What do you think?
Rate this book
The Case for Life: Equipping Christians to Engage the Culture
Pro-life Advocate Scott Klusendorf Explains the Pro-life Argument and Why It Matters Pro-life Christians, take the pro-life message can compete in the marketplace of ideas if Christians properly understand and articulate that message. In light of the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade , too many Christians do not understand the essential truths of the pro-life position, making it difficult for them to articulate a biblical worldview on issues like abortion, cloning, and embryo research. This second edition of The Case for Life , now with a substantial amount of additional and updated content, provides intellectual grounding for the pro-life convictions that most evangelicals hold. The debate turns on one key What is the unborn? In this timely book, author Scott Klusendorf teaches readers what the role of the pro-life Christian should be and how to lovingly and winsomely engage in questions and objections.
416 pages, Paperback
First published March 31, 2009
143 people are currently reading
1112 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
June 22, 2024
2024 Review (If I was rating now, maybe 4 stars at most.)
I challenged myself in 2024 to re-read the books that impacted me most in my 20s.
I suppose—per my earlier review—when I first read this book it really did impact me. I still found the arguments engaging. It actually held up fairly well considering the radical changes in legal and social commentary on this area of law.
But I think it also was written in a particular era of apologetics writing where engagement depended on having a "response" to every argument. (Maybe I am just not in that world anymore and that's still the case.) To the extent it educates and informs pro-life advocates, I found it helpful review because it forced me to think deeper on the subject. To the extent it "equips"...I guess I've just seen these kind of things handled so wrong that I'm more hesitant. It also ranges into other subjects like faith v. science or the validity of the Bible or the Gospel message in a manner I didn't always find relevant to the central subject.
I also still don't love the "conversation" templates to model how these conversations will go. (Does it ever?) And I really hate discussion questions at the end of a chapter, no matter how helpful for enforcing the lesson
I'd read it and discuss it with someone pro-life who wants to further explore the philosophical and religious reasons for their position. (But it really isn't written for someone who doesn't start with that point of view.)
2013 Review
A very useful book for equipping Christians to defend their pro-life views. Very handy, though I wasn't always thrilled with his "mock" conversations. At times they came across as a little naive, but I realize he has more experience in those conversations than I do. Scott Klusendorf is a terrific speaker, a great writer, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading his book. He makes a lot of great points and at more than one occasion, I started jumping up and down and shouting "YOU HAVE TO HEAR THIS ARGUMENT IT IS SO SIMPLISTICALLY BRILLIANT" in the general direction of my flatmates. Previously they assumed the only thing that got me so excited involved Koreans.
Really, though, well worth the time for Christians seeking some solid arguments.
I challenged myself in 2024 to re-read the books that impacted me most in my 20s.
I suppose—per my earlier review—when I first read this book it really did impact me. I still found the arguments engaging. It actually held up fairly well considering the radical changes in legal and social commentary on this area of law.
But I think it also was written in a particular era of apologetics writing where engagement depended on having a "response" to every argument. (Maybe I am just not in that world anymore and that's still the case.) To the extent it educates and informs pro-life advocates, I found it helpful review because it forced me to think deeper on the subject. To the extent it "equips"...I guess I've just seen these kind of things handled so wrong that I'm more hesitant. It also ranges into other subjects like faith v. science or the validity of the Bible or the Gospel message in a manner I didn't always find relevant to the central subject.
I also still don't love the "conversation" templates to model how these conversations will go. (Does it ever?) And I really hate discussion questions at the end of a chapter, no matter how helpful for enforcing the lesson
I'd read it and discuss it with someone pro-life who wants to further explore the philosophical and religious reasons for their position. (But it really isn't written for someone who doesn't start with that point of view.)
2013 Review
A very useful book for equipping Christians to defend their pro-life views. Very handy, though I wasn't always thrilled with his "mock" conversations. At times they came across as a little naive, but I realize he has more experience in those conversations than I do. Scott Klusendorf is a terrific speaker, a great writer, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading his book. He makes a lot of great points and at more than one occasion, I started jumping up and down and shouting "YOU HAVE TO HEAR THIS ARGUMENT IT IS SO SIMPLISTICALLY BRILLIANT" in the general direction of my flatmates. Previously they assumed the only thing that got me so excited involved Koreans.
Really, though, well worth the time for Christians seeking some solid arguments.
September 10, 2013
Scott Klusendorf has produced a marvelous resource that will equip pro-lifers to communicate more creatively and effectively as they engage our culture. The Case for Life is well-researched, well-written, logical, and clear, containing many pithy and memorable statements. Those already prolife will be equipped, those on the fence will likely be persuaded. Readers looking to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves will find much here to say. I highly recommend this book.
December 6, 2015
as a pro-life atheist, I'm not really the target audience for this book. Nevertheless, I found the part that deals with pro-life arguments to be well written and helpful, and even the part that dealt solely with Christian apologetics to be interesting. I disagree with many of the religious arguments the author makes, including his claims of the reliability of the Bible – (that's been well debunked in other places), and his belief that only people with a Christian worldview can have a basis for morality. He seems to feel that morality exists only because of God's laws and only those with knowledge of God's laws truly have a framework for their moral beliefs – basically, he acknowledges that you can be "good without God" (which I'm grateful for)but he maintains that only Christians have a valid basis for their morality – in other words, moral relativism is indefensible except from a Christian perspective. I would disagree with that. He doesn't consider morals as a social construct that is passed down from one generation to another– that is a possibility he never addresses.nor does he consider that perhaps the "conscience" evolved alongside with sentience as a part of the human psyche in order to make it easier for humans to live in peace. he also attempts to justify the belief in God and intelligent design by maintaining that since moral values exist independently of biology, then God must exist – a line of argument I think is specious.
I could go on discussing the theological arguments that the author makes, but I'll close by saying that I think Christians will only be even more convinced that they are right by reading this book. While half the book was irrelevant to the abortion debate, it was still interesting to read and it did give me some insights into how to debate the abortion issue with pro-choice opponents.
I could go on discussing the theological arguments that the author makes, but I'll close by saying that I think Christians will only be even more convinced that they are right by reading this book. While half the book was irrelevant to the abortion debate, it was still interesting to read and it did give me some insights into how to debate the abortion issue with pro-choice opponents.
September 22, 2022
Equipping, engaging, easy to read, and a bold defense of life. Scott will address all of your questions and scenarios about abortion with grace and conviction.
January 18, 2024
This book had really good content and some outstanding practices in support of the Pro-life movement. This book was dense at times- but I did find it helpful in developing a more grounded stance on this topic.
Apologetically: great resource and reference guide
Practicality: great resource and I will definitely use in the future
Stick to the syllogism:
1) It is wrong to intentionally kill an innocent human being.
2) Abortion intentionally kills an innocent human being.
Therefore,
3) Abortion is morally wrong.
Apologetically: great resource and reference guide
Practicality: great resource and I will definitely use in the future
Stick to the syllogism:
1) It is wrong to intentionally kill an innocent human being.
2) Abortion intentionally kills an innocent human being.
Therefore,
3) Abortion is morally wrong.
October 12, 2025
Scott Klusendorf, the apologist you are. This is a phenomenal book. Whether you are pro-abortion or anti-abortion, this book has the most logical and comprehensive arguments against abortion I have ever read. I didn’t expect for this book to seriously change the way I think about abortion on such a deep level.
