Get This Book!

[Brother Adam]

[quote]From my thumbing through it, the book itself looked like it had a good message, but some stuff from the intro seemed a bit weak. (It was along the lines of "there's right and wrong, truth and deception, and wisdom on both sides of the fence" and about how "the other side" really wasn't that different from the pro-life side.)[/quote]

She is no Randall Terry, but given the newness of her conversion, I'll grant her time to grow in faith. She is being fed "milk" right now, and rightly so. She is being moved by the Spirit, and is even in RCIA and becoming Catholic. I have had a couple of short conversations with her and she is still "figuring things out". I have seen her attitude develop even since the release of the book. I imagine an updated edition will eventually be released. The book may have been premature, but I appreciate having it now.

[quote]I'm certainly not going to condemn Abby - at least she's pro-life now - but I don't know if I can ever really agree with the whole "the other side's not really that different from us" attitude, as that seems to seriously trivialize the whole abortion issue. Whether or not you believe abortion is in fact the murder of an innocent child should make a huge difference in how you view the issue. If we see it for the evil it is, we will not have a tolerant attitude towards it.
[/quote]

I don't see any tolerance for abortion in her book. It is telling how many of her coworkers tried to leave with her, but ultimately lacked the courage. She speaks about the love of women and desire to help them that many volunteers and employees have, even though they come from a totally wrong perspective. I do no think Abby regards the differences as insignificant, just like we do not regard the differences of Islam and Christianity as insignificant. Yet, there are shades of truth in Islam that we can equip in evangelization. There are shades of truth and the desire for good among those in the abortion industry as well. If there is a more effective way of converting abortionists than we are doing now, then I want to know what that is. If holding up signs of aborted babies is not going to convert their hearts, but quiet prayer and loving conversations will, I'd rather do what works. The success of the methods she describes in her book to save babies is not insignificant.

[quote]I remain convinced that most ignorance about abortion is willful (or at least a deliberate avoidance of looking at the issue directly), and I fail to see how anyone who claims to be opposed to abortion and find it reprehensible can support, let alone work for, an organization they know performs countless abortions.
[/quote]

I also think Abby would agree that it is willful, but it is ignorance none the less. She was willfully ignorant of the horror of abortion until she actually saw it. You may fail to see how anyone who is opposed to abortion would work for the organization, but they do, for what ever insane reasons, and need to be ministered to quickly in a way that is effective for the salvation of their souls.

[quote]Abby herself claimed to be originally pro-life. You'd think she'd at least do some research about abortion, before happily signing on after hearing the cheerful words of a PP recruiter.
It seems there's an incredible amount of idiocy, blind denial, and self-delusion out there. We do need to pray for these people.[/quote]

We've all done stupid, idiotic, self-delusional things. Some of us just are more self-deluded than others. Been to UC Berkley lately?

[quote]We do have to remember to respect people on "the other side" as persons, yet I do not have, and never will have, one iota of respect for the "pro-choice" position.
There's no "wisdom" in it. It's at worst willful evil, at best willful idiocy.
[/quote]

Word, but like I said earlier the book has affected the way I will be involved in the pro-life movement. Abby came behind enemy lines, converted, and gave Satan's enemy the intelligence that she had. She may not even understand it all, but hopefully the Church can decipher what is useful and use it.

[tinytherese]

Call me ignorant and please don't mistake this for sounding uncharitable because I don't intend to come off that way, but how does someone work for or volunteer at Planned Parenthood and not know that they do abortions? That's like working at McDonald's and not being aware of them selling burgers.

If they want to help women who are are facing an unplanned pregnancy why not work for or volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center?

[Socrates]

[quote name='Brother Adam' timestamp='1297382656' post='2211142']
She is no Randall Terry, but given the newness of her conversion, I'll grant her time to grow in faith. She is being fed "milk" right now, and rightly so. She is being moved by the Spirit, and is even in RCIA and becoming Catholic. I have had a couple of short conversations with her and she is still "figuring things out". I have seen her attitude develop even since the release of the book. I imagine an updated edition will eventually be released. The book may have been premature, but I appreciate having it now.



I don't see any tolerance for abortion in her book. It is telling how many of her coworkers tried to leave with her, but ultimately lacked the courage. She speaks about the love of women and desire to help them that many volunteers and employees have, even though they come from a totally wrong perspective. I do no think Abby regards the differences as insignificant, just like we do not regard the differences of Islam and Christianity as insignificant. Yet, there are shades of truth in Islam that we can equip in evangelization. There are shades of truth and the desire for good among those in the abortion industry as well. If there is a more effective way of converting abortionists than we are doing now, then I want to know what that is. If holding up signs of aborted babies is not going to convert their hearts, but quiet prayer and loving conversations will, I'd rather do what works. The success of the methods she describes in her book to save babies is not insignificant.



I also think Abby would agree that it is willful, but it is ignorance none the less. She was willfully ignorant of the horror of abortion until she actually saw it. You may fail to see how anyone who is opposed to abortion would work for the organization, but they do, for what ever insane reasons, and need to be ministered to quickly in a way that is effective for the salvation of their souls.



We've all done stupid, idiotic, self-delusional things. Some of us just are more self-deluded than others. Been to UC Berkley lately?



Word, but like I said earlier the book has affected the way I will be involved in the pro-life movement. Abby came behind enemy lines, converted, and gave Satan's enemy the intelligence that she had. She may not even understand it all, but hopefully the Church can decipher what is useful and use it.
[/quote]
The stuff I'd heard about the controversy was second-hand, so I really can't judge. I was honestly a bit surprised that apparently some pro-lifers were so upset with her, though there unfortunately are those pro-lifers who love to denounce others as "not pro-life enough."

Apparently the fuss was largely about her postings on facebook, regarding issues that are barely hinted at in the book introduction, so I really don't know much about it.

As the person I was talking to said, Abby's still in the very early stages of her conversion, so I think we should just pray for her and support her conversion thus far.

The way I see it, we need to see those on the other side as human beings in need of conversion, rather than irredeemable monsters, but I think some people can also go too far to other side and be too quick to make excuses for those involved in abortion, and act like they're all just innocent victims of something or another.
We need compassion, but we also need to treat people as responsible for their own actions, or the abortion problem will never go away.

Ultimately, we should be thankful for Abby's conversion, and pray that it deepens and bears more good fruit, rather than bickering about it.

[Socrates]

[quote name='tinytherese' timestamp='1297398392' post='2211245']
Call me ignorant and please don't mistake this for sounding uncharitable because I don't intend to come off that way, but how does someone work for or volunteer at Planned Parenthood and not know that they do abortions? That's like working at McDonald's and not being aware of them selling burgers.[/quote]

From what i remember, Abby was aware that PP did abortions, but somehow bought all their bs about how they "were working to help women and reduce the number of abortions, blah, blah."

(Though I'll admit, that makes about as much sense as convincing a hardcore vegetarian that McDonald's is working to reduce the amount of meat consumed, because, hey, they have some veggie items!)

Abby changed when she learned PP was actually trying to meet an abortion quota to maximize its profit.

Yeah, I think the decision to join in the first place was immensely stupid and thoughtless for a "pro-lifer," but at least she's repented of it.

[quote]
If they want to help women who are are facing an unplanned pregnancy why not work for or volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center?[/quote]
Call me cynical, but I think the bottom line is that PP pays a lot better.

Edited February 11, 2011 by Socrates

[Lil Red]

her blog is great