Notes for "7 Conversations in 7 Hours - Session 2"

Comment Or Ask Questions on Session 2

Respond to Session 1 and Sign Up for JFA Updates via Email and/or Paper Mail using the JFA Updates page. Or, feel free to share a comment on this post below.

Request a Free Paper Copy of the “Invitation to Dialogue” Brochure

Use the Digital Online Brochure

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View Video Resources Covered in this Session

What is the unborn? (Includes links to EHD apps and EHD video; along with embryology quotes and links to scientific journal articles)

What is the unborn? (Includes links to EHD apps and EHD video; along with embryology quotes and links to scientific journal articles)

Next Step: Conversation Starter for Session 2

Option 1: Opt Out of a Conversation

As you observe the unrest and lawlessness in many cities taking place across the country over the last few months (following the deaths of George Floyd and others), and as you survey the news of this particular week in which you are taking Session 2, you may feel like starting a conversation about abortion, especially related to abortion imagery, seems awkward or out of place. You may be surprised that many people would not find it awkward to discuss abortion imagery and may even be more comfortable with it, given the images in the news. With this in mind, and considering how serious the injustice of abortion is against a whole class of people (unwanted unborn human beings), we would still encourage you to consider the conversation starters below and see if you can make use of them.

If after reflection on the above paragraph you feel like you would prefer to not try to use images in a conversation this week, we suggest spending the time you might have spent on conversations to pause to pray to God to bring an end injustice in all of its forms, to comfort the hurting, and to solve the very challenging problems we’re seeing all around us. If you are not a religious person, or as an additional activity, we suggest listening to and reflecting on the stories of oppressed peoples wherever they are in the US and around the world.

Option 2: Use the Three Essential Skills in a Conversation with Friends about this Cultural Moment

Many of our participants will find themselves in a conversation with a spouse, child, relative, friend, or neighbor about the unrest taking place in the US, or about topics like racism, the brutality of certain errant police officers, “conservatives,” “liberals,” whites, blacks, Latinos, Asians, the proper use of law, the proper use of force, how to keep law and order, whether various strategies for bringing about change are justified, and other topics. We suggest engaging in these conversations with a conscious emphasis on the three essential skills: Listening to understand, asking questions with an open heart, and finding common ground when possible. When I engage in these conversations, one way to form questions for the other person is to first ask oneself questions like the following:

  • What am I assuming about this person’s communication? Am I adding some meaning to the plain words being said?

  • Am I giving this person the benefit of the doubt or believing the worst?

  • Am I trying to hear what the person intended or am I reacting to a meaning she didn’t intend?

  • Are there words this person is saying that may have more than one meaning? Which words would it help to clarify?

  • Are there things about this topic I don’t know?

  • Is there anything this person is saying that I can agree with? Have I pointed that thing out?

  • Is the person intending to make an argument or express a feeling? If it’s a feeling, have I validated the feeling?

  • Is the person thinking the topic through in real time with me listening?

  • Does the person appear to be confident because she is actually confident or is the confidence a part of the person’s personality that doesn’t relate to what’s going on with the topic for her?

  • Are there things this person is certain about that I can agree with? Are there things this person is skeptical about or uncertain about that I can identify with? Have I found common ground on the feeling of uncertainty or fear that she is feeling?

  • I hear the statement this person is making. I don’t agree. I wonder what it would take for me to come to agree. What amount of evidence would be sufficient? What type of authority would help convince me?

Option 3: Use the JFA Brochure Tour to Start a Conversation

Use the prompt on Page 33 of the Interactive Guide and use the script to help you structure your conversation.

Option 4: Use Delightful Images of the Unborn to Encourage a Pro-Life Friend

Even with all of the unrest in the US right now, if you want to create a conversation about the unborn this week using what you learned in Session 2, we suggest sharing the beautiful images found on JFA’s What Is the Unborn page (or the Links page — also linked above) with a pro-life friend as an encouragement. You might say:

“In the midst of the ugly and violent images on social media and news this week, I learned about some beautiful video of unborn children in my class on pro-life dialogue that I thought would encourage you.”

Links and Additional Reading for Session 2 (“Do Images Help?”)

Note: This post was originally written on 6/2/2020 for our first “7 Conversations in 7 Hours” series. It was updated on 7/29/2020 and 10/1/2020.

Links: See the JFA Calendar to view a series currently in progress or coming up soon. // Register here. // Share the details or invite a friend.