July 28, 2022
Required reading on this sensitive topic. Possibly the best pro-life primer around.
June 7, 2024
Great talk by author on Focus on the Family 6.6.24
Starting from 5 star based on that talk.
Starting from 5 star based on that talk.
July 23, 2021
Talk about a comprehensive apologetic for the pro-life movement! Klusendorf does an excellent job not just promoting pro-life arguments and graciously critiquing the arguments of abortion-choice advocates, but he places this discussion in the larger context of worldview in general. Highly recommended for all Christians and pro-life advocates!
June 10, 2025
"Most people who say they oppose abortion do just enough to salve the conscience but not enough to stop the killing."
This is an excellent summary of the pro-life position, written in a firm yet winsome style. While I don't expect it to change the mind of pro-choice advocates, it will remind and encourage pro-lifers like myself that our position is:
- Backed by scientific evidence
- More logical, intuitive and self-consistent
- More just, merciful and reflective of basic human rights and dignity
Introduction
There are two foundational points to make in any discussion of abortion. First, we're arguing about moral truth, and whether it is real and knowable or simply a preference. Second, we're arguing over human value, and whether we are valuable for what we are intrinsically or only valuable for what we can do functionally.
Pro-life Christians answer that truth is real, knowable and nonnegotiable. Although humans differ in their respective degrees of development, they are nonetheless equal because they share a common human nature that bears the image of their Creator. Humans have value simply because they are human.
We need to simplify the debate by focusing on the one question that truly matters: What is the unborn? These issues are not morally complex, though they are often presented that way. Can we kill the unborn? Yes, but only if the unborn are not human beings. The issue is not one of choice, as some choices are wrong, like killing innocent human beings simply because they are in the way and cannot defend themselves. We thus make our case in two steps. Step one is to simplify the issue as above; step two is to make a case for life.
Pro-life advocates contend that elective abortion unjustly takes the life of a defenceless human being. This simplifies the abortion controversy by focusing public attention on just one question: Is the unborn a member of the human family? If so, killing him or her to benefit others is a serious moral wrong. It treats the distinct human being, with his or her inherent moral worth, as nothing more than a disposable instrument. Conversely, if the unborn are not human, elective abortion requires no more justification than having a tooth pulled. Pro-life advocates defend their case using science and philosophy. Scientifically, they argue that from the earliest stages of development, the unborn are distinct, living, and whole human beings. True, they have yet to grow and mature, but they are whole human beings nonetheless. Philosophically, there is no morally significant difference between the embryo we once were and the adults we are today. As has been pointed out using the acronym SLED, differences of size, level of development, environment, and degree of dependency are not relevant in the way that abortion advocates need them to be.
In short, pro-life advocates contend that although humans differ immensely in terms of talents, accomplishments, and degrees of development, they are nonetheless equal because they share a common human nature. The pro-life view is that it's always wrong to take human life without proper justification. This means that we define elective abortion as those abortions not medically necessary to save the mother's physical life (e.g. in the case of ectopic pregnancy).
A useful heuristic is, whenever we hear an argument for elective abortion, to stop and ask this question: Would this justification for killing the unborn work for killing a toddler? If not, your critic is assuming that the unborn aren't human, a point for which he needs to argue. The science of embryology is clear. From the earliest stages of development, the unborn are distinct, living, whole and unique human beings.
Embryology and the Pro-Life Position
In summary, the evidence indicates that the human embryo, from the zygote stage forward, is a distinct, unitary human organism - a human being. The key point is that even though the cells in the early embryo are totipotent (that is, able to develop into any kind of bodily cell), they function in a coordinated manner as parts of a unified organism, the embryo.
Again, humans have value simply because they are human, not because of some acquired property that they may gain or lose during their lifetime. If you deny this, it's difficult to account for fundamental human equality for anyone. Pro-Life advocates contend that from the earliest stages of development, the unborn are distinct, living, and whole human organisms. They are not parts of larger human beings (like skin cells are) but are whole human entities capable of directing their internal growth and development. Pro-lifers don't look to theology to tell them these things, but to the science of embryology.
Science alone cannot justify the pro-life position, though it can give us the facts we need to draw moral conclusions on a host of controversial issues, including abortion, embryonic stem cell research, and cloning. Thus, the first step in resolving these issues is to state the proper scientific facts about the biological nature of the unborn entity. As we have seen, those facts are not in dispute.
A Philosophical Question: Human Non-Persons?
We are left with an important philosophical question: Do all human beings, regardless of size, level of development, environment, or degree of dependency, have an equal right to life? Pro-life Christians contend that human beings are valuable in virtue of the kind of thing they are, creatures endowed by their Creator with an unalienable right to life. That right to life comes to be when they come to be.
The pro-life case for human equality is grounded in the substance view of human persons. Substances are living organisms that maintain their identities through time, while property things, such as cars and machinery, do not. What moves a puppy to maturity or a fetus to an adult is not an external collection of parts but an internal, defining nature or essence. As a substance develops, it does not become more of its kind but matures according to its kind. It remains what it is from the moment it begins to exist. Consequently, a substance functions in light of what it is and maintains its identity even if its ultimate capacities are never realised due to disability or injury.
Most critics of the pro-life position reject the substance view of human persons outlined above. Instead, they ground human rights and human equality in one's ability to immediately exercise certain capacities that embryos and fetuses, in virtue of their immature stage of development, cannot yet immediately exercise. In other words, they merely assert that certain traits are necessary for personhood but never say or prove why these supposedly value-giving properties are value-giving in the first place. In the end, the property view of human value is ad hoc and arbitrary. Why is some development needed? And why is this particular degree of development, self-awareness, the morally relevant factor rather than another? These questions are left unanswered.
Religion and the Pro-Life Position
Although the pro-life view is implicitly religious, it is no more religious than alternative explanations about human value and human rights. Most people claim to believe that all humans are equal. If they truly believe that, we need only use science to show the unborn is a human being, and their belief about equality should compel them to accept the pro-life view.
Opponents of the pro-life view believe that human beings who are in a different location or have a different level of development do not deserve the protection of the law. They assert, without justification, the belief that strong and independent humans have basic human rights while small and dependent ones do not. This view is elitist. It violates the principle that once made political liberalism great, a commitment to protect the most vulnerable members of the human community.
In sharp contrast, pro-life advocates contend that no human being, regardless of size, level of development, environment, degree of dependency, race, gender, or place of residence, should be excluded from the human family. In other words, our view of humanity is inclusive, indeed wide-open to all, especially those who are small, vulnerable, and defenceless.
Ground Rules for the Debate
Objective Moral Truth: When pro-life advocates claim that elective abortion unjustly takes the life of a defenceless human being, they are not saying they dislike abortion. They are saying it's objectively wrong, regardless of how one feels about it.
Moral Neutrality: Moral neutrality is impossible. Both sides of the abortion controversy bring prior metaphysical commitments to the debate. Why, then, is it okay for liberals to legislate their metaphysical views on the status of the unborn but not okay for pro-lifers to legislate theirs?
Does God Matter, or Are We Just Matter?: Even if the pro-life view cannot be fully explained without explicit reference to Christian faith, it does not follow that the pro-life view is inherently irrational. Christian theists make rational arguments for their position, and it's wrong for materialists to simply presume the truth of their position.
