Owen Strachan@ostrachan
An open letter to @benshapiro, @andrewklavan, and @michaeljknowles:
You have publicly wronged a good man, Trevor Sheatz.
Each of you is a conservative leader. Many of us respect you for your contributions to public life in different ways. However, you have failed to honor the truth in this instance, and you have brought great shame to a young husband and his wife. You have held them up publicly to severe scorn, and people have sadly followed suit.
Here is the truth, men. Ashley Sheatz has shared her conversion testimony for years. As one example, the screenshot below is from an article she wrote in May 2020 for a website I edited (it was called Reformanda and is no longer operating). I refer you to it for clarity.
Of her own volition, Ashley shared about her deliverance from promiscuity, the occult, and doing hard drugs. These things wrecked and ruined her life. Again, Ashley was clear as crystal about her sexual sin, and said more about it in the 2020 article she wrote than Trevor did in the X post you tore to shreds on air. She has publicly talked about her deliverance from sexual sin on numerous occasions. (Nor did Trevor call his wife derogatory words--it's really disappointing that you all collectively presented him as doing so.)
Ashley does all this--from what I know--not to be salacious or get clicks. (Nor does Trevor.) She does so to warn others about the destructiveness of sin, and even more than this, the redeeming power of the blood of Jesus. Ashley, with her husband Trevor, is a born again believer. I won't speak for her, but as a friend of her and Trevor, I know that she lives to magnify the mercy of God in her life.
This letter is not written in fury or pique. I write it in love to each of you men to ask you to correct the record and consider the ungraciousness of your remarks about Trevor Sheatz. You are each a respected public figure; your words get carry a great deal of weight, far more than I have or Trevor has or Ashley has. You have wronged a good man, and you simply do not have your facts right about Ashley Sheatz's willingness to testify publicly to the power of Christ over her sin. You have passed judgment on a sweet young couple without taking the time to back up your pronouncements with research.
In sum, you need the same forgiveness we all do. You need the blood of Jesus to cover you. You do not need to be a slightly better person, or a more committed devotee of religion. You need to be born again, to trust Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and to repent of all your sin. You and I are no different; we are great sinners all, but Christ is a great Savior.
May God work in your hearts to lead you to this place if he has not.
Best,
Owen Strachan
