Constantly Challenge Their Language:

The Anti-choice leaders use slanderous language, inflammatory rhetoric, deceptive and misleading words.   Challenge their words and their character at every opportunity.   Just remember to maintain a soft gentle style in your mannerisms.  You are not a war with them. You are simply using them to get a message to the audience.   Use the content of your words to cut them down and not your behavior. **  

 Here are a few specific examples:

  Challenge their pro-life label.

When media people refer to pro-life and pro-choice, stop them with this question:  "What is the opposite of pro-choice?"   Don't wait for an answer.  Say "It's obviously no-choice.   What's the opposite of pro-life?"    Again, don't wait for an answer.    Say "It's pro-death.   If I  thought you were implying I am pro-death, I'd find that rather insulting.    But I'm sure that certainly not your intention so I'm going to ask you to use correct and appropriate language when referring to either side in this controversy.  

If you'll look at the information sheet I gave you before this discussion began, (hold up the paper - - a summary of The Pro-Life Leaders Are Not Pro-Life page), you'll clearly see that my friend here (gesture to the anti-abortionist) is certainly not pro-life.   He/she may be pro-embryo, but he/she certainly is not pro-life!"

These people are 'no-choice' or 'forced choice' if you prefer.    They may be pro-embryo, but they're certainly not pro-life!"    So call them no-choice, anti-choice, forced choice, or pro-embryo, but please don't insult the intelligence of those who support women's reproductive rights by calling these people pro-life.

  Frequently use this this semi-slanderous tag line:

"You may be pro-embryo, but you certainly are not pro-life!"    This could easily be developed into a repeated tag line.    If used frequently enough by the pro-choice community, people will start to wonder what it means.  They'll also start to question the anti-abortionists' pro-life label.   Whenever they refer to themselves as pro-life label, challenge them to prove it.    Use the data on the page  The Pro-Life Leaders Are Not Pro-Life page.    Ask them the questions found there.

  A single cell is not a pre-born baby

Hold up a seed and offer them a pre-born redwood tree.   Say, "A thirty-seven-ton redwood tree is worth several thousand dollars to the lumber barons who are destroying what few trees are remaining.  I'll sell  you this tree for only a $900."    Are you willing to buy this pre-born redwood tree?     Wait silently for their response.

"What?    That's not a good enough deal?"    Hold up a set of blueprints and offer them a pre-born house.    Say, "This fully constructed house  is worth $150,000.    I'll sell it to you today for only a $5,995."    Are you willing to buy this pre-born house?   

Wait silently for their response, then say,  "Come on guys, get real!    What's this pre-born business?    Is it designed to inform?   Or is it designed to confuse and misrepresent?"    Pause and look intently at them,  then say,   "Deception?   Misrepresentation?   Is that what Jesus teaches?    

You call yourselves Christians and at the same time you insult those of us who really are Christians.   Did you ever read the line in the Bible, "Know the truth and the truth will set you free?   The phrase pre-born baby is not the truth.   It's highly emotional rhetoric designed to distort the truth and elicit emotional responses.   You aught to be ashamed of yourself."   

You may choose to press the question, "Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"   This shifts the antiabortion discussion into a discussion of their character and puts them clearly on the defensive.   It also brings into question the veracity of everything else they say.  

 “By their fruits shall you know them.”   Outside of the criminal community deception, intimidation, arson, murder seem to be exclusive fruits of the anti-abortion movement.

You and the other forced motherhood promoters may be pro-embryo, but you’re certainly are not pro-life!

  The anti-abortion leaders cause more abortions than any other single source

By their opposition to birth control, to sex education, to contraceptive research, and by destroying numerous health care clinics which provide sex education and contraceptive services, the anti-abortion leaders are actually pro-abortion.   Why else would they cause many of them?

Ask, "Do you intentionally spread misery so you can come along and be the good guy and save those you push into misery?   Why are you doing this?    What's in it for you?   The death and misery that results from your actions say you're  not  pro-life!    You may be pro-embryo, but you certainly are  not  pro-life!"

Create a Biblical Snafu?

How does one use the Bible to promote pro-choice?   Those of you who have had military experience already know the answer.   The military technique used to screw things up is:  “Follow the rule book.”

The Christian Bible is the anti-abortionist’s equivalent of the military rulebook.   So to screw up their anti-abortion campaign, simply call on them to follow their own rules.