Does The Bible Justify Abortion?: We don't need Scripture to expressly say that elective abortion is wrong before we can know that it's wrong. The Bible affirms that all humans have value because they bear God's image. The facts of science make clear that from the earliest stages of development, the unborn are unquestionably human. Hence, biblical commands against the unjust taking of human life apply to the unborn just as they do to other human beings.
Objections to the Pro-Life View
Asking the Right Questions: When we hit a blocker in a conversation, we should ask a good question. The results can transform the discussion and put us back in the driver's seat, where we belong. These include:
"What do you mean by that?"
"How did you come to that conclusion?" ("Why do you believe that?"; "How do you know that?"; "What are your reasons for thinking you’re right?")
"Have you considered…?" Then finish the sentence in a way relevant to the issue at hand. Here we are offering an alternative view that gently dismantles your opponent's case or, at the very least, exposes a serious flaw in his reasoning.
Objection 1: The Coat Hanger - Women will die from illegal abortions: Every death from abortion is a tragedy we mourn. But why should the law be faulted for making it more risky for one human to take the life of another, completely innocent one?
Objection 2: Tolerance - It's intolerant to impose your view on others: Next time somebody says you shouldn't impose your beliefs on others, ask, "Why not?" Any answer he gives will be an example of his imposing his beliefs on you!
Objection 3: Single Issue - Pro-Lifers should broaden their focus: How does it follow that because pro-life advocates oppose the unjust killing of innocent human beings, they must therefore take personal responsibility for solving all of life's ills? If pro-life advocates want to win debates over abortion, we must stay focused like a laser beam on the central question: What is the unborn? The people calling for pro-lifers to broaden their efforts are not our friends. They are a distraction from the real issue.
Objection 4: Hard Cases - What about rape and incest?: How should we treat innocent human beings who remind us of a painful event? That single question clarifies everything.
Objection 5: I Don't Like You - You can’t get pregnant, and other personal attacks: Even if pro-lifers are the worst people in the world, others must still refute their arguments. Anything less is intellectually dishonest.
Objection 6: Bodily Autonomy – It's my body, I'll decide: Does a mother have no more duty to her child than she does to a total stranger who is unnaturally hooked up to her? The central claim in this objection is that pregnant mothers have an absolute right to do whatever they want with their bodies, regardless of what it does to the children they carry. This argument is particularly popular among pro-choice advocates in Ireland today. There are many issues with this argument and the related analogies (such as the "life support patient" analogy):
- First, we may not have the obligation to sustain strangers who are unnaturally plugged into us, but we do have a duty to sustain our offspring.
- Second, the child is not an intruder. He is precisely where he naturally belongs at that point in his development. If the child doesn't belong in the mother's womb, where does he belong?
- Third, abortion is not merely the withholding of support. It is also the deliberate killing of a child through dismemberment, poison, or crushing.
- Fourth, barring cases of rape, a woman cannot claim that she bears no responsibility for the pregnancy in the same way she bears no responsibility for the patient in the "life support" analogy.
- Fifth, pregnancy, unlike the "life support" analogy, is not a prison bed.
- Sixth, unlike the "life support" analogy, the mother-child relationship is not parasitic. A parasite is an alien being that should not be present. The unborn child is the mother's flesh and blood and is where he naturally belongs at that stage in his development. True, a child who is breast-feeding draws nourishment from another person, but this relationship can hardly be called parasitical. This is because the child's relation to the mother is indeed a proper one.
The bodily rights argument is compelling if and only if a pregnant woman's right to control her own body is absolute, meaning she can do whatever she wants with her body, regardless of the impact on her unborn offspring. While the mother's claim to bodily autonomy is important, it is not absolute and does not supersede her obligation to the child.
According to these arguments and analogies, moral obligations to one's offspring are consensual or voluntary. This is a strange response. Moral obligations, by their very nature, are non-consensual. That's precisely what makes them moral obligations. So the question becomes, what moral obligation does a mother have to her child? Put another way, is there a proper moral expectation that a mother provide life-sustaining care for her offspring? The assumption of the bodily autonomy proponent, that parental responsibilities toward one's offspring are voluntary, is at best odd and at worst monstrous.
Equipping God's People to Engage the Culture
Pro-life Christians contend that although humans differ in their respective degrees of development, they are nonetheless equal because they share a common human nature that bears the image of their Creator. Humans have value simply because they are human. This biblically informed pro-life view explains human equality, human rights, and moral obligations better than its secular rivals.
When human nature is up for grabs, pastors committed to biblical truth must commit themselves to four vitally important tasks.
- First, he preaches a biblical view of human value and applies that view to abortion, embryonic stem cell research, and cloning.
- Second, he equips his people to engage the culture with a persuasive defence of the pro-life view.
- Third, he restores lost passion for ministry with cross-centred preaching.
- Fourth, he confronts his fears about preaching an inconvenient truth.
My detailed summary of the book is available here
This is an excellent summary of the pro-life position, written in a firm yet winsome style. While I don't expect it to change the mind of pro-choice advocates, it will remind and encourage pro-lifers like myself that our position is:
- Backed by scientific evidence
- More logical, intuitive and self-consistent
- More just, merciful and reflective of basic human rights and dignity
Introduction
There are two foundational points to make in any discussion of abortion. First, we're arguing about moral truth, and whether it is real and knowable or simply a preference. Second, we're arguing over human value, and whether we are valuable for what we are intrinsically or only valuable for what we can do functionally.
Pro-life Christians answer that truth is real, knowable and nonnegotiable. Although humans differ in their respective degrees of development, they are nonetheless equal because they share a common human nature that bears the image of their Creator. Humans have value simply because they are human.
We need to simplify the debate by focusing on the one question that truly matters: What is the unborn? These issues are not morally complex, though they are often presented that way. Can we kill the unborn? Yes, but only if the unborn are not human beings. The issue is not one of choice, as some choices are wrong, like killing innocent human beings simply because they are in the way and cannot defend themselves. We thus make our case in two steps. Step one is to simplify the issue as above; step two is to make a case for life.
Pro-life advocates contend that elective abortion unjustly takes the life of a defenceless human being. This simplifies the abortion controversy by focusing public attention on just one question: Is the unborn a member of the human family? If so, killing him or her to benefit others is a serious moral wrong. It treats the distinct human being, with his or her inherent moral worth, as nothing more than a disposable instrument. Conversely, if the unborn are not human, elective abortion requires no more justification than having a tooth pulled. Pro-life advocates defend their case using science and philosophy. Scientifically, they argue that from the earliest stages of development, the unborn are distinct, living, and whole human beings. True, they have yet to grow and mature, but they are whole human beings nonetheless. Philosophically, there is no morally significant difference between the embryo we once were and the adults we are today. As has been pointed out using the acronym SLED, differences of size, level of development, environment, and degree of dependency are not relevant in the way that abortion advocates need them to be.
In short, pro-life advocates contend that although humans differ immensely in terms of talents, accomplishments, and degrees of development, they are nonetheless equal because they share a common human nature. The pro-life view is that it's always wrong to take human life without proper justification. This means that we define elective abortion as those abortions not medically necessary to save the mother's physical life (e.g. in the case of ectopic pregnancy).
A useful heuristic is, whenever we hear an argument for elective abortion, to stop and ask this question: Would this justification for killing the unborn work for killing a toddler? If not, your critic is assuming that the unborn aren't human, a point for which he needs to argue. The science of embryology is clear. From the earliest stages of development, the unborn are distinct, living, whole and unique human beings.
