Mon, 24 December 2012
Valerie from Silver Lake, Kansas emailed Life Report to ask for advice on a discouraging debate she had with her pro-choice, Christian father about abortion. Josh continues a three-part video series responding to different aspects of her email, and some of her dad's pro-choice arguments. This is part three, where Josh discusses...
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Mon, 24 December 2012
Valerie from Silver Lake, Kansas emailed Life Report to ask for advice on a discouraging debate she had with her pro-choice, Christian father about abortion. Josh continues a three-part video series responding to different aspects of her email, and some of her dad's pro-choice arguments. This is part two, where Josh discusses...
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Wed, 19 December 2012
Valerie from Silver Lake, Kansas emailed Life Report to ask for advice on a discouraging debate she had with her pro-choice, Christian father about abortion. Josh begins a three-part video series responding to different aspects of her email, and some of her dad's pro-choice arguments. In part one, Josh discusses the most important question when somebody states that the unborn is "not a human being," how to effectively "narrate the debate" when people don't answer our reasonable questions, and a few quick thoughts on Valerie's dad's assertion that the functional DNA of an early embryo is different from the DNA at later stages. |
Fri, 30 November 2012
Josh responds to an email from Ashlen who was debating abortion with somebody who responded that parents should have the right to kill their children until they are 18 years old! She wants to know what she should have said. Josh's response includes comments on what to do when you get stumped or run out of steam and the proper introduction of humor into a dialogue.
Direct download: ListenerMail-RespondingToExtremeArguments.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:52pm PDT |
Sat, 24 November 2012
Josh responds to a listener email that makes some strong claims about Margaret Sanger. Josh has a different take on Sanger's views and explains why. |
Fri, 23 November 2012
Josh responds to an email from someone who isn't finding lots of success using economic arguments for the pro-life position. Her pro-choice friend's response is to reference "Freakonomics" and add that if the country needs more people, we should just open up the borders. |
Fri, 16 November 2012
Josh responds to an email from someone who seems frustrated that Josh mis-characterized pro-life people as being uninformed about fetal development. Other topics include late-term abortions, Down Syndrome abortions, post-fertilization age vs. LMP, and the use of the term "pro-aborts."
Direct download: ListenerMail-YoureTooHardOnProlifers.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:45am PDT |
Tue, 23 October 2012
#158: Pro-Choice Blogger Berated by Her Own Side for Asking Embarrassing Questions about Sex-Selection Abortion
Josh, Liz and Gabi respond to the story of a pro-choice blogger who wrote some things about sex-selection abortion that was deemed embarrassing by her pro-choice colleagues and publicly berated for it. Is there an inherent inconsistency in Laurie Penny's article? Can you be both pro-choice and opposed to legal sex-selection abortions? Should the other pro-choice bloggers have responded a different way? What does it mean to have an attitude of seeking truth? How can pro-lifers use this story to start conversations with pro-choice people? These questions and more are discussed on this episode of Life Report. |
Thu, 18 October 2012
Josh, Liz and Gabi respond to a listener mail question: how much do pro-life advocates need to know about fetal development to be adequately prepared to have good conversations with lots of pro-choice people? Ultimately, the team offers two separate lists: the minimal things you NEED to know and the things that will make you an even better advocate. The team close the show by summarizing the best arguments for the humanity of the unborn and the idea that human beings are valuable in the first place. |
Mon, 8 October 2012
Josh and Gabi discuss the difference between moral relativism and libertarianism, in response to a pro-choice blogger who thinks we confused the two in a recent episode about a leaked Planned Parenthood document. After defining the terms, they carefully re-analyze the document to determine the validity of the bloggers accusation. |
Thu, 4 October 2012
David French is a Senior Counsel at the American Center for Law and Justice. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he is a former Senior Counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund. David has written multiple books and his articles have been published by the Washington Post and Washington Times, among others. He has also founded Evangelicals for Mitt. I wanted to bring David on to respond to the most common concerns that pro-life people have about voting for Romney. And that he did... Here are the questions I asked David in this interview:
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Thu, 20 September 2012