Utilizing this section requires that you first get them to acknowledge that they believe the Christian Bible is the world's one and only sacred book and that the person you are debating with adheres to that book.  Here's how to set them up:

  Swear Yourself In

One technique is to begin the public discussion by declaring you intention to speak only the truth.   Stand up, place your hand on the Christian Bible and swear your self in.   Speak words similar to what is done in a Court of law.   After you finish speaking your oath, hand the Bible to your opponent and ask him/her to do likewise.

The purpose of this is to put the fear of God's wrath into the opponent for lying or deceiving the listeners.   Use more foreboding language than the standard swearing in, such as:  

"I swear on this sacred Bible to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth.   I place my eternal soul in the hands of God with the intent that I shall be sent to Satan's Hell if, here today, I violate this oath and intentionally deceive those listening to this discussion, so help me God."     

  Follow the rule book

If you choose not to use the swearing-in technique, you can simply ask if they are willing to acknowledge and abide by the Bible.   If they say no, they will be seen as truth-denying hypocrites.  If they say yes, ask them to explain the meaning of some of the following Biblical passages:

Genesis 2:7

"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."

* clearly states that life begins at first breath.

Job 33:4

"The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty has given me life."

*  reinforces the Genesis 7:2 statement that breath is the place where God acknowledges His creation as being alive.

Ecclesiastes 11:5, RSV        (RSV = Revised Standard Version of the Christian Bible)

Constantly Ask Questions:

A very effective debating technique is to ask lots of questions.   Why?   Because the one who asks the questions guides the course of the conversation.   A wise person will often let the other think of him as a fool who doesn't know much.   One technique is to engage them in conversation from the perspective of someone who is confused and is asking for their assistance.

But remember, you're not there to convert any one.   Your job is to ask your opponent unanswerable questions and encourage those listening to the conversation to think for themselves.   When someone thinks for himself, the foundation of anti-choice argument becomes apparent as a fantasy with veracity equal to that of fables about the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny.

Keep it light.   Make it humorous whenever you can, and remember, there are no bad guys, only other people with different beliefs.   As much as is reasonable, avoid being confrontational and avoid making others wrong.   Just keep asking questions.

Avoid making claims that the anti-abortion leaders are bad people.   Instead, point out that they are telling only portions of the truth.  Use ridicule and point out their absurdities.

Here are some examples of the types of questions to ask.

   Belief in the Bible:

Do you believe the Bible?  Then why don’t you believe Genesis 2:7?

  Life begins at Conception

You just said you believe life begins at conception.   Because you believe something, does your belief make it true?   How do you know that’s true?  If millions of people believed it would that make it true?   Can we pass laws based only on beliefs or do we need something more?   In addition to your personal beliefs, what more do we need?

  I Know Because the Bible Tells Me So:

You just said ____ was true because the Bible says it is.   What about those who practice other religions and don’t believe as you do?   Is _____ true for them, also?   How do you know this for sure?   And one other thing, what relevance does your personal religious belief have to secular laws that everybody must obey?   Are you saying I should be considered a criminal if I don't practice your religion?  

   I Believe _______, therefore _______:

Whenever one of the anti-abortionists makes a statement which contains the words "I  Believe _____ therefore _____." stop them and say, "Thank you for sharing your personal beliefs with us.   Now, please tell us what relevance does your personal religious belief have to do with passing secular laws which would force everyone to practice your religion?

What about those who don't believe as you do, do we simply trample on their rights and on their beliefs?

  What's the purpose of human life?

If you opponent is expecting a traditional discussion about abortion, here's a way to catch them off guard.   At the very start of the conversation, casually ask them "What's the purpose of human life?"    No mater what they answer ask them how they know that for sure.   If they reply they don't know, ask,  "Then how do you know for sure all the things you've been telling us about the meaning of abortion are true?"

Continue to press them with questions like:  "Are you your physical body?  If you are your physical body, then how do you get to heaven when your body dies?   If you are not your body, what's all this fuss over eggs and embryos?'  Press the point that these two ideas are in conflict with one another.  Ask for an explanation.

