They have said the unsayable. I'm not for it, but I'm not against it either. They think it's murder. And it kind of is. I'm just okay with that.
SPEAKER_03And in saying the unsayable, they have uncovered reality.
SPEAKER_02I still think you're killing a baby.
SPEAKER_05It's a little bit killing a baby. It's 100% killing a baby. It is. It's totally killing a whole baby.
SPEAKER_03Hi, I'm Glenn from Speak Life. We'd like to see all things through the lens of Jesus. We're going to look at four comedians who have gone there. They have spoken about one of the biggest hot button issues in our culture in our day. It's the issue of abortion. We're going to look at Bill Maher, Bill Burr, Louis C.K. and Dave Chappelle. All of them have gone where angels fear to tread. They have refused to lie about a situation. They have said the unsayable. And in saying the unsayable, they have uncovered reality. And here's my plea in this video. I want you to either see things through the lens of Jesus, we'll have a go at that at the end of this video. And I want to show you why Christians think the way that they think about the issue of the unborn. But even if you can't come with me on those Christian convictions, I want you to simply not lie. I want you to simply look at an issue and name what's going on. Because actually I think those two paths end up at the same destination. You can look through scriptural lenses, you can see all things through the lens of Jesus, as we always say here at Speak Life, and you'll get to a certain destination. Or you can do what these four comedians do, and you can name reality, see it for what it is, decide not to lie, say the unsayable, and you'll end up in roughly the same position. Or at least you will see the terrain a lot more clearly, and I think you'll understand why Christians take the view that they take. All four of these comedians are known for shocking humor. They are the sort of prophetic figures that say what is on their mind no matter how unsayable it is. And sometimes they say things because they're unsayable. At that point, Christians might have issues with that. I have issues with some of the things they say and some of the places that they go, but on this issue they don't mind nicking the tripwire and seeing what happens. They dance out into the minefield wearing clown shoes, and sometimes they get riotous laughter. Sometimes, as Bill Maher found very recently on Real Time, it goes down like a lead balloon because they have said the unsayable and it is palpable, the silence in the studio. Let's have a look at Real Time with Bill Maher. Very recently had two guests on. One is Piers Morgan, the other is Gillian Tet, a journalist. She's talking about why the 2024 election will revolve around the issue of abortion, and she thinks that that is a silly thing for it to revolve around because there are so many other issues going on in America today.
SPEAKER_00Where the economy is faced with all kinds of challenges. The idea that you're fighting an election around this issue seems to be, you know, just strange. Back to the 19th century.
SPEAKER_03And of course, the 19th century would be a terrible thing. We don't want to go backwards where of a progressive mindset. We believe in the myth of progress. Everything's getting better. If you're in Victorian times, that must be a regressive place to be. It's backwards, the dark ages. And so in 2024, we want to have a different kind of conversation. We want to leave behind the issue of abortion, don't we? She gets lots of applause. Bill Maher, bless his cotton socks. He doesn't mind saying the unsayable, even if it's very unpopular. And here he goes.
SPEAKER_07None of you believe it's murder. You know, that's why I don't understand the 15-week thing. Or the Trump's plan is let's leave it to the states. You mean so killing babies is okay in some states? I I couldn't respect the absolutist position.
SPEAKER_03So Bill Maher is talking about a dispute within the pro-life community. There are incrementalists who say, well, let's just try and shift the dial as much as we can. Let's try and get all the legislative change and restrictions that we can incrementally and move towards a pro-life America. The absolutists, on the other hand, are saying, well, look, if it's murder, it's murder, and you don't just want to outlaw murder on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, do you? It's either one or the other, it's black or white. And Bill Maher, looking from the pro-choice position over the fence to the pro-life position, says, Well, if I was pro-life, I'd be an absolutist. Well, why is that, Bill? I really can.
SPEAKER_07I I I scold the left on when they say, oh, you know what? They just hate women. People who aren't pro-life. They d pro-choice. They just they don't hate women. They just made that up. They think it's murder. And it kind of is. I'm just okay with that. I am. I I mean, there's eight billion people in the world. I'm sorry, we won't miss you. That's my position on that.