Josh, Liz and Gabi discuss the wisdom of pro-life activists choosing to compare abortion to recent tragedies like the Aurora movie theater shooting, or posting pro-life status updates every anniversary of 9/11. The Life Report team considers the toughest questions from the other side of this issue, and they end the 3-part discussion never fully agreeing on the subject. Note from Josh: Bryan Kemper from Stand True Ministries and now working for Priests for Life was one of the main instigators to this comparison that we're responding to. I consider Bryan a friend and colleague, and he is doing a lot of great and important work for the unborn. Good people can disagree on this issue, and we certainly don't pretend to be right about everything. But we DO believe this is a discussion worth having, so that whatever pro-life people decide to do in the future with their Facebook statuses, they will have at least thought about it some more first. Everything we do to end abortion should be done purposefully and thoughtfully. So let's discuss these difficult topics, but don't stop there: GO DO SOMETHING. |
Thu, 20 September 2012
Josh, Liz and Gabi stayed after the two episode shoot and responded to arguments for and against Bryan Kemper's picture, from both pro-life and pro-choice people. Here are the arguments we covered:
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Thu, 20 September 2012
Josh, Liz and Gabi discuss the wisdom of pro-life activists choosing to compare abortion to recent tragedies like the Aurora movie theater shooting, or posting pro-life status updates every anniversary of 9/11. The Life Report team considers the toughest questions from the other side of this issue, and they end the 3-part discussion never fully agreeing on the subject. Note from Josh: Bryan Kemper from Stand True Ministries and now working for Priests for Life was one of the main instigators to this comparison that we're responding to. I consider Bryan a friend and colleague, and he is doing a lot of great and important work for the unborn. Good people can disagree on this issue, and we certainly don't pretend to be right about everything. But we DO believe this is a discussion worth having, so that whatever pro-life people decide to do in the future with their Facebook statuses, they will have at least thought about it some more first. Everything we do to end abortion should be done purposefully and thoughtfully. So let's discuss these difficult topics, but don't stop there: GO DO SOMETHING. |
Wed, 22 August 2012
Josh, Liz and Gabi react to a leaked Planned Parenthood document that trains their volunteers to purposefully have bad dialogues with pro-life people. A stark contrast is made between the kind of dialogue that Planned Parenthood wants us to have, and the kind of dialogue we've been training people to have on this show. There are also some insights that can be made on the way Planned Parenthood directors think based on things that are said in this document. |
Mon, 20 August 2012
Josh explains a relatively new app we're using on our facebook fan page to reward our most active fans. In the past we've been rewarding with free pro-life books. Future rewards to include pro-life clothing and exclusive Life Report audio. |
Wed, 15 August 2012
Josh responds to a listener mail question about a pregnant Chinese immigrant Bei Bei Shuai who attempted suicide and in the process, her baby died. She is now being charged with feticide, and pro-choice advocates are talking about this story all over the country. Josh clears up a common misconception among pro-lifers about Roe vs. Wade and the Laci Peterson Law, and offers a thought experiment to defend why perhaps this woman should be charged with something. Josh claimed that most 26-week premies survive. This is based on a premie survival rate based on stats from March of Dimes. According to MOD, 80-90% of 26-week premies ultimately survive. Bei Bei Shuai's baby at 33 weeks almost certainly would have lived. |
Mon, 13 August 2012
Josh responds to a listener who believes she found a flaw in Trent Horn's definition of personhood. Luckily, she just misunderstood Trent's definition, and strongly oversimplified it. Josh explains why and recommends some good books on the substance view of persons. |
Thu, 9 August 2012
Josh Brahm responds to a listener who disagrees with a recent Life Report episode on voting principles, featuring Scott Klusendorf and Jonathan Keller. The listener thinks we need to use long-term strategy when voting, like chess. |
Wed, 8 August 2012
Josh, Liz and Life Report's newest co-host, Gabi Vehrs, discusses that "after-birth abortion" article, including how many pro-life people responded to it, as well as a refutation of the underlying premise in the article. |
Wed, 1 August 2012
Trent Horn is back in studio for one more episode, to discuss logical fallacies that both pro-life and pro-choice advocates make.
Trent talked about a few faulty pro-life arguments in this episode. This is actually a common topic on our show. Click here for more faulty pro-life arguments: http://prolifepodcast.net/tag/faulty-pro-life-arguments/ Watch other Life Report episodes with him at prolifepodcast.net/tag/trent-horn. |
Mon, 30 July 2012
LISTENER MAIL: Does the Mother Benefit from Pregnancy? If So, Does That Negate Bodily Rights Arguments?