  Ask for Proof of God's Magic

Say, "You and you fellow no-choice promoters have been telling the public that very time a human egg and sperm unite, God steps in and, by an act of instantaneous, supernatural, transcendental magic, transforms that egg into an eternal, everlasting life-spirit called a human being.   "Is it correct to say that you believe this brand new human being did not exist before God did his magic act?   "Is it correct to say that you believe every fertilized egg is an independent human being?    Is it correct to say that you believe you are your physical body?"  

They will feel strongly pressured to say yes to the above questions, because that is be basis of their belief.   Continue with, "Are you aware that there are approximately two billion people -- that's billion with a B -- two billion people hold strongly to very different religious beliefs.   They believe that they are divine beings who always were and always will be.   Two billion people believe that they simply enter their human bodies at or shortly before birth and, at death, discard those bodies with the same casualness that one might discard a suit of clothes.  You are aware of that, aren't you?"

Then say, "Your a man of integrity, so I know you wouldn't just make up a story that two billion don't believe and then attempt to force them to practice your religion without some proof.  You obviously have proof that God does this magic act every time a human egg and sperm unite.   Would you present your proof to us now, please?"

Continue with this type of question as long as you can.  When you've played this one out, ask:  "Do you want to know the 'real' truth about abortion?  They'll feel pressured to say yes.   If they do say yes, respond with, "Good!    We are obviously making progress here.   Thank  you."  

To a response such as "I don't want to know your truth,"  say, "Apparently you're only interested in your own opinion.   Are you telling us you already know all there is to know?   

If they say no, respond with, "Well,  even if you don't want to know, some of our listeners might so here it is:

The "real" truth about abortion is that we don't know the truth and we have no way of finding out.  

Because there are so many unanswerable questions nobody can say they are right and everyone else is wrong.   That seems to make abortion a religious issue, doesn't it."    Push the Concept that abortion is a religious issue.

  Ask "Is your faith in the words you speak 
       or in the actions you take?"

What criminal behavior did Jesus teach?   Did He tell you to lie and to ignore parts of the Bible?   Did he encourage harassment, intimidation, inciting to riot, public prayers, vandalism, arson or murder?

  To Suffer is Godly:

Have you ever gone hungry for days at a time?   Have you ever slept out under a bridge on a cold and rainy night?    If you believe that sex is sin and suffering is Godly, I wonder why you don't do your own suffering?   Why do you force others to suffer for you?

  The Easter Bunny:

I believe the Easter bunny lays all those brightly colored eggs that the children have such fun searching for.  I also believe that the Easter  bunny is a the reincarnation of Jesus and is a messenger from God.  Can we use my belief as the basis for a secular law about rabbits or Easter eggs?   Can I use the police power of secular law to force you to practice my bunny rabbit religion? 

No?    Then why are you telling us about your personal religious beliefs?   Do you have some factual evidence to present or shall we talk more about the Easter bunny?

  Religious freedom:

Do you believe in freedom of religion?    Do you believe in freedom from religion?   What's the difference?   Can their be one without the other?

If you believe in freedom of religion, then why do you deny religious freedom to others?   Billions hold the religious belief that they are eternal divine beings who always were and always will be - - divine beings that live temporarily in a series oh human bodies which they take on and then take off again with the same degree of concern that one has for a suit of clothes.   Do they not have the right to practice their religion?   

What about Genesis 2:7?   Do those of us who actually do follow the teachings of Jesus not have the right to practice our religion?

What about Jews?   The Talmud clearly says that life begins at birth.   Do you think Judaism is some kind of fake religion?   Do they not have the right to practice their religion?

And what about those who would simply be left alone to live their own lives?   Is religious freedom only for the Anti-abortionists?   Do the rest of us not have those same rights you so vehemently claim for yourselves?

  Faith, Truth, or Both:

Have you ever thought strongly, and intensely about your religious faith, and answered those nagging questions that, for the rest of us,  just don't go away?   Have you tested your faith so that you  know with absolute certainty that you are right and that the billions who practice other religions are wrong?   Did you ever wonder why billions of people hold very different religious beliefs?

Did you ever wonder why you need to convince other people that you are right?   What do you gain by attempting to force others to practice your religion?   Did you ever wonder where the story came from that only certain baptized Christians can go to heaven and everyone else is tossed into God's cosmological trash barrel?