Embryology and the Pro-Life Position
In summary, the evidence indicates that the human embryo, from the zygote stage forward, is a distinct, unitary human organism - a human being. The key point is that even though the cells in the early embryo are totipotent (that is, able to develop into any kind of bodily cell), they function in a coordinated manner as parts of a unified organism, the embryo.
Again, humans have value simply because they are human, not because of some acquired property that they may gain or lose during their lifetime. If you deny this, it's difficult to account for fundamental human equality for anyone. Pro-Life advocates contend that from the earliest stages of development, the unborn are distinct, living, and whole human organisms. They are not parts of larger human beings (like skin cells are) but are whole human entities capable of directing their internal growth and development. Pro-lifers don't look to theology to tell them these things, but to the science of embryology.
Science alone cannot justify the pro-life position, though it can give us the facts we need to draw moral conclusions on a host of controversial issues, including abortion, embryonic stem cell research, and cloning. Thus, the first step in resolving these issues is to state the proper scientific facts about the biological nature of the unborn entity. As we have seen, those facts are not in dispute.
A Philosophical Question: Human Non-Persons?
We are left with an important philosophical question: Do all human beings, regardless of size, level of development, environment, or degree of dependency, have an equal right to life? Pro-life Christians contend that human beings are valuable in virtue of the kind of thing they are, creatures endowed by their Creator with an unalienable right to life. That right to life comes to be when they come to be.
The pro-life case for human equality is grounded in the substance view of human persons. Substances are living organisms that maintain their identities through time, while property things, such as cars and machinery, do not. What moves a puppy to maturity or a fetus to an adult is not an external collection of parts but an internal, defining nature or essence. As a substance develops, it does not become more of its kind but matures according to its kind. It remains what it is from the moment it begins to exist. Consequently, a substance functions in light of what it is and maintains its identity even if its ultimate capacities are never realised due to disability or injury.
Most critics of the pro-life position reject the substance view of human persons outlined above. Instead, they ground human rights and human equality in one's ability to immediately exercise certain capacities that embryos and fetuses, in virtue of their immature stage of development, cannot yet immediately exercise. In other words, they merely assert that certain traits are necessary for personhood but never say or prove why these supposedly value-giving properties are value-giving in the first place. In the end, the property view of human value is ad hoc and arbitrary. Why is some development needed? And why is this particular degree of development, self-awareness, the morally relevant factor rather than another? These questions are left unanswered.
Religion and the Pro-Life Position
Although the pro-life view is implicitly religious, it is no more religious than alternative explanations about human value and human rights. Most people claim to believe that all humans are equal. If they truly believe that, we need only use science to show the unborn is a human being, and their belief about equality should compel them to accept the pro-life view.
Opponents of the pro-life view believe that human beings who are in a different location or have a different level of development do not deserve the protection of the law. They assert, without justification, the belief that strong and independent humans have basic human rights while small and dependent ones do not. This view is elitist. It violates the principle that once made political liberalism great, a commitment to protect the most vulnerable members of the human community.
In sharp contrast, pro-life advocates contend that no human being, regardless of size, level of development, environment, degree of dependency, race, gender, or place of residence, should be excluded from the human family. In other words, our view of humanity is inclusive, indeed wide-open to all, especially those who are small, vulnerable, and defenceless.
Ground Rules for the Debate
Objective Moral Truth: When pro-life advocates claim that elective abortion unjustly takes the life of a defenceless human being, they are not saying they dislike abortion. They are saying it's objectively wrong, regardless of how one feels about it.
Moral Neutrality: Moral neutrality is impossible. Both sides of the abortion controversy bring prior metaphysical commitments to the debate. Why, then, is it okay for liberals to legislate their metaphysical views on the status of the unborn but not okay for pro-lifers to legislate theirs?
Does God Matter, or Are We Just Matter?: Even if the pro-life view cannot be fully explained without explicit reference to Christian faith, it does not follow that the pro-life view is inherently irrational. Christian theists make rational arguments for their position, and it's wrong for materialists to simply presume the truth of their position.
Does The Bible Justify Abortion?: We don't need Scripture to expressly say that elective abortion is wrong before we can know that it's wrong. The Bible affirms that all humans have value because they bear God's image. The facts of science make clear that from the earliest stages of development, the unborn are unquestionably human. Hence, biblical commands against the unjust taking of human life apply to the unborn just as they do to other human beings.
Objections to the Pro-Life View
Asking the Right Questions: When we hit a blocker in a conversation, we should ask a good question. The results can transform the discussion and put us back in the driver's seat, where we belong. These include:
"What do you mean by that?"
"How did you come to that conclusion?" ("Why do you believe that?"; "How do you know that?"; "What are your reasons for thinking you’re right?")
"Have you considered…?" Then finish the sentence in a way relevant to the issue at hand. Here we are offering an alternative view that gently dismantles your opponent's case or, at the very least, exposes a serious flaw in his reasoning.
Objection 1: The Coat Hanger - Women will die from illegal abortions: Every death from abortion is a tragedy we mourn. But why should the law be faulted for making it more risky for one human to take the life of another, completely innocent one?
Objection 2: Tolerance - It's intolerant to impose your view on others: Next time somebody says you shouldn't impose your beliefs on others, ask, "Why not?" Any answer he gives will be an example of his imposing his beliefs on you!
Objection 3: Single Issue - Pro-Lifers should broaden their focus: How does it follow that because pro-life advocates oppose the unjust killing of innocent human beings, they must therefore take personal responsibility for solving all of life's ills? If pro-life advocates want to win debates over abortion, we must stay focused like a laser beam on the central question: What is the unborn? The people calling for pro-lifers to broaden their efforts are not our friends. They are a distraction from the real issue.
Objection 4: Hard Cases - What about rape and incest?: How should we treat innocent human beings who remind us of a painful event? That single question clarifies everything.
Objection 5: I Don't Like You - You can’t get pregnant, and other personal attacks: Even if pro-lifers are the worst people in the world, others must still refute their arguments. Anything less is intellectually dishonest.
Objection 6: Bodily Autonomy – It's my body, I'll decide: Does a mother have no more duty to her child than she does to a total stranger who is unnaturally hooked up to her? The central claim in this objection is that pregnant mothers have an absolute right to do whatever they want with their bodies, regardless of what it does to the children they carry. This argument is particularly popular among pro-choice advocates in Ireland today. There are many issues with this argument and the related analogies (such as the "life support patient" analogy):
- First, we may not have the obligation to sustain strangers who are unnaturally plugged into us, but we do have a duty to sustain our offspring.
- Second, the child is not an intruder. He is precisely where he naturally belongs at that point in his development. If the child doesn't belong in the mother's womb, where does he belong?
- Third, abortion is not merely the withholding of support. It is also the deliberate killing of a child through dismemberment, poison, or crushing.
- Fourth, barring cases of rape, a woman cannot claim that she bears no responsibility for the pregnancy in the same way she bears no responsibility for the patient in the "life support" analogy.
- Fifth, pregnancy, unlike the "life support" analogy, is not a prison bed.
- Sixth, unlike the "life support" analogy, the mother-child relationship is not parasitic. A parasite is an alien being that should not be present. The unborn child is the mother's flesh and blood and is where he naturally belongs at that stage in his development. True, a child who is breast-feeding draws nourishment from another person, but this relationship can hardly be called parasitical. This is because the child's relation to the mother is indeed a proper one.
