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What do we expect pro-lifers to do, really?
The goal of the Revelation 3:2 Project is not to lay out a systematic strategy for ending abortion. Once Christians have been awakened to their duty and accept the burden of the cross, once we finally Get Serious, the right course of action will become plain. This applies to ending abortion and every other facet of the Christian life.
However, part of the “Get Serious” process involves each individual coming to grips with how truly radical Getting Serious will be. As mentioned in another lesson, many if not most of us ought to be fighting to end abortion with every ounce of our being. Profound sacrifices of time and money are both necessary and justified. Yet it is often very easy for people to accept vague notions about “fighting hard” and “giving it your all” without comprehending what these declarations really mean. Therefore, we have created lessons like this one to give readers a better understanding of what we mean, specifically, when we say that ending abortion should be a top priority.
We realize that the best strategy is still just a generalization. We all need to take a good, hard look at our lives and determine the best way that we, personally, can contribute to the fight to end abortion, and not everyone’s decision will be exactly the same. Yet what you’ll find outlined in this lesson is the strategy we think the majority of ordinary pro-life people should follow RIGHT NOW. All things considered, the abolition of abortion both requires and deserves this level of commitment from millions and millions of people. You are probably NOT one of the exceptions.
Don’t expect us to describe some sort of completely new, game changing methodology. All the actions we’re about to recommend have been tried by small groups of people all over the nation for the past 4 decades. The reason they haven’t yet born visible fruit is not that the tactics are inadequate, but because the number of people doing these things is so small.
Here, then, are 12 things that nearly every pro-life person should be doing right now:
I could use some help over here!
1. If you’re a member of a denomination that supports abortion,(1) leave it. Seriously. You’re not going to be able to change things from the inside, and as long as you stay there, you’re implicitly condoning that denomination’s position. You’re essentially telling everyone there “My relationship to you is more important than the lives of the preborn kids you have dehumanized.”
2. If you’re earning enough money to support the needs of yourself and your family, stop trying to earn more. That’s right. Stop trying to fund a lifestyle that you don’t need. You may have to switch jobs to do this. Use the extra time you save to get involved in anti-abortion activism. Conversely, you could work even harder and use the extra money to fund existing anti-abortion work, but it’s probably better that you start doing the work yourself. In most cases money cannot replace people.
3. Look at where you spend your time every week and cut out everything that isn’t absolutely necessary, or that isn’t otherwise conducive to ending abortion. Obviously this doesn’t mean you can’t have family time or have fun once in a while, and if you’re caring for a sick family member you shouldn’t neglect them. Nevertheless, every choice you make should be done in light of the fact that when we aren’t fighting to end abortion, the end of abortion is being delayed.
4. If you’re a student, stop doing extracurricular activities. Again, seriously. Everybody needs recreation but the hours you spend playing basketball or acting in a high school play are hours that innocent people are being torn to pieces and thrown into the trash. It’s not worth it.
5. If you’re a college student, consider not being a college student. Yeah. We’re saying that. The movement needs people like you, people who are young and not tied down. It may be hard for you to believe, but all things considered, the good you think you can do by becoming a doctor or an engineer or a lawyer is probably is not as great as the good you can do by dedicating your life to the abolition of abortion.
6. Contact the closest anti-abortion group that does meaningful activism and offer to help. There’s a short list of what we consider the best groups on GetSeriousChurch.com. You’ll probably find, however, that the closest one is still pretty far away. In that case …
7. Consider relocating to another town so you can participate with one of these groups. Again, we’re serious. It’s that important. It’s not too much to ask. It’s much easier in the long run to be part of an effort that already exists. But if you’ve looked into it and it just won’t work then … 8. Start doing what they
8. Start doing what they in your own community. Focus on MAKING PEOPLE HATE ABORTION. That’s the most important thing we can do right now, and you can best do this through public outreach. Get some good anti-abortion literature and start distributing it in public areas. Get some signs that depict the victims of abortion or explain anti-abortion arguments, and start holding them on college campuses, outside high schools, or on busy street corners. Go where you can talk to people and teach them why abortion is so bad. If there are no such places near you, get bigger signs and hold them on highways or on overpasses. Go door to door if you have to. It’s been done before! You’d be amazed to find how many Americans haven’t the slightest idea what abortion really entails, and have never heard the pro-life viewpoint explained. Do whatever you can to make sure every person in your community knows the facts.
9. Educate yourself on how to explain why abortion is wrong. Get really good at this. You can go to ProLifeTraining.com to get started.
10. Next, start recruiting other people to help you. Begin with people who occasionally do some sort of pro-life thing like praying outside an abortion center. Contact Catholic parishes and ask the Respect Life Coordinator if he or she will help. Don’t worry about starting an “organization” yet, and don’t wait for clergy to endorse your efforts. Most never will. Instead, talk to ordinary individuals. If they support you get their contact information and follow up with them. Direct them to the Revelation 3:2 Project or a similar initiative. Start attending Christian rock concerts and other Christian events and talking to people about what you’re doing. Stand in front of pro-life churches on Sunday morning with Revelation 3:2 Project banners. Don’t go away when the pastor tells you to leave (which he will).
11. Create a Facebook page and use the various forms of social media to let everyone in your area know what you’re doing. Connect with people in other communities that are doing the same thing. Take photos and video of your work and spread it around so other people will realize you mean business.
12. As soon as you have enough people working with you, you can start doing bigger and better forms of activism. Do things that will get media attention, like sit-ins at city hall or at the homes of politicians. Publicly call out businesses that donate to abortion providers. Pickett the homes of abortionists. When you have the numbers, start using them.
So there you have it: 12 things that the average pro-life person should do right now.
No doubt a lot of people are going think this plan is rather narrowly focused. What about helping women choose life? What about electing pro-life leaders? There are reasons these things have not been included in the 12 step plan you just watched, and we’ll go into them in more detail in upcoming videos. Suffice it to say that this is a battle plan describing how we think the average pro-life person can be most effective RIGHT NOW, in the political and social culture we live in. It doesn’t apply to absolutely everyone, and the sorts of things we do will change as the movement picks up momentum. But as for right now, this is the basic outline we think most people should follow.
No, it’s NOT an attractive plan. If you’re the first person to start living like this, you won’t be very popular within your community, your church, or even within your family. Following this strategy is going to seriously impact the plans you’ve currently made for yourself, and your life is not going to be “successful” in the way we usually think of success. But this lesson wasn’t supposed to be about us. It’s about the millions of innocent people who have already been murdered on our watch, and who will continue to be murdered unless each of us is willing to make drastic changes to our lifestyle, and adopt a plan for ending abortion that has a reasonable chance to succeed.
Certainly there are going to be many objections to what we’ve described here. Upcoming articles and videos intend to address these objections. Please keep an open mind, and keep exploring GetSeriousChurch.com.
REFERENCES AND FOOTNOTES
1. Major denominations supporting abortion include the Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church in the USA, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the United Church of Christ, the Disciples of Christ and the United Methodist Church. Most Reformed Jews are also supporters of abortions, as well some quasi-religious groups such as the Unitarian Universalist Association. The Religious Coalition of Reproductive Choice (rcrc.org) is their primary mouthpiece. Some support for abortion exists within the Seventh Day Adventist Church and various other segments within Western Protestantism, as well as Eastern Orthodoxy.