   The Leap of Faith:

Tell me please what is a leap of faith?   Is that where you simple accept something that, in the earthly scientific sense, cannot possibly be proven.  Do you have some proof that life begins at conception or is that a leap of faith?  What if I don’t believe in reincarnation?   How do you know you’re right and I’m wrong?

Do you know with absolute certainty that every time a human egg and sperm unite, God steps in and, by an act of instantaneous, supernatural, transcendental magic, transforms that uniting human egg and sperm into an eternal, everlasting life-spirit - -  into a new, separate, sovereign, individual, human being - - into a brand new human being who did not exist before but who will now exist forever more?   Do you have some proof of that or is your statement another a leap of faith?

What about those who don't have your faith and choose not to take that leap?   Do they have a right to practice their religion?   You do believe in religious freedom, don't you?

  Saving Children's Lives:

You do want to save the lives of innocent children, don’t you?   Isn’t that the basis of the anti-abortion campaign?  Then why do you ignore the 40,000 already born children who die each and every day for lack of food, care, and basic medical attention?   Could you not save thousands perhaps even millions more lives by focusing on real children instead of embryos?  You may be pro-embryo, but you certainly are not pro-life.

  Responsibility:

Do you believe people should be responsible for the consequences of their actions?    Then how are you taking responsibility for the millions of babies who live in abject poverty as a result of your forcing their mothers to birth still more unloved, unhealthy, unwanted children?

  Adoption:

Do you believe in the adoption option?    How many children have you adopted?    No matter what they answer say,   “How many (or how many more) will you adopt.    Those of you who force unwanted babies on the world need to adopt at least ten each.    Otherwise the adoption option is an unrealistic farce.

   Forced Abortion:

Ask, "Do you have the right to force a woman to have an abortion?"   They'll say no.   Respond with, " Then what gives you the right to force her not to have an abortion?"    If they say they're concern is for the pre-born baby.   Respond with, " Here we are back into personal beliefs again!   What about the billions of people who hold different beliefs?   Are they to be denied religious freedom?    What gives you the right to play God in their lives?"  

Would you like to be forced into practicing my religion?   Then you obviously wouldn’t want  to force me or anyone else to practice your religion, now, would you?   Are you aware that by forcing unwilling women to bear unwanted children you are forcing them to practice your religion?"

  Getting to Heaven without a physical body:

Since you believe you are your body, how will you get to heaven when your body dies?   What is the spirit the Bible keeps referring to?  Have you read Ecclesiastes 11:5, RSV lately?   Let me read it to you:

"As you do not know how the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of the woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.”

That passage, like dozens of others in the Bible, clearly distinguishes between the body and the spirit and also says that humans don’t know when the spirit enters the physical form.   What does that mean to you?

Ask, "You do read the Bible, don't you?  Have you ever read this before?"  If they say no,  ask,  "Why do you ignore the very book you encourage others to read?"   If they say yes, ask, "Then why do you ignore the words of God you so ardently preach that  other should follow?"  

 Are you a real Christian or are you one of those the Bible warns us about?   Are you a wolf in sheep's clothing?   Do  you know what the word hypocrite means?

  Wolves:

The Bible clearly warns us about wolves in sheep's clothing.   Tell me please, what is a wolf in sheep's clothing?   Is it not someone who hides his true intention for some ungodly purpose?

Since thousands of already-born children die for every embryo you save, you are obviously not really concerned about saving lives.   What is your true intention?   Pause here.   They'll not have any answer, or if they do answer, you'll hear something close to the standard party line;  "Saving innocent lives."

Ask, "How about money and political power?   Do those words mean anything to you?"   With the time money and effort you now waste forcing unwilling women to bear unwanted children, you could save hundreds of thousands more lives - - the lives of real children.    Because saving these lives in obviously not important to you, what is your true intention?

  Wolves, Whores, Hypocrites, and Tax Collectors:

The Bible places wolves, whores, hypocrites and tax collectors all in the same category, like they were siblings in a family.  What is a hypocrite, any way?   Isn't it someone who preaches one thing and practices something else?  

Ask, "Have you ever heard this truth:  What you do speaks so loudly I cannot hear what you say?"  Read some of the behaviors from the list below (harassment, threats, intimidation, etc.) then ask, "What kind of role model are you setting for our children?"   

Do you recall the Bible's Golden Rule:  "Do onto others as you would have them do onto you?"   You do read the Bible, don't you?   Then which of these behaviors do you want done onto you? - - assault, vandalism, arson, or murder?

