Acting out of the truth that all people are made in God’s image is important when it comes to engaging the next generation, who remain fairly consistently pro-life even as their other views become more progressive, says Prior. Young people need to understand that being pro-life “doesn’t arise out of just a hatred of women or disdain for sex or judgment of people who are caught in these situations, but because we really do uphold the image of God in all human beings across the board. That is what will speak to them, and that is what the Bible speaks to.”
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Karen Swallow Prior encouraged Christians to respond to the fear many feel in the wake of Roe’s reversal with love and to demonstrate a different vision for the issue.
“I think we just have to embody what we say we believe,” she said, “which is not about oppressing people. It’s not about stripping people from freedom. It’s about a love of human life and a love of human flourishing and a desire to see all human beings live as long as they can, because they do bear the image of God. And if we really believe that, then that will come out in our posture and our words and our attitudes, even in the face of this anger and fear and hostility.”
Prior shared more about the role of imagination in the pro-life movement in an extended portion of our interview, which you can find on churchleaders.com/plus under Podcast Extras.