The bodily rights argument is compelling if and only if a pregnant woman's right to control her own body is absolute, meaning she can do whatever she wants with her body, regardless of the impact on her unborn offspring. While the mother's claim to bodily autonomy is important, it is not absolute and does not supersede her obligation to the child.
According to these arguments and analogies, moral obligations to one's offspring are consensual or voluntary. This is a strange response. Moral obligations, by their very nature, are non-consensual. That's precisely what makes them moral obligations. So the question becomes, what moral obligation does a mother have to her child? Put another way, is there a proper moral expectation that a mother provide life-sustaining care for her offspring? The assumption of the bodily autonomy proponent, that parental responsibilities toward one's offspring are voluntary, is at best odd and at worst monstrous.
Equipping God's People to Engage the Culture
Pro-life Christians contend that although humans differ in their respective degrees of development, they are nonetheless equal because they share a common human nature that bears the image of their Creator. Humans have value simply because they are human. This biblically informed pro-life view explains human equality, human rights, and moral obligations better than its secular rivals.
When human nature is up for grabs, pastors committed to biblical truth must commit themselves to four vitally important tasks.
- First, he preaches a biblical view of human value and applies that view to abortion, embryonic stem cell research, and cloning.
- Second, he equips his people to engage the culture with a persuasive defence of the pro-life view.
- Third, he restores lost passion for ministry with cross-centred preaching.
- Fourth, he confronts his fears about preaching an inconvenient truth.
My detailed summary of the book is available here
January 28, 2022
extremely tangible and helpful! Loved it
April 23, 2022
Probably the best book from a Christian on the subject. The philosophical, rhetorical, and theological insights are well organized and thought out. The audiobook was so good. I bought the physical one.
August 3, 2023
Fantastic resource for the believer. Scott offers compelling arguments and a sound defence for the pro life view, backed up by scripture. There is also a great gospel presentation toward the end of the book!
April 15, 2012
I meant to write a review of this book earlier, with better memory of the reading rather than two years after finishing the book! In light of the importance of the abortion issue even being more so with the election season and Planned Parenthood being on the news, it's important that I review this work as a Christian resource to equip the believers with the issue. The author is a Christian bio-ethicist who writes this work for Evangelicals as his primary audience, though of course those who are not Christians will benefit from his content as well in making a case for the unborn as a human person. He even have a chapter presenting the case for Christianity summarized. This book is excellent for contemporary discussion about abortion, with the author devoting a chapter (chapter four) discussing the issue of Embryonic Stem Cell Research (ESCR) as well. The first part of the book presents the prolife argument very well, beginning with the need of clarifying the debate by focusing on what the issue really is about, and then asking what is the unborn, whether human beings are valuable, etc. For those who have been involved in the abortion debate, one realizes that all kinds of objections are thrown against the prolife position and this book is helpful addressing some of these objections and popular side topics. In fact, this section of the book is the biggest portion of the book. Klusendorf ends the book with a section of how to act for the cause of the unborn, such as what pastors can do and how Christians can be involved with prolife with others without compromising their faith. Worth the read--and perhaps for me, a second read of this book again to refresh the memory and the arguments.
May 23, 2022
The abortion controversy 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.
Well, this is it. The one-stop shop for just about any Christian (and, honestly, any person, period) to learn both what the 'pro-life' position is and how to defend it: The Case for Life (TCfL) by Scott Klusendorf.
For transparency's sake, I'm a very staunch 'pro-life' advocate myself and have done quite a bit of research and study on this topic from a lay perspective for several years now. I'll fully admit I'm biased heavily in favor of this book, but that doesn't mean my assessment is necessarily wrong! In cases like this, where I know just how apt I am to agree with the author's position, I feel like I can be even more critical and nitpicky than if I didn't know a thing about the book beforehand. Even with my bias-ometer turned up to the max, it was difficult to fault TCfL for very many things.
You'll notice my five star rating--I don't give those out willy-nilly. While no book is REALLY perfect, some books come dangerously close. I believe TCfL is among those.
I'm saying all of this in the context of what this book is meant to be. If you try to measure a book out of such a context, you can make any book seem like crap. Judged by economics textbook standards, this is a worthless book. However, when judged by the standard of a resource to help lay audiences understand a comprehensive pro-life worldview from a Christian perspective, I don't really know what could be done to improve it (although there is apparently a second edition on the way at the time of writing this).
The structure of the book is fairly straightforward: the first section is about defining the fundamental parameters of the abortion issue; the second section is focused on more foundational matters of worldview-related items; the third section addresses specific objections to the pro-life position; and the final section is essentially geared towards encouraging readers with what to do with the information in the previous three sections.
I came into this read having wanted to check it out for a long time. (I had heard it was supposed to be THE book for...well, the case for life. I wasn't lied to about that!) However, by the time I actually got around to checking it out, I had pretty much been exposed to nearly all of the information in it from other sources! At first this was something of a disappointment--while there was a ton of great information in it, there wasn't very many strictly NEW things for me in it. My disappointment quickly passed with a little more reflection: I may be ready for more 'advanced' reading when it comes to this subject, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized TCfL could basically be a one-stop shop for a person with almost zero experience with or knowledge of this subject.
The information laid out by Klusendorf is so comprehensive that this could really safely be the only book a person might need on the abortion topic, yet it is written so accessibly that there are few I would suggest they start somewhere else.
Complex and intricate ethical and philosophical issues are explained handily with helpful illustrations, simple thought experiments, and riveting quotations. Everything from biology, to ethics, to stem cell research and cloning, to legal and natural rights, to supreme court rulings, to worldview analysis, to theology, and everything in between--it's all touched on here. I was even surprised to find a whole section essentially dedicated to making a concise case for the Christian worldview itself. At first I was put off by this inclusion--I was already familiar with essentially all the information in these chapters from other sources, and so I ended up skimming this part--but as I thought more about it, I had the realization I mentioned earlier that this book really was presenting an ENTIRE CASE for the pro-life position, reaching even to the very foundations of the Christian faith. The existence of God, the reliability of the Bible, and even evidence for the resurrection of Jesus are all briefly unpacked in this center section. So, while this wasn't a section I particularly needed, it goes a long way towards the claim that this book really is a one-stop shop for this subject.
As for the actual 'case' presented in TCfL, it really is wonderful. Klusendorf doesn't strawman the opposing viewpoints, and goes out of his way to quote the opposition at length to make sure their position is first clear, then incisively refuted piece by piece. The fundamentals of the pro-life position--the core concerns--are laid out in the first section. That, and the third section containing responses to common objections (and not just the easy ones!) are really enough to justify this book by themselves. The addition of the other two sections is just bonus information for free! Even for those already familiar with much of the subject, like myself, this is still a great resource to reference thanks to its clarity and breadth of material. There are also a lot of study questions and ample footnotes for further reading on just about every rabbit trail you can think of. (I now know what the next step is for my abortion-topic reading, thanks to Klusendorf's recommendations in TCfL.)
Perhaps the only reservation I might acknowledge about this book is the fact that it IS focused heavily on a Christian audience. I absolutely have no problem with this--I'm a Christian myself--but my concern stems from the idea that this might limit the book's reach a little bit. I personally think any non-Christian (either for or against the pro-life position) would find this a great resource. I mentioned there is a lot specifically dealing with the Christian aspect of the issue, but Kulsendorf also talks about so much that is purely 'secular fact', requiring no extraneous metaphysical commitments to consider or accept. While TCfL is geared towards the Christian, I think there is not a little value for any non-Christian to chew on here as well.
