Advice to Christian Philosophers

My essay “From Justin Martyr to Alvin Plantinga and Back Again: Advice from the First Christian Philosopher” appears in the anthology Advice to Christian Philosophers: Reflections on the Past and Future of Christian Philosophy, edited by (and with an essay by) Christopher Woznicki.  It’s a volume of articles inspired by Alvin Plantinga’s famous essay “Advice to Christian Philosophers,” which is included.  Other contributors include Charity Anderson, Michael Austin, William Lane Craig, Gregory Ganssle, Marina Garner, Paul Gould, Adam Green, Ross Inman, J. P. Moreland, Dolores Morris, Meghan Page, Timothy Pawl, Tim Pickavance, Joshua Rasmussen, Yoon Shin, Peter van Inwagen, Thomas Ward, Greg Welty, Eric Yang, and Linda Zagzebski.  More information here.

Pro-lifers must resist Trump on abortion and IVF

Pro-lifers should rejoice in the defeat of Kamala Harris, and of the Democratic Party, which remains the greatest threat to the unborn in American politics.  But they cannot rest, because their job is only half done.  The second greatest threat has yet to be dealt with, and that is Donald Trump.

Many pro-life Trump supporters will be shocked and angered at such a statement.  But I urge them to resist this emotional reaction and dispassionately consider the cold, hard facts.  Trump supports preserving access to the abortion pill, which is responsible for the majority of abortions in the United States.  Since these pills can be sent by mail into states where abortion is restricted or banned, preserving such access largely undermines recent state-level pro-life measures.  Trump also actively opposes those measures in any event, insisting that they are “too tough” and need to be “redone.”  He has repeatedly said that, even at the state level, abortion must remain legal beyond six weeks.  And he wants the federal government to pay for, or to force insurance companies to pay for, in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments – a practice that results in the destruction of more human embryos than even abortion does.  The only threat to the unborn Trump has clearly and consistently opposed is late-term abortion, which accounts for a mere 1% of abortions.  In short, the policies Trump favors would prevent very few abortions and encourage the discarding of millions of embryos.  True, Trump is much better than Harris in supporting the rights of pro-lifers.  But he is now only a little better in upholding the rights of the unborn.