Ray Ortlund deletes social media post endorsing Kamala Harris after backlash
'Classic subversive doublespeak,' William Wolfe says
Pastor Ray Ortlund of Immanuel Church in Nashville, Tennessee, deleted a social media post endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president after receiving backlash Sunday.
"I have deleted a post from earlier today because it was being misinterpreted. I should have foreseen it. My fault," Ortlund wrote on Threads, which is a part of Instagram.
Post by @rayortlundView on Threads
A screenshot of Ortlund's deleted post showed that the pastor had written, "Never Trump. This time Harris. Always Jesus."
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While New York Times columnist David French congratulated Ortlund for his endorsement, writing, "This is the way," others were less enthusiastic.
One user took issue with the longtime Christian leader and president of Renewal Ministries endorsing the Harris-Walz ticket given their liberal abortion views, writing, "How can you vote for Harris/Walz as a believer? Do you think that killing babies is something Jesus would support?"
"Put your personal views on the person aside and vote for the party that is going to support your morals and religious beliefs. I believe that any party that has ANY association with murdering children of GOD should be immediately out of the question," the user added.
Responding to the user, Ortlund appeared to suggest that Trump poses an evil that outweighs abortion.
"Abortion is a horrible evil. But the evils on the other side have risen to levels that jeopardize the foundational rule of law in our country. I am thinking long-term and voting for us to have a national renewal in the future," he replied.
Many on social media were critical of Ortlund's line of reasoning.
Vice President of Discovery Institute John G. West wrote that if Ortlund "is truly concerned about not jeopardizing the rule of law in America, one has to wonder where he has been during the past nearly four years."
"Politically-motivated prosecutions of one’s electoral opponents, government-encouraged censorship of dissenting voices on social media, prosecutions of peaceful pro-life protestors, executive orders that have no basis in laws passed by Congress, the refusal to enforce laws already on the books," he continued.
"This only a short list of what has been happening. But Ortlund assures us that in order to protect the rule of law we must vote for the same people responsible for these things. His comments are exceptionaly [sic] revealing about the echo chamber in which some leading evangelicals live."
Christian social commentator Samuel Sey wrote: "If Ray Ortlund really believed abortion is a horrible evil, he wouldn’t be voting for Kamala Harris. This is shameful."
Former GOP North Carolina lieutenant governor candidate Allen Mashburn admonished Ortlund, saying that he "can’t be 'This time Harris' and 'Always Jesus.'"
"Those two statements are diametrically opposed to each other and not biblically cohesive," added Masburn, who lost the 2024 primary against current GOP candidate Mark Robinson.
Ortlund received repeated pushback from William Wolfe, who serves as executive director of the Center for Baptist Leadership.
Wolfe suggested Ortlund exhibits characteristics of "Big Eva" pastors who kowtow to the prevailing culture.
"Remember, this is Gavin Ortlund's father and Russell Moore’s pastor," Wolfe wrote. "He’s the quintessential 'Big Eva' pastor. And now he’s using the name of Christ to endorse a pro-abortion, pro-trans communist."
After Ortlund deleted his post, Wolfe went after him again, writing, "Now Ray Ortlund is backpedaling, claiming his post was 'misinterpreted.' It was crystal clear: He’s voting for Harris *this time* Classic subversive doublespeak."
Responding to one user on Threads who asked him to explain his reason for deleting his post, Ortlund replied, "I’m sorry. But answering your question could risk reversing my decision to delete."
Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to [email protected]