Josh responds to a listener mail question asking whether the potential health benefits a mother receives during pregnancy negate bodily rights arguments. Check out other resources on bodily rights arguments here: http://prolifepodcast.net/tag/bodily-rights |
Thu, 26 July 2012
Josh talks about the recent improvements to the functionality of the Life Report website, (ProLifePodcast.net) as well as some changes to how we're responding to listener mail now. |
Wed, 25 July 2012
It's Life Report's 150th episode, and Trent Horn is back in studio to discuss how pro-lifers should respond when their discussion of abortion gets down to the "metaphysical basement:" why are human beings valuable in the first place?
Trent Horn is the Coordinator of Respect Life Leadership Support at the Diocese of Phoenix. To learn more about Trent, visit DiocesePhoenix.org. Watch other Life Report episodes with him at prolifepodcast.net/tag/trent-horn. |
Tue, 17 July 2012
Trent Horn begins the show with a discussion of what a philosophy is (and isn't) and talks about why pro-life advocates need to study the discipline of philosophy. Issues Trent touches on that need philosophical reflection include:
Trent then surveys the major philosophical contributions to these issues. (Singer, Marquis, Warren, Thomson, Finnis, Noonan, Schwartz, Beckwith, Kaczor, Tooley.) Finally, he shares how understanding philosophy has helped him have gracious conversations with pro-choice advocates. Trent Horn is the Coordinator of Respect Life Leadership Support at the Diocese of Phoenix. To learn more about Trent, visit DiocesePhoenix.org. |
Thu, 12 July 2012
Pro-life philosopher Trent Horn explains how some pro-choice arguments don't seem so crazy if you view them through the lens of Judith Jarvis Thompson's violinist analogy instead of an anti-personhood worldview. This is very important, because we want to understand where pro-choice people are coming from, and in my experience, more and more of them are coming from a bodily rights case and not only an anti-fetal-personhood view. Trent Horn is the Coordinator of Respect Life Leadership Support at the Diocese of Pheonix. To learn more about Trent, visit DiocesePheonix.org. Watch other Life Report episodes with him at http://prolifepodcast.net/tag/trent-horn. More Life Report episodes responding to bodily rights arguments can be found here: http://prolifepodcast.net/tag/bodily-rights |
Tue, 3 July 2012
Notre Dame law student and former Life Report guest John Gerardi joins Josh Brahm and Jonathan Keller in the studio to discuss the Supreme Court's "Obamacare" decision. Josh opens the show by focusing on how this legislation promotes abortion and tramples on religious liberty. This includes a brief explanation of why "ella" should definitively be considered an abortifacient, and not merely a contraceptive. Josh also discourages people from making baseless claims about Chief Justice Roberts' intelligence or intentions. Afterwards, John Gerardi gives a careful analysis of the decision, including what constitutional issues were examined. The show ends with a discussion of what pro-lifers can do to fix things. Note from Josh: After this episode finished shooting, we stayed on the air for over an hour continuing the discussion and responding to questions from our live stream audience. We will be releasing that footage in sections over the next week or two, so keep checking ProLifePodcast.net for regular updates, or subscribe to our RSS feed. |
Wed, 13 June 2012
Listen to WGSO talk show host Jeff Crouere interview Josh Brahm, asking the following questions:
Callers:
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Thu, 7 June 2012
Josh Brahm interviews local student Jillian and her mom. After interviewing Josh and Kyle, Jillian wrote a paper and gave a pro-life speech to her entire class, and got very positive feedback from her teacher as well as her fellow students. Even more impressive: Jillian is just 14-years-old. Listen to her story here. |
Tue, 5 June 2012
Former Life Report co-host Carrie Guy was beloved by many fans. She brought something different to the show, as a youth pastor and a post-abortive pastors kid. She had to leave the show last year when she had baby, but she's come back for a special episode to share her story that includes having an abortion as a teen, her recovery process later, and ultimately helping other post-abortive women. Carrie also talks about how the modern church is doing responding to the abortion issue as well as tips for talking to pregnant women who are considering abortion. Learn more about Carrie and invite her to speak to your group at http://www.CarrieGuy.com |
Wed, 30 May 2012
Josh Brahm responds to listener mail from a fan who's veterinarian co-worker thinks life begins at birth. Got a question for Josh? Email it to Josh@ProLifePodcast.net. |
Wed, 30 May 2012