SPEAKER_01Well That's quite yeah, exactly. I'm not sure.
SPEAKER_06Is that not your position if you're pro-choice? Isn't that mainly because you don't like children?
SPEAKER_01I mean, no, no.
SPEAKER_07Piers trying to make a joke. But if you are pro you're you said you're pro-choice. That's your position too.
SPEAKER_03Oh man. Look, I mean, and look at Piers. He he he can't make himself say a full-throated yes at that point. As Bill Maher has laid out his position, that it's it's kind of basically murder, isn't it? And after all, aren't there too many people on the planet anyway? Bill Maher is saying, is that kind of your position? And says Piers Morgan. Because when you name the reality of what's going on, you can no longer hide behind the lie anymore. Look at that face. He's stuck in between these dissonant positions. You're not meant to be pro-murder. And yet he's pro-choice. And how does he feel about that? Let's just hear the silence. Let's just hear the heaviness in the room as Bill Maher lays out his view. They don't hate women.
SPEAKER_07They just made that up. They think it's murder. And it kind of is. I'm just okay with that. I am. I I mean, there's eight billion people in the world. I'm sorry, we won't miss you. That's my position on that.
SPEAKER_01Well, yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_06Is that not your position if you're pro-choice? Isn't that mainly because you don't like children?
SPEAKER_03I mean Piers has to make a joke out of it. They have to try and pop the bubble because man, it has gotten so heavy in there. So there's comedian number one saying the unsaleable, and uh it did not get a laugh. The next three comedians will absolutely get a laugh from what they're saying because it's so outrageous. Bill Maher said the outrageous thing, and it got the morally responsible, appropriate reaction, which is, oh my goodness, he just said it's kind of murder, and that's okay because there are eight billion people, and that's probably too many. So there's a comedian who says the shocking thing and it gets the shocked response. But laughter in that sense is a little bit like the shocked response as well. It's like, you know, you throw a kid up in the air and you catch them again. What are they? They're shocked, and so they laugh, and they giggle, and they say do it again. And comedians are always doing that. They're shocking us and we laugh. Bill Burr will be our second comedian, and he essentially lays out the same logic. Um, this time he does it for laughs and he gets the laughs. Let's have a look.
SPEAKER_02Pro choice always made sense to me, because I don't like people telling me what to do, and I always just like it's your body. Who the fk am I to tell you what to do with your body? So that always made sense. All right? However, I still think you're killing a baby. See? That's where it gets weird. It's not a baby yet. That's what they say, which may or may not be true. I don't know. I'm not a doctor, but I'll tell you, my gut tells me that doesn't make sense. It's not a baby yet. That would be like if I was making a cake and I poured some batter in a pan and I put it in the oven, and then five minutes later you came by and you grabbed the pan, you threw it across the floor. And then went, what the fuck? You just ruined my birthday cake. And then you were like, Well, that wasn't a cake, you it's like, well, it would have been. If you didn't do what you just did, there would have been a cake in 50 minutes. Something happened to that cake, you cake murdering son of a f right?
