Rapid City, SD, January 15, 2024— Every generation passes wisdom to the next, but the task is more complicated in communicating with Gen Z. Just in time for the March for Life, pro-life organization Healing the Culture has launched “Forbidden Discussions,” a new video series designed to equip centennials with the arguments they need to influence their peers. The 5-part series is available at Respect Life University, Healing the Culture’s proprietary video platform that delivers a unique philosophical approach to pro-life education through short, lively videos.
Creator of the program, Camille Pauley explained, “‘Forbidden Discussions’ shows that young people can have tough, heartfelt conversations about life issues without resorting to violence or shutting each other out. And it meets Gen Z-ers where they’re at – online.”
The program features college friends, Finley and Isaac, who meet virtually to take on some of the most common abortion arguments such as “A tiny blob of cells is not a human being,” and “Women need abortion to find happiness.” It’s a tech-savvy approach that also incorporates clever animation to drive home the debaters’ points.
But what makes the program unique, Pauley said, is that the students switch sides from episode to episode, demonstrating how to really probe an argument and dignify a debate with authentic consideration and thought – something she says this generation has not been taught to do.
For example, in one episode, Finley takes the pro-life side to argue that it’s better for people to choose the good for the other over the good for the self. Isaac concedes the point but argues that you can’t force people to do that by law. In the next episode, they switch sides. Finley defends Isaac’s point that you can’t legislate morality while Isaac argues that we do it all the time, such as when we make it against the law to speed past children in a school zone. He notes that you can’t force people to love schoolchildren, but we still make it against the law to endanger them by speeding.
“Forbidden Discussions” fills a particular need in pro-life evangelization, said Pauley. “Gen Z young adults have never known a world without smartphones. The blessing is that they have information literally at their fingertips. The curse is that they haven’t been taught how to search for truth through a process of debate, rational consideration, and insight.” Like most of Healing the Culture’s videos, the program is designed to be short and easily shared. “It empowers Gen Z to advocate for life via social media, a means of communication most familiar to them.”
All five videos in the “Forbidden Discussions” series can be viewed at https://healingtheculture.org/forbidden-discussions/.
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