A Brief Book Notice from Books At a Glance
by Joshua K. Smith
(Note: Crossway has released a second edition of this work that is revised and expanded; the Table of Contents and page numbers for quotes provided here are for the original 2009 version.)
Overview
“The Case for Life” is a comprehensive guide designed to equip Christians with the knowledge and skills to effectively engage the culture on the issue of abortion. Scott Klusendorf moves beyond simply stating a pro-life position; instead, a rigorous framework for understanding the debate is laid out, centered on the foundational question: What is the unborn? The text challenges common pro-choice arguments by exposing their hidden assumptions and logical fallacies, using science, philosophy, and theology to make a compelling case for the full humanity and inherent value of the unborn. The idea of moral neutrality is refuted. The importance of engaging in genuine dialogue is underscored, and the reader is equipped with practical tools for conversations and rebuttals to common objections. Klusendorf also addresses the difficult pastoral aspects of this issue, urging Christians to be both truth-tellers and gracious ambassadors of the gospel who are willing to address sin and offer a path for healing. Ultimately, the book is a call to action, urging readers to engage the culture, address injustices, and defend those who cannot defend themselves, all while pointing to a clear understanding of how God values human life.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Part One: Pro-Life Christians Clarify the Debate
1 What’s the Issue
2 What Is the Unborn?
3 What Makes Humans Valuable?
4 Is Embryonic Stem Cell Research Morally Complex?
Part Two: Pro-Life Christians Establish a Foundation for the Debate
5 The Ground Rules, Part 1: Can You Name My Claim?
6 The Ground Rules, Part 2: Is Moral Neutrality Possible?
7 Foundations: Does God Matter? (Or Am I Just Matter?)
8 Dead Silence: Does the Bible Justify Abortion?
Part Three: Pro-Life Christian Answer Objections Persuasively
9 From Debate to Dialogue: Asking the Right Questions
10 The Cost Hanger Objection: “Women Will Die from Illegal Abortions”
11 The Tolerance Objection: “You Should Force Your Views on Others”
12 The Single Issue Objection: “You Shouldn’t Force Your Views on Others”
13 The Hard Cases Objections: “Rape Justifies Abortion”
14 The “I Don’t Like You” Objection: “Men Can’t Get Pregnant” and Other Personal Attacks
15 The Bodily Autonomy Objection: “It’s My Body, I’ll Decide”
Part Four: Pro-Life Christians Teach and Equip
16 Equip to Engage: The Pro-Life Past in the Twenty-First Century
17 Healed and Equipped: Hope for Post-Abortion Men and Women
18 Here We Stand: Co-Belligerence Without Theological Compromise
19 Can we Win? How Pro-Life Christians Are Making an Extraordinary Impact
Appendix: Training Resources
Scripture Index
General Index
Selected Quotes
- “The controversy of abortion is not a debate between those who are pro-choice and those who are anti-choice. It’s not about privacy. It’s not about trusting women to decide. It’s not about forcing one’s morality. It’s about one question that trumps all others.” (p. 20)
- “Most people who say they oppose abortion do just enough to salve the conscience but not enough to stop the killing.” (p. 11)
- “From conception onward, the human embryo is fully programmed, and has the active disposition, to develop himself or herself to the next mature stage of a human being.” (p. 39)
- “The clearest evidence that the embryo in the first two weeks is not a mere mass of cells but is a unitary organism is this: if the individual cells within the embryo before twinning were each independent of the others, there would be no reason why each would not regularly develop on its own.” (p. 41)
- “In short, pro-life advocates contend that although humans differ immensely with respect to talents, accomplishments, and degrees of development, they are nonetheless equal because they share a common human nature.” (p. 29)
- “The issue that divides Nadine and me is not that she is pro-choice and I am anti-choice. The issue that divides us is just one question: What is the unborn?” (p. 25)
- “The pro-life argument on abortion is that eight-week-old fetuses do not differ from ten-day-old babies in any way that would justify killing the former. A lot of people believe that God forbids the killing of ten-day-old babies, and many would be unable, if pressed, to give a persuasive account of non-theological reasons for holding such a killing to be wrong.” (p. 27)
- “If the unborn is a human being, killing him or her to benefit others is a serious moral wrong. It treats the distinct human being, with his or her own inherent moral worth, as nothing more than a disposable instrument.” (p. 25)
- “We believe elective abortion takes human life without justification, and thus we oppose it.” (p. 31)
- “If we can agree that brain death is the end of a person, then can we not agree that brain function is the beginning of a person?” (p. 54)