SPEAKER_03And this is what comedy does. You're able to say things with shock value, you're able to bring things to their absurd conclusions. It's called the reductio ad absurdum. Let's reduce the pro-choice argument and let's r take it to its extreme position. If you say that that's not a baby yet, well, the only reason that does not become what we call a baby is because you've performed an abortion. Now, the word fetus is just the name for the developmental stage of a human being when they're at that stage. There's embryo, there's fetus, there's baby, they then become a toddler, they then become a child, they then become a teenager, right? You have been all of these stages in your life up until this point. To say fetus is not to say unhuman or subhuman. And definitely from conception, a child is a member of the human family with the entire genome that the child will have for the rest of their lives. It's all there. Every single part of the genome is there and is intact, and the child is very, very small and very, very weak, but so what? I thought it was a virtue to stand up for the little guy, to say no matter how weak, no matter how small, you're a member of the human family, you're worthy of all provision and protection. And if we cut short that life and the fetus doesn't become a child, you're a bit like the person who like takes the cake batter out of the oven, throws it across the room, and says, That's no cake. Well, right? It's not a cake because of what you did. And Bill Burr is able to say and get the shock value, is like, I think you can do what you want, and I think it's killing a baby. There you go, audience. What are you gonna do with that? The audience doesn't know what to do. Sometimes the Bill Maudience is shocked into silence. Sometimes the Bill Burr audience is shocked into laughter. It's the same unveiling, it's the same dissonance, it's the same conflict, it's the same awful paradox of the reality of this conflict. I think you can do whatever you want. Your body, your choice, and you're killing a baby. Hmm. What do we do with that? Comedians do us a favor by saying the unsayable and naming things. And I don't think it's a bad thing that Bill Burr is naming stuff, you know, even the side of the debate that he comes out on. At least he's talking about it and naming things with a lot more honesty than I think most people speak with. Let's go to our third comedian with our Bill Maher, Bill Burr. Let's go to Louis C.K. And again, he's not everyone's cup of tea. He's a comedian who is not just unafraid of saying the shocking thing. He moves towards the shocking thing and he says many shocking things that he shouldn't say. And on this issue, he is absolutely pushing at the very limits of acceptability in human society about what can be said. He says the unsayable here, but it's the unsayable that makes you think about the issue at a deeper level.
SPEAKER_05Hello.
SPEAKER_03This is him beginning a show.
SPEAKER_05Thank you very much. How's he gonna start? Thank you.
SPEAKER_03Um so you know, I think abortion is um I like I say, he will go where angels fear to tread, and it'll get him into trouble, and it'll get him a lot of laughs.
SPEAKER_05People hate abortion protesters. They're so shrill and awful. They think babies are being murdered. What are they supposed to be like? I don't know, it's not cool. I don't want to be a dick about it though. I don't want to ruin their day as they murder several babies all the time. I don't think it's killing a baby. I don't. I mean it is, it's a it's a little bit, it's a little bit killing a baby. It's a little bit. It's 100% killing a baby. It is, it's totally killing a whole baby. But I think that women should be allowed to kill babies. That's what I think. They should be allowed to kill babies.
SPEAKER_03The Bill Maher position. And with this audience.
SPEAKER_05Kill babies! Do some shots and kill some babies. I killed like four babies last night.
SPEAKER_03So Louis C.K. gets laughs, probably even more laughs than he thought he was gonna get, and Bill Burr gets laughs. Bill Maher didn't get any laughs, but I think the audience members at all three of these gigs are responding in an understandable way. They're being presented with this dichotomy. They're being presented with this absolute conflict between, well, obviously it's just our individual rights to choose, right, isn't it? Oh, but isn't it also killing a baby? Oh, hang on, hang on. And that dissonance in the right environment produces laughter. In the right environment also produces shock and horror and utter silence. But in a sense, we are all responding to that same dissonance in those different ways. And comedians, they have a role to play, don't they? In saying the unsayable and uncovering things, refusing to lie and speaking the truth. Let's look at our fourth comedian, Dave Chappelle, and he introduces this routine by saying, I'm not for abortion. And so he introduces the note of tension into the audience straight away. What do you mean you're not for abortion? He is a provocateur, and he likes introducing that tension that he'll try and resolve a little bit later. I'm not for abortion, he says.
SPEAKER_04I'm not for it, but I'm not against it either. What do you mean? It all depends on who I get pregnant.
SPEAKER_03And we laugh, but that is one of the tragic things. We accord human rights and human dignity depending on our choice. And he says it depends on who I get pregnant. We also do that about the unborn child as well. If we want that child, then they're a precious little angel and we'll do everything to provide and protect for that particular child. If we don't want that child, then it no longer is a child. Now it's a pregnancy that can be terminated. It's the strong who are able to either give people worth and dignity or withhold worth and dignity from the unborn. All of that is within the power of the strong, because we have a freedom narrative in which choice, the choice of the individual, reigns supreme. So Dave Chappelle makes a joke about abortion is right or wrong depending on what I choose.
