By BRIAN CLOWES
(Editor’s Note: Brian Clowes has been director of research and training at Human Life International since 1995. For an electronic copy of the entire Culture of Life series, with table of contents and footnotes, e-mail him at bclowes@hli.org.
(We anticipate that Brian Clowes will return to our pages in the near future with a new series, this one aimed at the practical aspects of the pro-life movement. We thank him for his stellar contributions to The Wanderer and to the pro-life cause.)
+ + +
This concludes the five-year Culture of Life 101 series, which consists of 267 articles on abortion, birth control, population control, homosexuality, dissent, euthanasia, assisted reproduction, and eugenics.
I would like to sincerely thank Mr. Joseph Matt and Editor Peggy Moen for the opportunity to write this series for The Wanderer. It has been an honor and a privilege — and, of course, quite a lot of work.
Human Life International’s director of communications, Steve Phelan, also put in a many hours of work by reviewing every article in the series, and I am greatly indebted to him for his insights and his editing.
But now the real work begins.
The purpose of the Culture of Life 101 series is to answer the most basic questions on the life issues in easily digestible chunks of about 1,500 words. Prayer is the precursor to action, but no effective action can be taken without knowledge. To go into battle against the Culture of Life is to fight blind.
You do not need to be a pro-life leader or a member of an organized group in order to be an effective activist. In fact, the most important work you can do after prayer is the work that will ultimately win the day for the Culture of Life.
That work consists of educating yourself so that you can present the truth about the life issues to those around you — your family members, friends, fellow churchgoers, and co-workers. The more people we can convert to a Culture of Life philosophy, the quicker we will win in the end, and the fewer innocent little lives will be snuffed out.
No wonder both Pope St. John Paul II and Pope Francis have called this “the most important work on Earth!”
So, if you are thinking of getting involved in the fight for faith, life, and family, this series is a great place to start. If you read just one article every night for 15 to 20 minutes, you will soon be prepared to answer the many questions and comments that you will inevitably hear when people find out that you are pro-life or pro-family, including the following:
“Don’t we need birth control and abortion to control overpopulation and stop climate change?”
“You can’t judge him for being gay. He was born that way.”
“Pro-lifers only care for the fetus until it is born. Then it can die for all they care.”
“Dissent is just a healthy conversation that is good for the life of the Church.”
“I’m too old to have a baby. Besides, there is a one in four chance my baby would have Down syndrome.”
“These birth control pills will help clear up my acne.”
“As a Catholic, you should be for contraception since it brings down the abortion rate.”
“I can have an abortion because I am doing so with a clear conscience.”
“Why shouldn’t we let Grandpa just ‘slip away’ because he doesn’t have any quality of life?”
Of course, God may be calling you to get actively involved in the fights for life and family. Perhaps you could support a local or national pro-life group, get involved in legislative work, or picket or sidewalk counsel at a local abortion mill.
All of these activities are essential, but the group that saves more unborn babies than the rest of the pro-life movement combined is the crisis pregnancy center workers.
Most likely there is a CPC in your town; there are about three thousand scattered all over the nation. They will train you to do everything from material assistance to office work to face-to-face counseling.
If you would like to begin this self-guided study program, just e-mail me at bclowes@hli.org, and I will send you two large ZIP files. Unzip both of these files into the same directory. The table of contents shows what specific point each article addresses. Of course, I am always available to try to answer any questions you might have on any of the life issues.
Please also consider a donation to Human Life International’s lifesaving work. We have traveled more than 20 million miles to 158 different nations fighting the Culture of Death in every continent.
Our work can only continue with your prayers and your continued financial support.
Thank you,
Brian Clowes
1 Cor. 15:58
Powered by WPtouch Mobile Suite for WordPress