If they deny culpability, say, "Encouraging someone else to commit a crime is to be an accessory to their act.   In a court of law such behavior is considered criminal.   You do believe in law and order, don't you?   To follow the law and order issue further, see the first example under Ask Leading Questions.

  Unconscionable Behavior:

Why do the anti-choice leaders need to participate in, encourage and/or condone:

.

What great cause uses these tactics?   What noble cause needs to use these tactics?   When you read this list of anti-abortion tactics does it list sound like Jesus speaking?    Or does it sound more like Adolph Hitler?

  Jesus as a Role Model:

Did Jesus lie by withholding portions of the truth with the intent to deceive?

Did Jesus say it was OK to force people to practice his teachings?

Did Jesus tell you to commit arson and murder?

  Forgiveness:

What about forgiveness?   Do you recall the words, “Forgive them, Father, they know not what they do.”?

  Forgiveness and Original Sin:

And what about this story you tell of original sin and a two-faced hypocrite that sends his son to preach forgiveness but continues to this day to punish billions of humans simply because one of their long-dead ancestors ate an apple from a special tree?   Is God really that much of a hypocrite or am I missing something here?   Where did this original sin story come from, anyway?  Are you sure we're both reading the same Bible?

  Judging Others:

What about being non-judgmental?

Matthew 7:12  Judge not, that ye be not judged.   For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

Luke 6:37  Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.

You're walking a very fine line here between being judgmental and making an observation.   If you have an emotional attachment to your observation of the evidence, you're probably being judgmental.  

One way to deal with this issue is to acknowledge that, at times, you are judgmental.    If questioned on this issue, you might say something like:  "Yes I do have strong feeling about certain issues, but I do not use my emotions an excuse to engage in criminal behavior or to violate the rights or sovereignty of those who hold beliefs different from mine.

  In Your Own Heart:

Ask, "When you hear stories that defy common sense and that deny the Bible, how do you feel?    When you ignore Jesus' teachings, how do you feel?"

  God and Punishment:

Ask, "Is your God really so weak that He needs your help to punish the unfaithful?"

  What's the difference?

(Use this only if one of the opponents gets nasty.)

Ask,  "Have you heard the joke going around about the anti-abortionist and the hypocrite?   Let me share it with you."

"What's the difference between an anti-abortionist and the hypocrite?"

If they say no, respond with,  "I didn't think so."

If they no and ask for the answer, say, "You don't know!  Pause, then say, "That's OK.  I don't know either."

If they say yes, then ask, "OK, what's the difference?"  (Because you have no idea what they'll say, you're on your own from here.)

Tell Them a Story:

  Sample Story #1 - - Jesus In the Anti-Abortionists' Temple

Take them on an imaginary journey with Jesus as he enters the Temple of God and finds the anti-abortionists have set up a series of tables.   

There's a table for lies

Deceiving others by omitting the truth

Knowingly speaking half-truths

Distorting the Truth

Engaging in intentional deception

Ignoring, defying, or distorting  Biblical truths

There's another table for manipulation

Intentionally using inflammatory rhetoric

Engaging in public prayer to be seen praying

Inciting to riot

Participating in a public disturbance

Another table for slander and intimidation

Making threats, verbal or otherwise

Intimidating people

Harassing others

Invading another person's privacy

Censoring opposing opinions

Belittling and slandering the reputation of another

A table for violence

Engaging in violence

Vandalism

Committing assault against persons or property

A table for secrecy

Secretly engaging in criminal behavior

Secretly engaging in influence peddling

Mastering doublespeak and using hidden  agendas

Arson and Murder each have their own special table.

At either side of the altar, there is a special, very large table on a raised platform.   One table is for the  accumulation of:

Money

Privilege

Political Power

The other is for:

Personal Power

Fame

Ego-Aggrandizement

Centered on the alter is a large, solid-gold statue of Jesus

Invite your listeners into the Temple, describe the tables and ask them,  "Which tables have you sat at?"    Be silent for a moment.   Ask, "Have you ever lied by withholding the truth?   or ignored Genesis 2:7 in the Bible?"   Again be silent for a moment, then say,  "Come on now!    Do you think you can hide the truth from God?"  