SPEAKER_04I don't care, I'm gonna tell you right now, I don't care what your religious beliefs are, anything. If you have a d you need to shut the f up on this one.
SPEAKER_03Seriously. And so now he does the other move. He began by saying, I'm not for abortion, and then he come came and trumped it in the second half. And now he's gonna say, uh, if you're a man, you don't have the right to an opinion on the issue of abortion, but then he's gonna subvert that. He's very good at what he does.
SPEAKER_04This is their right to choose is their unequivocal right. Not only do I believe they have the right to choose, I believe that they shouldn't have to consult anybody. Expect what they position about they enter that right.
SPEAKER_03Gentlemen, that is fair. So he set up his position, but he's a comedian. He's gonna undermine it, okay? And he he shocks people. And just wait for this subversion. I don't think you'll see it coming. If you haven't seen this before, you'll recognize the genius in this.
SPEAKER_04And ladies, to be fair to us, I also believe if you decide to have the baby, the man should not have the pay. What does he mean? Let me clean. If you can kill this motherfucker, I can at least abandon him.
SPEAKER_03Whoa. Did you see what he did? Amazing. Amazing. So again, he's doing the reductio ad absurdum thing. He's doing the reducing a position down to its absurd conclusions. He's taking the principle of the right to choose and he's just applying it consistently. And if the woman can consistently apply her right to choose, then the man can consistently apply his right to choose. But we know that's not right. We know that the man is entangled now with the woman and the child, and now must bear the costs of that decision. To be united to that woman and bring into the world that child. However unintentional that happened, we know where babies come from. And if a man has made that choice to be with a woman and now there is a child, we all understand that of course he's entangled now. Because that's what sex and babies do. They entangle you into family and into bonds of love and obligations. And so, of course, the man ought to support that child in whatever way the man can support the child. Dave Chappelle is just playing off that. We understand this whole realm of love and obligation and responsibility and family and duty and interdependence. Like we we all understand that. But we've also got this choice thing. And if you say choice is is king over all that, then choice just cuts through all of that. And if you can kill the child, I can abandon it, right? If choice rules, then okay. Okay, you can have abortion. But you you can also say abandonment is a perfectly valid moral decision that men can make or that women can make. And suddenly you see the universal asset of choice. Like if you put choice in the uppermost position of your hierarchy of values, then that becomes a universal asset that just burns through obligation and duty and love and entanglement and family and everything, and it leaves you as an atomized individual, and of course the child is an atomized individual. Everybody's an atomized individual because choice has done its work. Choice has split apart the world. And then here's Chappelle's killer last line. It's my money, my choice. Again, reductio ad absurdum. My body, my choice, my money, my choice. Is choice going to be the grand emperor in our scheme of things? If so, then okay, you can have your abortions, but you you can also have abandonment. You can also just split apart every one of us, and we're all just choosing individuals and let the weak go to the wall. That's the world that you've got. If choice is number one in your hierarchy of values, my money, my choice. And people are falling about the place seeing the consequences of their worldview.
SPEAKER_04And if I'm wrong, then perhaps we're wrong.
