Big Tent Abolitionism

I want to introduce a phrase that I hope will help us as abolitionists think more clearly and charitably about our movement and one another. The phrase is Big Tent Abolitionism.

Abolitionists are united by the conviction that abortion is murder and that equal protection and equal justice must be established for every preborn child. Yet within the movement, a growing struggle has emerged over who is truly faithful to that cause. The result has been a tightening of boundaries, the creation of camps, and an ongoing fight to define what counts as genuine abolitionism.

Much of this comes from good motives, such as a desire for clarity, consistency, and faithfulness to God’s Word. But along the way, the tone has often become narrow and harsh. Many who once called themselves abolitionists now hesitate to do so, not because they have abandoned the principles, but because of the suspicion and division that sometimes accompany the name.

Big Tent Abolitionism reminds us that there is room within this movement for those who share the core convictions but differ in approach. The new legislator learning how to pursue equal protection, the pastor beginning to preach on justice for the preborn, and the citizen still working out how to engage politically all belong in the tent.

A big tent does not mean compromise. It means charity toward those who are still growing and cooperation with those who labor for the same end, even if they differ in method. It allows someone to say, “I am an abolitionist, and this is where I stand within the tent.”

The center holds firm. The goal is the complete and immediate abolition of abortion through laws that uphold the equal value, equal protection, and equal justice of every image bearer of God.

Why This Matters

Over the past few years, I have watched as some have grown weary of the narrowness of the movement. I know brothers who once called themselves abolitionists but have since dropped the label. They have not changed their theology. They have grown tired of the suspicion, the harshness, and the constant boundary-setting. They still believe abortion is murder. They still support bills of equal protection. But they no longer want to be identified with what abolitionism has come to represent in its most rigid forms.

That should concern us deeply.

When new legislators, pastors, or citizens begin to see the truth about abortion, it is often after years of confusion and compromise. Their conversion to abolitionist conviction is slow and costly. But when they arrive, too often they are met not with joy but with scrutiny. They are told that unless they adopt a particular method or align with a specific group, their repentance is not real, or their understanding is not pure enough.

That approach does not strengthen the cause. It isolates it.

If a legislator stands for a bill of equal protection, that man or woman should be welcomed into the work. If a pastor begins to preach that abortion is murder and that repentance must be public and legal, he should not have to worry that someone will question his motives because of where he shops or how he voted in a fallen system.

What Big Tent Abolitionism Means

Big Tent Abolitionism is not a compromise on principle. It is a recognition that we can share the same foundation while differing in application, method, and maturity.

It stands on the clear biblical truths that every human being bears the image of God and has equal value, protection, and justice under His law. Civil rulers are accountable to God’s moral law and must repent of partiality and injustice. Christians are called to labor for righteousness in every sphere, including civil government.

Within that foundation, there is liberty of conscience in how faithfulness is applied within a fallen world. One brother may vote where another abstains. One may engage the culture through public agitation, while another chooses pastoral teaching or legislative work. These differences do not define faithfulness. Obedience to God’s revealed law does.

Big Tent Abolitionism recognizes that no one in the tent is perfectly consistent. We all live within systems marred by sin. We buy products, use technology, and participate in economies that fund evil causes. We cannot escape that entirely, but we can live faithfully within it. We can reject compromise in principle while showing patience to those still growing in practice.

This tent also has room for those who are newer to the cause. The pastor who is just beginning to preach on abolition, the young believer who is learning to think biblically about justice, and the legislator who is drafting his first equal protection bill are allies, not problems to fix.

A Word to the Narrow Camps

To those who labor in the more defined corners of this tent, I am thankful for you. Your boldness and clarity have carried this movement forward. Many of us came to our convictions because of your faithfulness to speak plainly when others would not. But I would ask that you also recognize the tent around you.

Not every abolitionist will share your methods or your tone. Some will refuse your labels. Others will work through different channels or emphasize different priorities. They are not your enemies. They are co-belligerents in the same cause, fighting for the same laws grounded in the same truth.

You may believe that your version of abolitionism is the most consistent or pure. Perhaps it is. But purity without charity will make the movement smaller and weaker, not stronger.

Big Tent Abolitionism does not diminish the distinctives of any group. It calls every group to remember that there are others in the tent who labor for the same end: the complete and immediate abolition of abortion through laws that reflect the equal value of every image bearer of God.

A Call to Generous Conviction

The goal is not to create a soft or sentimental abolitionism. It is to create a faithful one that is large enough to include all who stand on the essential truths, and charitable enough to recognize that God sanctifies His people over time.

Conviction without charity hardens into pride. Charity without conviction collapses into compromise. But conviction with charity is the mark of mature obedience.

Big Tent Abolitionism is conviction with charity. It keeps the center strong and the tent open. It welcomes all who will stand on the Word of God and labor for laws that reflect His justice, even if they differ on methods or pace.

This tent has room for the preacher, the legislator, the agitator, the teacher, and the new believer. All of them stand under the same standard of equal value, equal protection, and equal justice.

This article was originally published at https://jerrydorris.substack.com/p/big-tent-abolitionism.