How Abortion Twisted Up Trump and Evangelicals (with Pete Wehner)

Good Faith

News, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

5 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 7 September 2024

⏱️ 70 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Host Curtis Chang and guest Pete Wehner (columnist at The Atlantic and former speechwriter for George W. Bush) share their personal journeys to their pro-life convictions, while also explaining how their views depart from much of the politics and practices of the current pro-life movement. They examine how this issue has distorted evangelicals, Trump, and the Republican Party. Curtis also reframes the politics of abortion through the Old Testament offices of “prophet, priest, and king,” offering a way to understand how Christians can most helpfully integrate their religious beliefs with their social engagement.

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Join Curtis Chang in person:

See Curtis Chang and David French at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC
See Curtis Chang and Tim Alberta at Wheaton College

For a window into the hermeneutical debate over Exodus 21:22-25:

Read this pro-life analysis of the text from an article in Christianity Today (written in 1973 but still relevant)
Read this balanced take (also from a pro-life writer) of the problems with “proof-texting” practiced by both sides
For an even more detailed overview about the interpretive challenges in play with Exodus 21 and other passages, read Mako Nagasawa’s book, Abortion Policy and Christian Social Ethics in the United States.

Referenced in this episode:

Read Charles Krauthammer’s Washington Post opinion piece from February 15, 1985 "Abortion Debate: Just Words"
Watch the trailer for Juno, Diablo Cody’s 2007 film about teenage pregnancy
Pew Research Center What the data says about abortion in the U.S.
Crisis pregnancy care through Avail NYC and Claris Health

Explore Peter Wehner’s work:

Read Peter Wehner’s The Atlantic article from August 27, 2024: Trump’s Evangelical Supporters Just Lost Their Best Excuse
Read more of Peter Wehner’s opinion pieces in The Atlantic

Transcript

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0:00.0	Listeners, Curtis Chang is hitting the road to explore some big ideas with some of our favorite
0:04.8	friends and we want you to join him.
0:06.8	First, Curtis comes to New York City on September 9th at 8 p.m. Eastern.
0:11.6	He'll team up with Good Faith founding friend and New York Times opinion columnist David French
0:16.8	at Redeemer Presbyterian Church.
0:19.4	The appearance by the original Good Faith Duo will explore the topic. Does Jesus care how I vote?
0:24.4	Tickets are $20 and can be purchased through Redeemer. Then at 7 PM Central on September 12th,
0:30.2	if you're a good faith listener in or around the Greater Chicago Metroplex,
0:33.7	don't miss your opportunity to hear Curtis alongside the author of The Kingdom, the Power, and the
0:38.7	glory, Tim Alberta.
0:40.7	They'll pick up where their recent podcast conversation left off, discussing what it means to play the long game in faith and politics.
0:46.5	This event will take place in Barrows Auditorium on the campus of Wheaton College and is open to the public.
0:51.5	You can find out more about both events and
0:54.0	register as applicable by following the links in our show notes. Oh, Welcome to the Good Faith Podcast on your host Curtis Chang and the Good Faith Podcast is a production
1:20.9	of Redeeming Babble and it's we're friends who follow Jesus
1:24.3	help each other make sense of the world and a critical reality of our political
1:29.5	world is the strong support for Trump among conservative white evangelicals.
1:35.0	But why? Why do conservative white evangelicals support Trump?
1:40.0	Now I believe the real answer is actually multi-layered and it's complex, but if we take
1:45.9	evangelical leaders at their word, the top substantive reason offered by them for why they support Trump is abortion.
1:54.3	That's the leading public narrative offered.
1:56.5	We as evangelicals support Trump because we are united on the abortion issue.
	...

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