The Empowered Advocate

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E006: God & Sex Forum, Part 2 - Transgenderism Panel Discussion Apr 18, 2019

Show notes

The God & Sex Forum is an annual event hosted by Students for Greensboro Pregnancy Care Center and Ratio Christi at UNC Greensboro. This year's topic is transgenderism. To hear keynote speaker Dr. Neil Stewart's address, check out God & Sex Forum: Transgenderism Part 1.

This episode is a panel discussion answering questions that were texted in during the event. Panelists are: Dr. Neil Stewart; Cameron Hodge (author, small business owner); and Logan Thomas (UNCG student).

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2:43 - Question 1: Regarding your experience with gender dysphoria, why do you choose not to act on those desires?

4:05 - Question 2: Can you be a Christian and live an LGBQ lifestyle at the same time?

5:56 - Question 3: Is it harmful for parents to allow their child to choose his/her gender. If so, in what ways is it harmful?

8:24 - Question 4: For intersex individuals (those whose gender is ambiguous at birth), how do they determine their sex, and who determines this?

11:40 - Question 5: How does the Church address the sexuality of someone who is transgender once they receive salvation?

13:34 - Question 6: What is the difference between gender and sex?

17:52 - Question 7: Why do you trust the Bible so much when it was written by man and has been translated many times and in different versions?

24:41 - Question 8: Should Christians use pronouns if people identify as a pronoun other than their biological sex?

28:20 - Question 9: How can you [Dr. Stewart] use science to back up your argument, and simultaneously use theology and religion? Using religion seems to reduce your credibility. How can you claim to use religion to prescribe how others should live?

34:18 - Question 10: Reality is a social construct. My reality is different than yours. How can you prescribe what's right for someone else's reality?

38:15 - Question 11: Why are you only addressing transgenderism as sin, and why has the love of God not been mentioned throughout this conversation?

44:01 - Question 12: Are transgender people also made in the image of God? If God controls all things, why would God put people in bodies they are not comfortable in? What are humans supposed to do about that?

47:50 - Question 13: Are trans people not their true selves? Is there any scripture that says that transgenderism is a sin?

50:48 - Question 14: [Cameron] how did your friend who was transgender come to know Jesus?

51:58 - Question 15: For those of us who are not Christians, why does the Christian perspective apply to us?

53:30 - Question 16: What is the Christian perspective on someone who feels out of place, or like they're the wrong gender? Does an individual's feelings matter?

57:37 - Question 17: Shouldn't Christians not judge others?

60:40 - Question 18: Can you be a Christian and also be attracted to the same sex?

E004: How to Defend the Pro-Life Position Apr 14, 2019

Show notes

How do we defend the pro-life position? Today we discuss how to use a tool called SLED in order to make a convincing argument against abortion in a clear and concise way. You can read more about SLED on Stand to Reason's website at str.org.

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1:00 - Why do we not engage others on the issue of abortion?

2:50 - Going into a conversation with the right attitude and motivation

13:11 - SLED: The unborn differs from the born in only four ways. None of those ways are good reasons to justify killing a person then (in the womb) but not now (outside of the womb).

14:42 - Size: Why does size matter when determining the value of a life?

16:28 - Level of Development: Why does level of development matter when determining the value of a life?

20:10 - Environment: How does where you are determine what you are?

22:11 - Degree of Dependency: Why does dependency on another human being matter when determining the value of a life?

29:27 - Common justifications for abortion

30:05 - Justification #1: Shouldn't a woman have the right to do what she wants with her body?

35:35 - Article Reference: Abortion is Good, Because I am a Good Person

37:00 - Justification #2: If a woman is unable to take care of a child because of financial issues or an absent father, she should be able to abort.

41:20 - Justification #3: Abortion should be an option for women in cases of rape or incest.

44:45 - Defend the pro-life position in 60 seconds or less

E003: Facing an Unplanned Pregnancy as a Christian Mar 13, 2019

Show notes

When someone close to us learns they are pregnant unexpectedly, what is the appropriate biblical response? Should that response be any different if the mother is a believer? Mary Kate White joins us and shares her personal experience of finding out she was unexpectedly pregnant with twins. What followed was a high risk pregnancy, an earlier-than-expected wedding date, and months in the NICU with her two daughters. Mary Kate shares how her faith and a solid support network of family and friends carried her through a time of uncertainty, showing how grace often meets us in the most unplanned times of our lives.

Mary Kate is a writer and you can follow her on her blog at marykatewrites.com.

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1:50 - Introducing Mary Kate White

4:00 - Mary Kate shares about the circumstances leading up to the news that she was unexpectedly pregnant with twins.

7:45 - Mary Kate and Andrew's reactions to the news. The 3 S's: Shocked, Scared, and Shame.