"Jesus didn't take kindly to finding money changers in the Temple, so how do you think He'll react when He walks in and finds you promoting, supporting or engaging is arson, violence and murder?   You do believe Jesus is returning, don't you?   

How will you answer him when he asks, 'Whose purpose did you serve by your actions?   How dare you commit these crimes in my name'!   How dare you serve the devil in a temple of God!"  

What do you suppose He will do to your tables?

_________________

  Sample Story #2 - - Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates:

Take them on an imaginary journey to the gates of heaven.  

Imagine for a moment what Saint Peter will say when you ask to enter heaven.   Saint Peter opens the great book of records and reads:  "Let's see here.   Withholding the truth with the intent to deceive - - 573 counts.  You do know that withholding the truth with the intent to deceive gets the same punishment as outright lying, don't you?"

"What else?  I see you participated in actions that caused two women's health care clinics to be shut down and three more to never open.  That resulted in an additional 13,763 unwanted pregnancies, an additional 9,332 abortions, and thirty more deaths from botched illegal abortions.    I thought you were opposed to abortions.   Why were you promoting them?   

And then the closed clinics resulted in 75 deaths from AIDS,  33 miscarriages,  and 132 deaths that otherwise would have been prevented.   That's a total of 240 counts of accessory to murder.

Anything else?   Yes, it says here you divorced your wife and married another woman.   You do know that the Bible clearly says such behavior is adultery.   In spite of knowing it was a mortal sin, you committed adultery for seventeen years.

And what else?   Ah, yes!  Lack of forgiveness - - being judgmental - - denying the word of God clearly written in the Bible.  You ignored Mathew 6:5-6,  Mark 10:19,   Ezekiel 37:1-10,  Ecclesiastes 11:5, RSV,   Job 33:4,  Genesis 2:7, and..."   Peter stops reading, looks at you and says, "There's no need for me to read any further.   Sorry my friend, heaven is for the saintly."

The next thing you know, Saint Peter and the pearly gates have disappeared, everything is black, things are getting pretty hot and you can hear screaming in the distance.

You do recall that the Bible clearly says, "As you sow, so shall you reap."   

I thank God I'm not standing in your shoes!

_________________

  Sample Story  #3- - Russians - - The Make-Believe Communists:

Tell them the Russian joke about how people would refer to the leaders in the Kremlin and say, "I wonder what they'll do when the communists show up."   The Russian government was a Hitler-style, fascist police-state disguised under the label, Communism.   Their public proclamations heralded Communism, but their actions were identical to Hitler's fascism - - fear, intimidation, violence, murder, et cetera.

Look the no-choice promoter directly in the eye and say,  “Today, we could ask the same type of question about those of you who are spearheading the ant-abortion movement.   When we listen to your words, they sound Christian.   When we examine your actions, they're anything but Christian.   How many of you think Jesus taught intimidation, violence, arson and murder?”

"You and your fellow anti-abortion leaders engage in, encourage, support and/or condone behavior that is nothing short of appalling and yet you call yourselves Christian.   Those of us who incorporate Jesus' teachings in our live and who honor the teachings of the Bible (both the Old and New Testament) are aghast at the way our sacred book is being distorted and dishonored - - at the way our sacred is being turned into the profane."

_________________

There is not even one of the anti-abortion Core Assumptions that is supported by the Bible.   Their additional and supporting Unprovable Assumptions  are also devoid of Biblical support.

Sex and Sin:

Some will say a discussion of the anti-abortionists' anti-sexual nature is irrelevant to a abortion controversy.   They may be right;  however, sex is an integral part of human nature and the evidence indicates that their anti-sexual beliefs strongly influence their anti-abortion position.    It's included below.   If you feel the sexual discourse below is irrelevant, than ignore it and move on.

  Is Sex really sinful?

If sex is so sinful, why is there so much of it in the Bible?    Why is Christianity the only anti-sexual religion?   Buddhism and Hinduism, for example, are openly sexual.

  Saint Anti-Sexual Augustine

Approximately seventeen centuries ago, Saint Augustine, the grandfather of Puritanism, authored the Catholic doctrine which has been church law ever since.   Could it simply be that Saint Augustine’s sexual guilt complex got translated into religious doctrine?   After all, there are none more self-righteous than reformed sinners, and Augustine was a self-acknowledged sexual sinner.   He authored one of the most memorable religious quotes of all time: “God grant me chastity, but not now.”

