A Pastoral Letter on Abortion, Donald Trump and the Iowa Caucus of 2024
From the Personal Desk of Pastor Cary Gordon
January 5, 2024
Dear Friends and Family of Faith,
When I vet any candidate on this issue of abortion, I understand that I have a very challenging job. I have to try and pry open the heart of a candidate that I’m interviewing and assess whether I’m talking to a man of real conviction (who would crawl naked across a floor of broken glass shards to save the life of an unborn child) or to another calloused, apathetic politician trolling for votes who is perfectly content to continue the status-quo disaster since he inherited it from previous generations of similarly wired cowards. (Sometimes, if you look very carefully, you might discover that you are interviewing another unsaved, philandering kind of Republican who claims to be pro-life while simultaneously paying off a mistress to go get an abortion, but I digress.)
Nearly thirty years ago, I was a 20-something Christian pro-lifer who believed that incremental bills would someday finally “regulate abortion out of existence.” I also believed that abolitionists were well-meaning, sometimes unintelligent zealots. Today, as a 50-year-old seasoned minister of the gospel, I see that I was wrong to think that way. That’s why I’m not necessarily angry at other well-meaning and sincere people who truly want abortion to end but remain stuck in the incremental “regulate abortion out of existence” methodology. I have always been solidly pro-life, crying tears of joy when President Bush signed the partial birth abortion ban, but I failed to understand the fatal flaws of my position so many years ago.
So, what happened to me? Why did I decide to become an “unintelligent zealot?” I eventually helped to found the “Personhood Iowa” coalition in the state of Iowa and authored the “Exercise in Logic” published by that organization. Reading and understanding what I wrote as eight steps of deductive reasoning will help you understand what and why I changed my mind on ending abortion. (I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that in all these years, I have never found a single soul who could satisfactorily refute those eight points of logic. Feel free to read them here.)
I understand that it is unhelpful to the political discourse to impugn the character and motives of all others who do not agree upon the presumed “best approach” to ending abortion. Although it is true that some certainly are, not everyone who promotes abortion regulation disbelieves that life begins at conception in their hearts and minds. So, I try very hard to never rebuke or condemn someone unfairly on this issue, but there are times when it becomes too obvious to ignore. Former President Donald Trump has actively criticized incrementalist abortion bills, but not because he demands abolition of all baby murder as commanded by God in the Sixth Commandment (Thou shalt not murder.). The former president specifically criticized the Florida state heartbeat bill for stopping too many abortions! I sat and watched his publicly accessible interview on NBC’s Meet the Press with Kristen Welker, and it deeply frustrated me. Trump made it unmistakably clear to me that, while he does think that abortion after a few months is wrong and should be outlawed, he “might or might not” support banning abortion as early as fifteen or sixteen weeks. Further, he said, “DeSanctus [another deliberate mispronunciation of DeSantis] is willing to sign a five- and six-week ban…I think what he did is a terrible thing and a terrible mistake.” Conclusion: Former President Trump might support banning abortion after 16 weeks, but he is more likely to support a ban if it’s even later than sixteen weeks, but not too much later, because that’s what Democrats desire. Worst of all, Trump communicated that he absolutely would not support ending abortion, and Governor DeSantis was allegedly wrong to stop abortion at five or six weeks.
There is no question in my mind that Trump is precisely the kind of politician who insincerely manipulated his own supporters during past elections to incorrectly believe that he shared the REAL premise of what it means to be “pro-life.” For revealing that about himself, he is unquestionably disqualified to get Christian support from obedient Bible believers. Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” I am calling upon Christians who fear Almighty God to stop making excuses for his willful public and private sins and hold the former president accountable for what comes out of his mouth. If you are struggling to find an alternative candidate, I am here to help you give scrutiny to your remaining options.