So, I'll just give a blanket, no-(real)-reservation recommendation for this book. It's informative, challenging, moving, comprehensive, accessible, and just plain good. There's something here for everyone, and it's a tremendous resource for anyone that needs such a thing for the abortion debate (which I think is everyone)--no matter what side you're on currently. I say especially get this book if you tend to disagree with the pro-life position. That way, you'll be able to say you have read and tried to deal with some of the best and most clear articulations of the opposition's arguments.
Well, this is it. The one-stop shop for just about any Christian (and, honestly, any person, period) to learn both what the 'pro-life' position is and how to defend it: The Case for Life (TCfL) by Scott Klusendorf.
For transparency's sake, I'm a very staunch 'pro-life' advocate myself and have done quite a bit of research and study on this topic from a lay perspective for several years now. I'll fully admit I'm biased heavily in favor of this book, but that doesn't mean my assessment is necessarily wrong! In cases like this, where I know just how apt I am to agree with the author's position, I feel like I can be even more critical and nitpicky than if I didn't know a thing about the book beforehand. Even with my bias-ometer turned up to the max, it was difficult to fault TCfL for very many things.
You'll notice my five star rating--I don't give those out willy-nilly. While no book is REALLY perfect, some books come dangerously close. I believe TCfL is among those.
I'm saying all of this in the context of what this book is meant to be. If you try to measure a book out of such a context, you can make any book seem like crap. Judged by economics textbook standards, this is a worthless book. However, when judged by the standard of a resource to help lay audiences understand a comprehensive pro-life worldview from a Christian perspective, I don't really know what could be done to improve it (although there is apparently a second edition on the way at the time of writing this).
The structure of the book is fairly straightforward: the first section is about defining the fundamental parameters of the abortion issue; the second section is focused on more foundational matters of worldview-related items; the third section addresses specific objections to the pro-life position; and the final section is essentially geared towards encouraging readers with what to do with the information in the previous three sections.
I came into this read having wanted to check it out for a long time. (I had heard it was supposed to be THE book for...well, the case for life. I wasn't lied to about that!) However, by the time I actually got around to checking it out, I had pretty much been exposed to nearly all of the information in it from other sources! At first this was something of a disappointment--while there was a ton of great information in it, there wasn't very many strictly NEW things for me in it. My disappointment quickly passed with a little more reflection: I may be ready for more 'advanced' reading when it comes to this subject, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized TCfL could basically be a one-stop shop for a person with almost zero experience with or knowledge of this subject.
The information laid out by Klusendorf is so comprehensive that this could really safely be the only book a person might need on the abortion topic, yet it is written so accessibly that there are few I would suggest they start somewhere else.
Complex and intricate ethical and philosophical issues are explained handily with helpful illustrations, simple thought experiments, and riveting quotations. Everything from biology, to ethics, to stem cell research and cloning, to legal and natural rights, to supreme court rulings, to worldview analysis, to theology, and everything in between--it's all touched on here. I was even surprised to find a whole section essentially dedicated to making a concise case for the Christian worldview itself. At first I was put off by this inclusion--I was already familiar with essentially all the information in these chapters from other sources, and so I ended up skimming this part--but as I thought more about it, I had the realization I mentioned earlier that this book really was presenting an ENTIRE CASE for the pro-life position, reaching even to the very foundations of the Christian faith. The existence of God, the reliability of the Bible, and even evidence for the resurrection of Jesus are all briefly unpacked in this center section. So, while this wasn't a section I particularly needed, it goes a long way towards the claim that this book really is a one-stop shop for this subject.
As for the actual 'case' presented in TCfL, it really is wonderful. Klusendorf doesn't strawman the opposing viewpoints, and goes out of his way to quote the opposition at length to make sure their position is first clear, then incisively refuted piece by piece. The fundamentals of the pro-life position--the core concerns--are laid out in the first section. That, and the third section containing responses to common objections (and not just the easy ones!) are really enough to justify this book by themselves. The addition of the other two sections is just bonus information for free! Even for those already familiar with much of the subject, like myself, this is still a great resource to reference thanks to its clarity and breadth of material. There are also a lot of study questions and ample footnotes for further reading on just about every rabbit trail you can think of. (I now know what the next step is for my abortion-topic reading, thanks to Klusendorf's recommendations in TCfL.)
Perhaps the only reservation I might acknowledge about this book is the fact that it IS focused heavily on a Christian audience. I absolutely have no problem with this--I'm a Christian myself--but my concern stems from the idea that this might limit the book's reach a little bit. I personally think any non-Christian (either for or against the pro-life position) would find this a great resource. I mentioned there is a lot specifically dealing with the Christian aspect of the issue, but Kulsendorf also talks about so much that is purely 'secular fact', requiring no extraneous metaphysical commitments to consider or accept. While TCfL is geared towards the Christian, I think there is not a little value for any non-Christian to chew on here as well.
So, I'll just give a blanket, no-(real)-reservation recommendation for this book. It's informative, challenging, moving, comprehensive, accessible, and just plain good. There's something here for everyone, and it's a tremendous resource for anyone that needs such a thing for the abortion debate (which I think is everyone)--no matter what side you're on currently. I say especially get this book if you tend to disagree with the pro-life position. That way, you'll be able to say you have read and tried to deal with some of the best and most clear articulations of the opposition's arguments.
September 3, 2021
“Most people who say they oppose abortion do just enough to salve the conscience but not enough to stop the killings.”
“The very definition of humanness is up for grabs.”
“What is today a matter of academic speculation, begins tomorrow to move armies and pull down empires. In that second stage, it has gone too far to be combatted. The time to stop it was when it was still a matter of passionate debate.”
It was hard to rate this one. Did this book do what it set out to do? Yes. Did I enjoy it? Not always - it is very much a textbook and reads like a text book. Not to mention at times it was graphic. But it did have some good points and things to think about.
“The very definition of humanness is up for grabs.”
“What is today a matter of academic speculation, begins tomorrow to move armies and pull down empires. In that second stage, it has gone too far to be combatted. The time to stop it was when it was still a matter of passionate debate.”
It was hard to rate this one. Did this book do what it set out to do? Yes. Did I enjoy it? Not always - it is very much a textbook and reads like a text book. Not to mention at times it was graphic. But it did have some good points and things to think about.
July 21, 2022
This is not a new book, so some of the stats are out of date, and mention of an intact Roe vs. Wade is obviously obsolete, but it has still aged well.
In part 1, Klusendorf hammers away at the main issue: Is a fetus a human? He skillfully brings the points against pro-life back to that question repeatedly. He also gives clear evidence that a fetus is a human.
Part 2 acknowledges that the pro-life movement is in harmony with a biblical worldview and proceeds to give apologetic reasons for why one should take the Christian worldview seriously.
Part 3 deal successfully deals with this theme: "Pro-Life Christians Answer Objections Persuasively"
For example: "Women will die from Illegal abortions,"; "You shouldn't force your views on others," ' Pro-Lifers should broaden their focus,"; "Rape Justifies Abortion,"; "Men Can't Get Pregnant," and other personal Attacks; "It's My Body, I'll Decide."
Part 4 deals with pastors equipping local churches; hope for those who have contributed in some way to an abortion, co-belligerence without theological compromise; and the question, "Can we win?"