SPEAKER_03Figure that shit out for yourselves. Wow. If I'm wrong, then maybe we're wrong. And what a brilliant way of bringing that routine to a conclusion. He's basically saying, look, if you don't like the conclusions that we have ended up with, then maybe we are all wrong. Maybe the premises are wrong. If you don't like the conclusions, maybe you need to re-look at the premises. And maybe, maybe the premise that choice is the grand emperor in the hierarchy of values, maybe that's something that really needs looking at. I think you can begin to see this issue clearly if you follow the comedians. If you follow the truth tellers, if you follow the people who refuse to lie, if you follow the people who aren't afraid to say the unsayable things, I think that will reveal things to you about the abortion issue that you might not have realized. Here's another way of doing it. I'm always saying that Christianity helps you with the abortion issue through Christmas and Easter. Christmas tells you when human life begins. I mean, a biology textbook will tell you when life begins. It begins at conception. I don't think that's a particularly contested truth, actually. Human life begins at conception. But also theologically, human life begins at conception because Christmas. When did Jesus join the human family? He joined the human family from conception. Luke chapter 1 tells us that. The angel Gabriel appears to Mary and says, What is conceived in you is from the Holy Spirit, and you are to call him Jesus. So Jesus begins his history with humanity at conception because that's when that humanity begins. Jesus does not adopt a pre-existing humanity, right? He doesn't wait for humanity to become worthy of him adopting humanity. That would be a heresy. He begins his human life in the womb of Mary, at which point at conception. Okay. Christmas tells you that life begins at conception. Easter tells you how should we treat a life that is small and that is weak. How should we treat the weak things and the despised things and the things that are not in the eyes of the world? 1 Corinthians chapter 1 talks about the cross. But the wisdom of the cross would teach you to care for and love and protect and serve and save the weak and the despised and the things that are not. But the wisdom of the cross tells you that. The classical mind goes for strength and honor. But the way of the cross, the way of Easter, is a God who would descend down not just to save the little guy, but to become the little guy at Christmas, and then to die for all the weak and the poor and the small and the things that are not and the despised things. Jesus dies for despised things. And so we know from Christmas when life begins, and we know from Easter how we should view that which is weak, that which is small, that which is little, that which is despised. We should love and seek and protect and save that which is weak and poor and marginalized. That's where Christians get their view of the human person and of the unborn. Bill Ma is right. At the end of the day, it's about is this a child or not? Is this the Killing of an innocent human person or not. And Christians say, yeah, it kind of is. And therefore, what Bill Maher said in all seriousness is no joke. And what Bill Burr and what Louis C.K. and what Dave Chappelle have spoken about is no joke. And look, I'm an Australian living in the UK. I know nothing about US politics. I know nothing about the election over there. I don't know how this plays out. I don't know how this plays out in the intramural disputes between different pro-lifers in the US. I don't know. That's not what this video is about. This video is about saying there are two paths to a pro-life attitude. One is via the Bill Maas, the Bill Burrs, the Luise Kays, and the Dave Chappelles of this world. Just don't lie about it. Just tell the truth about it. And I think you will gain immense clarity on this issue. The second, more sure path to the pro-life position is to wear the lens of Jesus and to think Christmas and Easter will give me a view on when life begins and how to treat such life. But look, this might not have convinced you in any way, shape, or form about the Christian view on these things. I just want to leave you with this. What is your vision for life? Is your vision for life that we are choosing individuals who are free and no one can force us to do anything? Is that the absolute epicenter of your worldview? And for many people it is, and there's a kind of a mythology out there in the West that that is highest and best? Might you see life in a different way? Might you see that actually the heart of all things is love and therefore the heart of all things is interdependence? Actually leaning on one another, being entangled with one another in bonds of love, and that therefore the life that grows within the womb is not an inconvenience to be eliminated in the name of choice, but is an opportunity to love, but is someone to care for. And that therefore there are two visions for where society can go. Maybe you boil society down to the choosing individual, and they are all sovereign, and whatever happens between the woman and her doctor is law. Or maybe the center of society is a family of love in which you lean on one another, in which you depend on one another, in which your rights are not what is sacrosanct, but life and love is in which individualism is not king. But in which care is, in which compassion is, in which kindness is. But if you pull at that thread, I think you'll find a community of love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in bonds of love, who have made us in their triune image to be a community of love in which we depend on one another, in which choice is not king, but in which love is supreme. That's the Christian vision. You might not buy it yet, but can I urge you before you even process whether you're pro-life, pro-choice, or whether you could ever sign up to the Christian vision of things, why don't you go to 321course.com and why don't you find out what life according to Jesus actually is? Why don't you put on the pair of spectacles, the Jesus spectacles, and see who God is, what the world is, and who you are in his perspective. And then you might find that not just your views of this change, but your views of everything change. And then all of a sudden, maybe you'll be decentered from being this sovereign choosing individual. And you'll start to see that love is really, really, really at the heart of all things. That's what we believe here at Speak Life. And if you want to find out more, why don't you subscribe to the channel and give us a like? We'd love to see you on the next one. Thanks so much.