The former president has inadvertently served to help me make this very important point. In that interview with NBC News, he became the poster child for what is wrong with all incrementalist bills designed to “regulate abortion” in this nation. A pro-life die-hard who truly wants to someday abolish the murder of unborn babies (who believes that life begins at conception) and a secretly pro-abortion exploiter of voters who DOES NOT want to EVER abolish abortion can BOTH support the SAME weak bill. Therefore, it can be very difficult to identify who is genuine and who is insincere since these bills leave options open for people to get abortions sooner instead of later. Here’s the reality Iowa abolitionists now face: Governor DeSantis signed a bill that doesn’t go far enough. Former President Trump claims it went too far. Which man is the genuine pro-lifer? Do either of these men REALLY believe the premise of abolition? Do either of these men really believe that life begins at conception?
The answer to that question was my primary motive for inviting the governor and his wife, Casey, to come to my home for dinner. As a pastor for the last 29 years in Sioux City, Iowa, and somewhat of a public figure in our state (whether I like that or not), I needed to try to obtain an answer to that question. I didn’t know if they would bother with subjecting themselves to my scrutiny, but they came into my home and allowed me to discuss so many issues at the heart of a Biblical worldview. This letter will focus only upon the issue at hand.
I’m so happy to tell you that Governor DeSantis and Florida’s First Lady BELIEVE in personhood and equal protection. I was thankful to clearly see that it’s not only at the core of their personal faith as Christians, but the governor clearly communicated to me at the dining room table that if his state [Florida] had brought him a personhood bill, he would not have hesitated to sign it because he believes that life begins at conception, and killing a baby at any point after conception is wrong. He went on from there to share his own frustrations with Republicans (not just Democrats) who truly DO NOT want abortion to be abolished. In his view, while a heartbeat bill was insufficient toward the honorable goal of abolition, it was the best bill that could make it through the Florida House and Senate with the state of the Republican Party as it was.
My conclusion: Governor DeSantis and his wife, Casey, sincerely believe in the goal of abolition based on logic, reason, experience, and faith. While the governor’s methodology is different from mine, he and his wife do hold the view that life truly begins at conception. He shares our Christian premise that it is ultimately wrong to kill that life (whether a state says it is legal or not). At this time in his political life, he sincerely believes that incrementalist bills may be useful toward our shared goal of ending the American holocaust. Perhaps someday he’ll have the same epiphany I did with that methodology?
I sincerely hope this helps you as you prepare for your vote during Iowa’s first-in-the-nation presidential caucus on January 15, 2024. I am confident to say that Governor Ron DeSantis clearly meets the minimum plumbline for all obedient Christian voters explained in the wise instructions of Exodus 18:21 to the world’s very first republic. This is to say that after given reasonable scrutiny, Governor DeSantis meets the following qualifications for leadership. 1) He fears God. 2) He is able to do the job for which he is being chosen. 3) He is not covetous or motivated by dirty money. 4) He has a reputation as a truth-teller.
Requiring a candidate to meet the minimum Biblical plumbline for a republic is essential for choosing leaders, but it is NOT a stamp of human perfection. It does NOT guarantee the human who meets the standard before they are given power will always remain faithful and consistent after they enter office (King Jehu, for example.), but no one who fails to meet that minimum standard before an election should EVER be promoted to power. This is why we must continue to pray for all our elected officials after they win a high office connected with pressures, temptations, and great responsibilities.
Let me draw this contrast so no one can mistake what I am saying. Former President Donald Trump did some good things as our president. I believe he is being treated unfairly by the justice system, and I want him to receive any vindication he deserves. But he still DOES NOT meet that minimum standard for leadership described by Exodus 18:21 based upon his public statements and his behavior. For those issues he is disqualified from my support as a Christian leader.
My family will be voting for a candidate on January 15th, who meets the plumbline standards of Scripture. When this process began, I had high hopes for E.W. Jackson, but he eventually suspended his campaign like some of the others. Here at the end, this situation leaves me with two candidates to choose between from now until the night we vote (about 10 days away at the time of this writing). I will continue to closely examine the two candidates still in the race that I believe meet that minimum standard. So far, the two remaining candidates I’m considering are Ryan Binkley and Governor Ron DeSantis.
May God have mercy on America.
Cary K. Gordon Senior Pastor, Cornerstone World Outreach*
Sioux City, Iowa
*For identification purposes only