Part 4 could have been strengthened by defining the mission of the gathered church more clearly and how that relates to equipping individual Christians to live for the gospel and encouraging biblical justice in all areas of life. Is the church's responsibility to equip with a biblical worldview and conviction of living on mission with the gospel and standing up for biblical justice in all areas of society, or is the church also responsible for coordinating these things as a gathered assembly? I don't fault the book for not deeply dealing with these questions, but it would have been helpful to give some direction, so there is no confusion on this point. His few usages of the phrase "social justice" sounds different in the ear in 2022 than it would have in 2012. He cannot be faulted for that.
It would have also been helpful to clarify what theological compromise would look like even as believers seek to work with other pro-life unbelievers to resist abortion. I greatly appreciated the clear gospel presentation and application of God's grace to those who have failed in this area of devaluing life.
This is a helpful tool.
In part 1, Klusendorf hammers away at the main issue: Is a fetus a human? He skillfully brings the points against pro-life back to that question repeatedly. He also gives clear evidence that a fetus is a human.
Part 2 acknowledges that the pro-life movement is in harmony with a biblical worldview and proceeds to give apologetic reasons for why one should take the Christian worldview seriously.
Part 3 deal successfully deals with this theme: "Pro-Life Christians Answer Objections Persuasively"
For example: "Women will die from Illegal abortions,"; "You shouldn't force your views on others," ' Pro-Lifers should broaden their focus,"; "Rape Justifies Abortion,"; "Men Can't Get Pregnant," and other personal Attacks; "It's My Body, I'll Decide."
Part 4 deals with pastors equipping local churches; hope for those who have contributed in some way to an abortion, co-belligerence without theological compromise; and the question, "Can we win?"
Part 4 could have been strengthened by defining the mission of the gathered church more clearly and how that relates to equipping individual Christians to live for the gospel and encouraging biblical justice in all areas of life. Is the church's responsibility to equip with a biblical worldview and conviction of living on mission with the gospel and standing up for biblical justice in all areas of society, or is the church also responsible for coordinating these things as a gathered assembly? I don't fault the book for not deeply dealing with these questions, but it would have been helpful to give some direction, so there is no confusion on this point. His few usages of the phrase "social justice" sounds different in the ear in 2022 than it would have in 2012. He cannot be faulted for that.
It would have also been helpful to clarify what theological compromise would look like even as believers seek to work with other pro-life unbelievers to resist abortion. I greatly appreciated the clear gospel presentation and application of God's grace to those who have failed in this area of devaluing life.
This is a helpful tool.
November 21, 2023
A thoughtful and timely read.
There is a lot of mess around the abortion debate, including the ways in which vitriol and harsh condemnation have caused people harm. For Christians who desire to follow Scripture, love people well, and engage in honest intellectual work in our society, this book is a gem.
The author provides excellent and thorough theological and philosophical reasoning for the pro-life position and presents it in an accessible way. He covers a range of topics and it’s as much as a treatise on how to approach Christian ethics in general as it is for the specific topic at hand. The added sections on surveying major thinkers and responding to common objections were particularly helpful.
The primary target of this book is clearly those who have a pro-life stance and would like to have both a deeper understanding of the topic from a theological perspective, as well as ways in which to be able to engage in meaningful dialogue with others who disagree.
Even if you don’t fall into that category, though, I think this could be a worthwhile read. It presents the position in the framework of Christian ethics (with existing presuppositions about the nature of the world), but does so in a way that is devoid of judgment, condemnation, and the never-ending abuse of the sanctity of life as a political talking point.
There is a lot of mess around the abortion debate, including the ways in which vitriol and harsh condemnation have caused people harm. For Christians who desire to follow Scripture, love people well, and engage in honest intellectual work in our society, this book is a gem.
The author provides excellent and thorough theological and philosophical reasoning for the pro-life position and presents it in an accessible way. He covers a range of topics and it’s as much as a treatise on how to approach Christian ethics in general as it is for the specific topic at hand. The added sections on surveying major thinkers and responding to common objections were particularly helpful.
The primary target of this book is clearly those who have a pro-life stance and would like to have both a deeper understanding of the topic from a theological perspective, as well as ways in which to be able to engage in meaningful dialogue with others who disagree.
Even if you don’t fall into that category, though, I think this could be a worthwhile read. It presents the position in the framework of Christian ethics (with existing presuppositions about the nature of the world), but does so in a way that is devoid of judgment, condemnation, and the never-ending abuse of the sanctity of life as a political talking point.
March 27, 2024
Life is the most precious item God bestowed in the Universe He created. In fact, this great unbounded expanse, He created precisely for Life. We, the created, have no higher obligations than to dedicate our lives to preserving Life, and nurturing Life so that all Life can spend eternity with our Creator. The most contentious issue facing American Christians is abortion when that abortion isn't performed to save the Mother's life. Many Americans, Christians and non-Christians alike, are unsettled on how they think about abortion. Many Christians feel inadequate to speak out on abortion. Scott Klusendorf's book is written primarily for Christians but is not written exclusively for Christians. Indeed, pro-choice and staunch abortion rights advocates will benefit on their thinking in reading this book.
Klusendorf's book is seeks to advance the Life Advocate's own understanding of his/her advocacy and to assist them in presenting the Case for Life in a compelling, rational, logical, fearless and gentle manner to a questioning and even hostile audience. Klusendorf seeks to provide the Life advocate the means to present the reasons why Life is to be cherished in a manner to which most, even the staunch abortion supporters, will listen.
Klusendorf's book is seeks to advance the Life Advocate's own understanding of his/her advocacy and to assist them in presenting the Case for Life in a compelling, rational, logical, fearless and gentle manner to a questioning and even hostile audience. Klusendorf seeks to provide the Life advocate the means to present the reasons why Life is to be cherished in a manner to which most, even the staunch abortion supporters, will listen.
July 8, 2018
I enjoyed reading Klusendorf's book which encourages Christians to really take a stand for life and for truth. The book is clearly laid out into four parts. The first part helps Christians to simplify debates over abortion and embryonic stem cell research. The second section shows how moral neutrality is really impossible. The third section helps Christians to answer common objections. This section was so good as it really tackled some hard cases. The final section addresses questions related to pastors including whether or not it is okay to join hands with other religions to protect life. I wholeheartedly agree that yes it is okay to join hands with others for the sake of saving lives. The book also talks about how to give hope to post-abortive men and women. I love the author's grace filled approach. Overall this book was clearly laid out and really helped me to think about hard issues that I honestly don't think about enough. I highly recommend this book. Please note that I did receive a review copy of this book from Crossway Publishing. All opinions are my own.
May 12, 2021
This is an excellent primer that anyone who considers themselves pro-life should read. It also gives tips on talking to people with differing opinions, to both keep the conversation civil and to keep it focused on the real issues at hand. Not only does it give some example conversations in the later chapters, but it addresses some of the most common objections raised by pro-abortion advocates.
I'm only giving this four stars instead of five stars because this book barely scratches the surface on the evidence that babies are human from the moment of conception. Because I know what other scientific evidence is out there, I wish this particular chapter had been better structured and more in-depth.
That said, one of the most important takeaways of this for me was the call to action. Many people say we're pro-life, but what are we doing about it?
I listened to this as an audiobook. I'm considering buying it as a physical book.
I'm only giving this four stars instead of five stars because this book barely scratches the surface on the evidence that babies are human from the moment of conception. Because I know what other scientific evidence is out there, I wish this particular chapter had been better structured and more in-depth.