Eric Scheidler, Executive Director of Pro-Life Action League and Matt Yonke, PLAL Communications Director join Josh via Google+ to discuss the HHS mandate and what pro-lifers can do to stand up for religious freedom via public rallies on June 8th. Topics covered: - What is the HHS mandate? - Why should Christians be concerned about it? - Is this issue about religious liberty or contraception access? - Exactly how does the HHS Mandate violate the First Amendment? - What's being done to fight the HHS Mandate, and where does public protest fit in? - What were the results of the Stand Up For Religious Freedom Rally on March 23rd? - Why hold another Stand Up Rally on June 8th? - What is the next step if the Supreme Court rules against us on "Obamacare?" Related Links: - Look up the nearest rally near you: http://StandUpForReligiousFreedom.com - Learn more about Eric and Matt's work at the Pro-Life Action League: http://ProLifeAction.org - Read the full letter from Notre Dame's president to his staff about the lawsuit against "Obamacare:" http://goo.gl/sDUAM |
Thu, 24 May 2012
Scott Klusendorf is a travelling pro-life speaker who interacts with all the big advocacy groups, as well as Pregnancy Care Centers. He has a unique perspective about the position pro-life advocates are in to make their case right now in history, as well as some observations about Right to Life of Central California that he requested to share in a special Life Report episode. |
Thu, 24 May 2012
Josh Brahm retracts his argument in a recent Life Report episode that Ray Comfort begged the question during his 180 interviews. |
Wed, 16 May 2012
There are some Christians and even pastors who believe the Bible's silence on abortion means that we should not speak up about the issue. Scott Klusendorf from Life Training Institute deals a devastating blow to this argument. Topics covered: - Should pro-lifers defend their view with Psalm 139, Jeremiah 1:5 and others like it? - A better biblical argument for the pro-life position; - Responding to the argument that biblically speaking, life begins at "first breath;" - Responding to the Mosaic law about fighting men that accidentally cause a premature delivery; - Responding to that weird passage in Numbers 5 with a priest giving a suspected pregnant adulteress a potion that may result in an abortion; - Responding to the argument that God is the "greatest aborter of history" because so many unborn children die in miscarriages; - The inherent exegetical danger of modern Christians using directives from Mosaic law or the Old Covenant. - Evaluating Mark Driscoll's statement that 2nd-trimester John the Baptist leaping in the womb in response to 1st-trimester Jesus is a great biblical argument for the personhood of the unborn child. For more Scott Klusendorf, check out his website: http://ProLifeTraining.com Watch or download the Mark Driscoll sermon Josh referred to here: http://marshill.com/media/luke/mary-elizabeth |
Thu, 10 May 2012
Josh facilitates a discussion with Life Training Institute's Scott Klusendorf and RLCC's Jonathan Keller on pro-life voting principles. Topics discussed include: - the current political reality the pro-life movement is in; For more Scott Klusendorf, check out his website: |
Fri, 4 May 2012
Josh, Liz and Andrew begin a two-episode discussion of the popular pro-life documentary, "180," by Ray Comfort and Living Waters Publications. The Life Report team discuss both what they liked about the movie, and then they debate the things they didn’t like.
Topics covered in part two include whether or not Ray Comfort begged the question during his interviews and how pro-lifers should use this movie
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Fri, 4 May 2012
Josh, Liz and Andrew begin a two-episode discussion of the popular pro-life documentary, "180," by Ray Comfort and Living Waters Publications. The Life Report team discuss both what they liked about the movie, and then they debate the things they didn’t like.
Topics covered in part one include the value of taking more time with people and allowing them to "put the puzzle together themselves," and whether or not 180 should be considered a "training film" for pro-life people.
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Fri, 20 April 2012
#139: Why Are Some Pastors Silent About Abortion? SPECIAL GUESTS: Pastor Jim Franklin & Father Larry Toschi
Josh believes that some church leaders are silent about abortion because of ignorance, fear or apathy. Pastor Jim Franklin, pastor of Cornerstone Church in Fresno and Father Larry Toschi from Our Lady of Guadalupe in Bakersfield offer practical advice to pro-life congregants who want to communicate with their church leader about abortion. They close by offering practical advice to pastors on what they can and should do to be a pro-life pastor. (It’s not as much as you might think!)