11:38 - Mary Kate finds out she is pregnant with twins.

14:05 - Mary Kate's fears and concerns about how her family and church community would respond.

18:24 - Was abortion ever recommended?

21:45 - Mary Kate found out her pregnancy was high risk. Her daughters' conditions occur once out of every 60,000 pregnancies.

29:15 - The impact of experiencing an unplanned pregnancy and how it has strengthened Mary Kate's relationship with God. Words of encouragement to women in the same situation.

35:12 - How can Christians respond to an unplanned pregnancy in a biblical way?

E002: Common Myths About Pregnancy Resource Centers (PRCs) Mar 13, 2019

Show notes

Today Mary Holloman and Client Services Director, Deanna Jewell, tackle an article from Cosmopolitan that came out in February 2019. The article is titled, "Fake Health Clinics are Tricking College Students." The article makes several claims about pregnancy resource centers that are quite startling. So we sit down to respond to each claim and to present an accurate picture of what our PRC actually does.

1:45 - Claim #1: PRCs show graphic images of abortions and STDs to clients and tell them that "abortion is bad, sex is bad."

3:50 - GPCC's stance on sex and a biblical perspective on the best sex.

5:39 - What is GPCC telling clients about abortions?

7:30 - Claim #2: PRCs are unlicensed, unregulated, share wrong medical info, and prevent women from getting the care she actually needs.

8:25 - GPCC has licensed nurses who perform all medical services. Nurses are overseen by licensed medical directors. GPCC is volunteer-led and staff supported; volunteers who are not licensed do not perform any medical service. A nurse is present in every appointment.

10:45 - Does GPCC ever prevent women from getting the care they need?

13:15 - Claim #3: 'Creeping on Campus' - PRCs camp out near campuses to target college students.

14:00 - GPCC wants to remove barriers for women to receive the care they want/need.

15:45 - Claim #4: 'Peddling Medical Myths' - PRCs exaggerate side effects or complications associated with the abortion pill.

16:40 - GPCC provides complete, honest, holistic information so that clients are fully informed.

20:52: - Claim #5: 'Deception on Wheels' - PRCs offer ultrasounds without being licensed using mobile ultrasound units.

23:19 - Claim #6: PRCs use strategies to reach clients on social media.

27:10 - Claim #7: PRCs are the same as the people who stand outside abortion clinics with graphic pictures, yelling, screaming, and "in your face."

Links:

Cosmopolitan article - Fake Clinics are Tricking College Students -

https://www.cosmopolitan.com/health-fitness/a26062253/crisis-pregnancy-centers-college-campus/?fbclid=IwAR2E3Af0DzxIriM6YDRakjwDBbq5xa7ouJrb60BIzXSfP_Mam8qb0lBEKns

Greensboro Pregnancy Care Center - gsocarecenter.org

E001: Meet GPCC - The 'Why' Behind Advocacy for Women Mar 13, 2019

Show notes

Interviewed on the pilot episode of The Empowered Advocate are Carter Mundy (Associate Executive Director) and Deanna Jewell (Client Services Director). Carter, Deanna, and Mary discuss the inner workings of the Care Center and the motivation by behind why we serve the community.

0:00 Intros and welcome to The Empowered Advocate!

3:35 - Deanna shares about all our services, including pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, STD testing, classes, and material resources--all free of charge.

6:00 - Carter explains the Success Sequence and why it matters: medical services, educational services, and mentorship.

7:15 - Deanna discusses the Care Center's changes over the past 3-4 years. GPCC moved to a new location; bought and began operating a mobile ultrasound unit; began sidewalk advocacy outside Greensboro's abortion center; added STD treatment to services; nearly doubled the annual budget; hired more staff and nurses. We've increased clients on average at about 20% every year for the last several years.

12:15 - Carter talks about the motivation behind why the Care Center exists. GPCC is a Christian organization and seeks to share the gospel with clients and also give the church the opportunity to minister to the needs of the community.

13:15 - GPCC is not Planned Parenthood. We don't offer of refer for abortions. Deanna shares about why we do not offer this service: because we want what's best for women.

15:45 - How does abortion relate with the gospel? Carter shares how our faith as an organization informs what we do. "We believe that every human being has value, and that's because every human being is made in God's image."

17:35 - We are volunteer led, staff supported. Deanna shares about the impact volunteers have on GPCC. The Open House is the first step for a volunteer to get involved. To sign up, visit gsocarecenter.org/openhouse and follow the prompts to register.

21:00 - What's the goal of the Care Center for 2019? Carter and Deanna share about the direction the organization is moving in. We want to see 1,200 clients in 2019; more partners and volunteers; adding more days out on the sidewalk at the abortion center; continued excellent care.

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Visit our blog at gsocarecenter.org/blog.

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