That said, one of the most important takeaways of this for me was the call to action. Many people say we're pro-life, but what are we doing about it?
I listened to this as an audiobook. I'm considering buying it as a physical book.
September 18, 2024
There was a LOT of content in this book, but I found it helpful in how to enter into discussions on the topic of abortion. At its core, it is about the syllogism:
Premise 1 - It is wrong to intentionally kill an innocent human being.
Premise 2 - Abortion intentionally kills an innocent human being.
Conclusion - Therefore, abortion is morally wrong.
There is no judgement in those statements and it leaves it up to the individual to either agree or disagree. I understand a debate on the topic can veer off into other directions, but I believe the reason this is such a "hot-button" topic is because we can't escape the validity of the syllogism.
If you are considering abortion, it's important to consider these truths. If you are post-abortive, it's important to address these truths and find healing. If you are neither, it's important to keep these truths in mind, and see how it may impact your opinion on the political debate surrounding abortion.
Premise 1 - It is wrong to intentionally kill an innocent human being.
Premise 2 - Abortion intentionally kills an innocent human being.
Conclusion - Therefore, abortion is morally wrong.
There is no judgement in those statements and it leaves it up to the individual to either agree or disagree. I understand a debate on the topic can veer off into other directions, but I believe the reason this is such a "hot-button" topic is because we can't escape the validity of the syllogism.
If you are considering abortion, it's important to consider these truths. If you are post-abortive, it's important to address these truths and find healing. If you are neither, it's important to keep these truths in mind, and see how it may impact your opinion on the political debate surrounding abortion.
June 22, 2017
This book was considerably better than expected. While I am strongly pro-life, I greatly dislike the lack of any civilised discussion and debate that occurs on this topic. And, the typical emotive arguments on both sides are frustrating. The beginning of the book was excellent. In this section, the author outlines the objective arguments for the pro-life position. Ultimately, it is centred around if the child is human – in which case abortion must wrong. The book then went on to discuss how to answer challenges to the position. This section was good, but became highly repetitive. And from there the book went into the politics, where I found myself disagreeing to aspects of what was written. Thus, I like the book but cannot bring myself to endorse it fully (although the first few chapters are the best I have ever read on this topic).
January 9, 2022
I’ve listened to Klusendorf’s seminar, as well as his disk series, and I was rather expecting this book to just be a written version of both, but I was mistaken. This book goes into greater detail about some of the topics of abortion that I hadn’t really thought about, namely things like fetus farming, and a lot of the science behind all of what they do in that. It had discussion questions so you can read this book with a group, and it was overall laid out very well and easy to get through. The topic of abortion is such a terrible one, but Klusendorf has so much compassion and grace to share with those who have had an abortion and who might be struggling with the guilt of it. I’ve never heard a seminar or message that he preached where at the end he didn’t bring in the Gospel and show these lost souls that there is comfort and forgiveness in Christ.
April 29, 2022
"Pro-life Christians contend that human beings are valuable in virtue of the kind of thing they are, creatures endowed by their Creator with an unalienable right to life."
It had been awhile since I had read a book on ethics. So, I decided to read "The Case for Life" by Scott Klusendorf to remedy that. It is a general overview of the pro-life position. He covers the topics of abortion, infanticide, cloning, and embryonic stem cell research. With precision the author presents the grim facts behind these activities, arguments in support of them, and refutations of those arguments. What I found most helpful was his advise on how to have respectful and productive conversations on these issues. Solid and accessible, I recommend this book to anyone seeking an understanding of the pro-life position or those wanting guidance on how to begin engaging this issue.
It had been awhile since I had read a book on ethics. So, I decided to read "The Case for Life" by Scott Klusendorf to remedy that. It is a general overview of the pro-life position. He covers the topics of abortion, infanticide, cloning, and embryonic stem cell research. With precision the author presents the grim facts behind these activities, arguments in support of them, and refutations of those arguments. What I found most helpful was his advise on how to have respectful and productive conversations on these issues. Solid and accessible, I recommend this book to anyone seeking an understanding of the pro-life position or those wanting guidance on how to begin engaging this issue.
April 6, 2020
I need to make an appreciation post about this book. I've been reading articles and watching videos of Scott Klusendorf for a long time now. So I know very well that he always always presents a rational case for the pro-life position. I didn't expect this book to say more than what I had already heard Scott say before. But it does and I'm glad to have bought this book. Most pro-aborts and most people in general are unbelievably ignorant when it comes to the abortion debate. That's the only reason why it's even legal anywhere. Because they think it's settled matter - that it's already won. It's only "won" because it's easy to exploit their ignorance about the issue. This book can be a good start for people to educate themselves on the issue.
January 12, 2020
Klusendorf provides a clear and robust defense of the pro-life position from a Christian perspective. I appreciated the care he approached the subject, especially towards those who may have been involved in a decision to have an abortion. My favorite line from this book: “If you’ve had an abortion, you don’t need an excuse. You need an exchange—His righteousness for your sinfulness.”
Read this book to understand what Christians believe about the sanctify of human life.
Read this book to better articulate the pro-life position.
Read this book to learn how to better equip Christians to defend the unborn.
Read this book to find the grace that can only come through Jesus Christ.
Read this book to understand what Christians believe about the sanctify of human life.
Read this book to better articulate the pro-life position.
Read this book to learn how to better equip Christians to defend the unborn.
Read this book to find the grace that can only come through Jesus Christ.
September 17, 2021
Klusendorf packs a lot into this little book. He talks about almost every conceivable justification for abortion, embryonic stem cell research, how to debate, hope for the post-abortive, and even a brief defense of the Christian faith. But even with all of that, it is not hard to follow.
Klusendorf is not only persuasive, but he is persuasive in a way that doesn't make straw men of his opponents. I know few pro-choicers who would not resonate at least at some level with the pro-choicer described in the book.
Incredible resource. This will be far and away my most recommended book (as of September 2021) on the subject.
Klusendorf is not only persuasive, but he is persuasive in a way that doesn't make straw men of his opponents. I know few pro-choicers who would not resonate at least at some level with the pro-choicer described in the book.
Incredible resource. This will be far and away my most recommended book (as of September 2021) on the subject.
December 4, 2023
A great work defending a pro-life position. It should be read by all who are interested in how to respond to questions and to ground their belief firmly in the truth. Not only does this work outline the issues at hand, but it also provides helpful guides in answering most of the objections many people hear to a pro-life position.
The chapter on the difference between incrementalists and abolitionists would be the one possible short coming in my view. The author is clearly an incrementalist and argues against the abolitionist position but I find the arguments to be a little lacking the robustness of the rest of the book.
The chapter on the difference between incrementalists and abolitionists would be the one possible short coming in my view. The author is clearly an incrementalist and argues against the abolitionist position but I find the arguments to be a little lacking the robustness of the rest of the book.
March 9, 2024
As a lay-level apologist myself, who has spent a lot of time on pro-life research, I can say that this book is a wonderful resource for anyone who wants to think through the issues surrounding abortion clearly and well. I am sure that Scott may have missed an argument here or there, but I can’t think of any. This is so comprehensive, and the second edition added even more content, regardless of your stance on abortion, this book is a must read. You consider yourself pro-choice, I would challenge you to read this book and at least reaffirm what you think and why you think it based on the best arguments on both sides.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews