with those titles most accessible to the newcomer. A few titles--like Kreeft's The Unaborted Socrates, Beckwith's Defending Life, and Koukl's Tactics should be devoured and mastered fully.

Relating to Pro-Life Apologetics:

1. Randy Alcorn, Why Pro-Life?

2. Peter Kreeft, The Unaborted Socrates

3. Greg Koukl, Precious Unborn Human Persons

4. Greg Koukl, Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions

5. Ramesh Ponnuru, The Party of Death: The Democrats, the Media, the Courts, and the Disregard for Human Life

6. Scott Klusendorf, The Case for Life: Equipping Christians to Engage the Culture

7. Robert P. George and Christopher Tollefsen, Embryo: A Defense of Human Life

8. Francis J. Beckwith, Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case Against Abortion Choice

9. Hadley Arkes, Natural Rights and the Right to Choose:

10. Patrick Lee, Abortion and Unborn Human Life


Christian World View in General (defense of):

1. Ken Boa & Rob Bowman, 20 Compelling Evidences that God Exists

2. Nancy Pearcy, Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from its Cultural Captivity

3. Greg Koukl & Francis J. Beckwith, Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air

4. R. Scott Smith, Truth and the New Kind of Christian

5. Ken Samples, A Worldview of Difference: Putting Christian Truth-Claims to the Worldview Test

6. James Sire, The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catolog:

7. W. Phillips, W. Brown, and John Stonestreet, Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview

8. Tim Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

9. William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics

Reading Aids:

For an overview of of my book (The Case for Life)go here.

Koukl's Tactics is reviewed here.

George & Tollefsen's Embryo is summarized here.

Beckwith's Defending Life is discussed in the following links:

#1 Overview of major themes
#2 The nature of moral reasoning
#3 What Roe said and did, part 1
#4 Roe, part 2: Blackmun undercuts his own case
#5 Roe, part 3: Blackmun's viability errors
#6 Metaphysics and abortion debate
#7 Thomson's 'Equal Reasonableness' Isn't Reasonable
#8: Science and the Unborn

Update 4/4: How did I forget Steve Wagner's Common Ground without Compromise? Get it. Now.

Debate Preview [SK]

As a warmup to the debate between William Lane Craig and Christopher Hitchens at Biola University (Sat. night), Melinda Penner does a nice job highlighting the flaws in Hitchen's overall case. Main problems: Hitch presents a lengthy catalogue of evils done in the name of religion, but he presents no real case proving God does not exist. At the same time, he provides no grounding for the moral calims he makes against religion.

LTI Podcast Episodes 8 and 9 [Serge]

Due to some computer issues, I did not provide a link for last week's LTI podcast episode 8. In that episode I interview Jojo Ruba from the Canadian Centre of Bioethical reform about the attempt to silence the pro-life message on university campuses in Canada. Jay also begins a new segment entitled "Common Sense Corner". You can download the podcast at this link (http://www.switchpod.com/users/serge13102/LTIPodcastep8.mp3)

Also, episode 9 is now available. I finish my interview with Jojo and respond to an editorial in the new England Journal of Medicine claiming that those with religious convictions regarding the intrinsic value of human beings should not practice in a field like women's medicine. You can download this episode at:http://www.switchpod.com/users/serge13102/LTIPodcastep9.mp3

As always, you can subscribe to all the podcasts in Itunes via this link: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=30370997

How Bad Do We Want To Win? [Bob]

Though I haven't posted here for quite some time, I enjoy observing the way the Scott, Serge, and Jay respond to the issues that they address both here and in the new LTI Podcast format. For anyone who pays attention, it soon becomes obvious that there are no better advocates for the pro-life position than these three. Maybe the reason I don't post here too often is because I'm afraid I'll make some dunderheaded comment that will in some way detract from their message. Or maybe it's just intimidation -- I know that whatever meager addition I hope to make to the conversation will be underwhelming in comparison to the nuanced thought they each offer every day. I am humbled that they even allow me the option to share their forum.

But sometimes, being a "regular" guy pays off. Sometimes it is beneficial to all the other "regular" folks out there to hear the message that gives them reason to think they can make a difference too. I think this past month solidified that notion for me. I just finished teaching a 5-week course at my local church titled, Defending Life. We covered abortion, stem cell research, death criteria, euthanasia and even talked about the Bodies Exhibit that recently passed through our city. It was an encouraging reminder to me about just how powerful the pro-life message is to those who have lived in blissful ignorance about what is going on in this world and about how we regular folks can prepare ourselves to engage it.

Don't get me wrong -- I didn't come up with a single original idea. I stole stuff from Frank Beckwith and Robert George right and left (always giving credit, of course). I taught them the S-L-E-D Test. I "trotted out the toddler." I analyzed the RH Reality Check video that Scott and Serge ripped in Podcast # 4. I replayed Scott's talk at Gordon College about his encounter with the lady at the swingset. I let them see Bill Clinton yammer on about the moral imperative that we only use "embryos that have not been fertilized" (huh?) when we do ESCR. I opened up the casket on abortion.

In short, I was not too proud or too shy to use anything I could get my hands on from the heavy-hitters ... and I was equally uninhibited about what subjects might be "off limits." The response was astounding.

There were people who admitted never knowing the distinctions between stem cell research and embryonic stem cell research. There were people who had never seen the clear evidence we find in embryology textbooks that life begins at conception; never seen the developmental stages of a human embryo; never heard the morally vacuous and arbitrary attempts to distinguish between human beings and human persons. There were people who left the room in tears. After five short hours, people were able to recognize and counter many of the common, but ludicrous, statements we hear from the abortion-choice crowd and their political apologists. It was one of the most rewarding classes I have ever taught.

Please hear me. The last thing I mean to do is toot my own horn. Far from it. I have no horn to toot (remember, I am admitting to open plagiarism here!). My only hope in daring to post here again is to remind every one of us of two vitally important things:

1. There would be no hope of promoting the pro-life view without the clear, careful thinking of those who do the heavy intellectual work like what you find here at LTI.


2. At its core, our message is simple and powerful because it is true -- but too many of our brothers and sisters are unaware of it and untrained to defend it.

On the last day of class, a gentleman stopped me and thanked me for tackling this subject. But along with his compliment came this: "I have never heard most of these arguments anywhere before. And I have never been in a church that would allow this kind of material to be taught." It is sad but true. And I am embarrassed to admit that this was the first time I have ever attempted to broach this subject. But it won't be the last.

Scott and Serge and Jay can't be in all of our little spheres of influence -- but their material can be -- and so can we.

How bad do we want to win this?

No Teleprompter for the Brain [Serge]

With a HT to Hotair, I'm sure glad that we elected the phenomenal thinker, scholar, and public speaker extraordinaire Obama:



and not the ticket with the silly, countrified, gun-totin governor of Alaska:



I'm beginning to agree with Frank J here: forget about the state of the economy or the ability to understand the slight bit of moral reasoning. I'm beginning to wonder whether we can survive the next 4 years without Obama burning down the White House. He won't have his teleprompter when he makes a late night snack, after all.

LTI Podcast Episode 7 [Serge]

Episode 7 is up! In this podcast Scott and Rich discuss Scott's new book "The Case for Life". Rich also answers feedback regarding evidence from animal studies on the mechanism of oral contraception. As always, you can download the podcast directly at http://www.switchpod.com/p23079.html or subscribe using Itunes at http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=30370997.