Perhaps Augustine accidentally missed seeing Romans 14:14

“I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that [there is] nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him [it is] unclean.”

The Song of Solomon   (aka  Song of Songs)

Perhaps Augustine wasn’t reading the same Christian Bible we use today for how could he miss The Song of Solomon.   Here are the first eight verses from chapter seven.

I’ve taken the liberty to use the word yoni where an ancient translator used the word navel.   One has to be extremely naive to think the original author was referring to his beloved’s navel and somehow just happened to completely forget her genitals.

¤  How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince's daughter! the joints of thy thighs [are] like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman.

¤  Thy yoni [is like] a round goblet, [which] wanteth not liquor: thy belly [is like] an heap of wheat set about with  lilies.

¤  Thy two breasts [are] like two young roes [that are] twins.

¤  Thy neck [is] as a tower of ivory; thine eyes [like] the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose [is] as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus.

¤  Thine head upon thee [is] like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king [is] held in the galleries.

¤  How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!

¤  This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters [of grapes].

¤  I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples;

  Toy Guns / Toy Breasts

When you examine children's toys, you find there are hundreds of thousands of different types of guns and hundreds of thousands of other types of other toys designed to simulate violence, death, destruction and war, but among all these children's toys, there is not even one single toy breast.  Why is that?

The Song of Solomon in the Bible says essentially that female breasts are delightful.   The Song of Solomon actually says that the entire female body is exquisitely delightful.   Why do you preach that guns which kill are good, but breasts, which are the source of life, are obscene?   What kind of message are you sending to our children?

Are you sure you're a Christian?   Are you reading the same Bible that I am?   Am I missing something here?   How did you get such a distorted view of reality?   You're regularly asking others to repent their sins.   Do you ever practice what you preach?  Are you willing to repent your sin of preaching hate and violence and denying sex and love?

Closing Statement:

Some of you reading this document might have been surprised when you learned that the anti-abortion campaign is based on a long list of unprovable assumptions some of which directly contradict the Bible.   Although this should be irrelevant to secular law, most of their underlying assumptions have no biblical authority whatsoever.

The assumptions which many people have willingly and unquestioningly accepted as truth were simply made up ages ago by long-dead monks for reasons that are unknown to us today.   So, the question is:  "What purpose is served by living one's life according to an antique lie?"

You might want to ask of those who promote forced motherhood:  "Are all your assertions of anti-abortion leader’s actually true?   Are you telling  the complete truth?   What about Genesis 2:7  

"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."

What do you suppose that means?   

Do you avoid everything that is not the truth?   Is your intention to enlighten and inform or to darken and deceive?   Are there any hidden or unspoken or unexamined motives behind this campaign?   What are the long-term consequences of your actions?"   

We know what the anti-abortion movement appears to be, but do you suppose there could be another Wizard of Oz  hiding behind another curtain of illusion?   What is “the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth” about abortion?   If you don't know, you'd be wise to find out.

_______________

And, do you suppose it might be time to take a new look at that great book we call the Christian Bible and ask,  “What truth is there here for me and how will seeing that truth set me free?”

I was recently surprised to learn that the Bible actually supports bringing your mind into your religion and thinking for yourself.   Do you recall any anti-choice leader ever saying, read John 7:24 because it says, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment."

How many of you think it’s a righteous judgment to allow 40,000 children to die each and every day while the anti-choice leaders spend their time, effort, and your money attempting to force unwilling women to birth still more unwanted children?

How many of you think it’s a righteous judgment to cut off funds to the health clinics which serve desperate women in third-world countries simply because those clinics offers birth control information.  

Those who engage in such behavior may be pro-embryo, but they certainly are not pro-life!

Feedback:

After you’ve had an opportunity to actually engage an anti-abortionist in conversation, we here at The Pro-Truth Team would appreciate your contacting us and telling us what worked for you, what didn’t, and how we can improve, correct, and/or expand upon the information on this page. (or on any other page, for that matter)  

And you needn't be in a public forum to converse with an no-choice supporter. You can practice the above dialogues in one on one conversations.  Actually, that's the best place to start.  Also remember, every step you take, no matter how small is another step toward religious, political and reproductive freedom!

Whatever you can do, please do it now!

Thank you!