Habits of the Heart (and Mind).(Os Guinness)(Brief Article)

"And so, to actually describe the course of a real human journey - - which is partly logic, partly will, partly heart and so on - - is more logical because it is the description of reality, rather than those whose arguments are purely logic in a narrow sense. And very few human beings live on pure logic alone, even philosophers."

Author Os Guinness

Whenever I give a talk, pro-lifers inevitably will share "conversion" stories with me and whomever else is hardy enough to stick around to chat. Truly it is amazing what works on one occasion and fails on another.

But that should come as no surprise. People process/integrate/assimilate information - - especially the kind that is at odds with their worldview - - differently, depending on a raft of factors. For instance, I am not the man I was 20 years ago when I got married. Indeed, while in many ways I have not changed, in many more ways I could not be more different than the shallow kid who walked up to the altar two decades ago.

The way I respond to most everything is fundamentally different, based on all that has happened. And there are countless other reasons besides life experiences that shape the way people will respond to our entreaties.

Which is only to state the obvious: what bowls one individual over - - knocking aside every objection - - can be totally missed by the next person. Or the some individual at different points in his or her life!

For the most part, however, there is one constant when making the case for unborn babies: to be persuasive we must engage the listener's heart and mind.