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Wed, 11 April 2012
Pastor Jim Franklin, pastor of Cornerstone Church in Fresno and Father Larry Toschi from Our Lady of Guadalupe in Bakersfield join Josh in the studio to talk about the HHS mandate forcing religious institutions to pay for sterilizations, contraception and the abortifacient drug, "ella."
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Thu, 5 April 2012
A Catholic film studio called Spirit Juice Studios released a short pro-life film called "To Be Born" last June. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can watch it for free at ToBeBorn.com, or click the embedded video below. I had the opportunity to interview Ray Kaczmark, the director of "To Be Born," to ask him some questions about the movie.
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Thu, 5 April 2012
#137: CA Senators Want to Let Non-Doctors Perform Surgical Abortions. SPECIAL GUEST: Dr. Linda Halderman
Assemblywoman Dr. Linda Halderman comes to the studio to discuss a California Senate Bill that would allow non-doctors to perform surgical abortions. Dr. Halderman is a surgeon who can speak with expertise on the problems with the abortion training non-doctors across California have been given for over a year.
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Wed, 28 March 2012
Josh, Liz and Andrew have been talking to pro-choice people for years, and every once in a while, they’ve come across some very unique arguments. We discuss how pro-lifers should respond when they come across arguments like these:
"How do you know you’re human?"
"If I have a tie, and giving you this tie will save your life, I still don’t have any obligation to give you this tie."
"Personhood begins when you can visually determine the baby’s gender on an ultrasound."
"Abortion is okay because the unborn will be reincarnated into a family that will love them."
Correction from Josh: At 14:30 I said that in some states you not only have a moral obligation to dial 911 if you see a mugging going on in the distance, but also a legal obligation. I have not yet finished my research on this subject, but since recording this episode last year, my opinion has changed and I am no longer convinced that there are any state laws that requires anyone to dial 911 in this situation. Whether these laws should exist is another debate. Judith Jarvis Thompson does argue in her famous essay that everyone is morally obligated to do this. It would be the act of a "minimally good Samaritan."
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Wed, 29 February 2012
During a recent episode of Life Report, Liz and Andrew became concerned by Josh’s statement that he has "pro-choice friends." Steve Wagner joins the show via Skype to talk about whether pro-life people should have pro-choice friends. What about people that say they’re "pro-life" but in action are effectively pro-choice?
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Tue, 14 February 2012
We’ve interviewed Steven Ertelt from LifeNews.com before, but this time Steven came into the studio to discuss the state of the pro-life movement in 2012, personhood bills, and voting principles. Ertelt also gives us an exclusive on a very significant change in Steven’s personal life.
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Fri, 10 February 2012
Josh has been doing research and making calls to experts about the front page Chicago Tribune story that there are thousands of unreported abortions in Illinois. After explaining what’s going on, Josh has some questions for pro-choice people to consider, as well as a warning to pro-lifers about how NOT to use this story.
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Mon, 30 January 2012
UPDATED JOSH BRAHM SERMON: "Ignorance, Fear and Apathy: 3 Problems the Church Faces in Confronting Abortion"
This is the recording of a sermon Josh preached on January 22, 2012 at Free Grace Church in Clovis. After presenting three questions that Christians can answer to bring moral and theological clarity to the abortion issue, Josh takes a hard look at the main reasons that many Christians remain silent on the abortion issue, and how a proper understanding of the Gospel resolves all three of them. Josh closes with the three things that every Christians should do MINIMALLY about abortion.
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Tue, 17 January 2012
Many people donate money to the American Cancer Society through their annual Relay for Life events. But the ACS funnels some of that money to killing human embryos for stem cell research. Should this fact cause pro-life people to donate to alternative cancer organizations? Josh thinks so, but Liz and Andrew disagree. Watch the biggest internal debate from Life Report season one.
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Wed, 4 January 2012
Topic 1: Satirical Pro-Life Video Depicts Scarlett Johansson in KKK Robe for Promoting Planned Parenthood
The Life Report team discusses this question: assuming for sake of argument that PP is in fact a racist organization, is it wise for pro-lifers to make satirical videos like this? Why or why not?
Topic 2: Donald Trump’s Pro-Life Views are Grounded in Irrelevance
The Life Report team explains why this has got to be the worst attempt ever at grounding the view that abortion should be legal. We close by explaining how YOU could use stories like this to start conversations on abortion with pro-abortion-choice people.
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