Charlie Kirk – One week on

Our brother Charlie Kirk was assassinated because his love for Christ, for his country, and for others drove him to speak. He spoke openly and gave the microphone to whoever wanted to disagree with him. He was imperfect, of course, but he was gracious, kind, informed and increasingly influential. 

I’ve watched him for years, and have watched his testimony become clearer during that time. Last Wednesday morning, I watched a couple of clips as I often do. 

In one of them, Charlie spoke so clearly of his love for Jesus.  I thanked God that my brother was reaching so many with such a clear testimony.  On Wednesday evening, Jesus welcomed him home. 

Here are my thoughts about some of the things people are saying, in no particular order:

“It hurts“  I’ve seen many people expressing on social media, or to me personally, how much this hurts. People are saying they have never felt grief over the death of a public figure like they have this past week. Me too. God doesn’t expect us to respond to something like this with stoic resolve. 

If I saw a family member shot and brutally killed, it would stir all sorts of emotions. I did see that last week. I can’t unsee it. And it hurts.  Let’s not hide our emotions; I’m sure that is not going to help. 

Obviously, we need to be wise with the swirling anger and rage that can be mixed in with the sorrow and grief, but pretending it doesn’t affect us would be a weird response under any circumstance. Let yourself grieve.

“Did I agree with everything he said?”  Can I politely ask, what if I did?  Why do we have to caveat anything and everything we say that might seem remotely political?  Why do we often hesitate to speak up when others hold different opinions and might be upset?  

Self-censorship is becoming a crippling feature of society. I loved how joyfully confident Charlie was in the truth and, therefore, how little he needed to be defensive if someone disagreed with him or criticised him.  I want to be more like that. 

(Just for clarity, I do not agree with things taken out of context and attributed to him to smear him.  Also, I have not checked his view on every issue, so I do not know if I agree with him on everything or not.  My point is, what if I did?  Are we allowed to have opinions? Or is it only permitted if we share those opinions deemed acceptable by the media?)

“The killer was just one mentally unstable person”  Thankfully, the murder of public figures is not an everyday occurrence in our society.  It is in some places. It could become more common in the West. 

However, the problem may not be restricted to one lone gunman. This killer seems to have been radicalised by the same education system and cultural media that have obviously influenced countless thousands, judging by the disgusting reactions to Charlie’s death from so many. 

Why are we shocked when so many celebrate such a heinous act, or call for more of the same?  Are our memories so short?  It wasn’t long ago that significant numbers of people on social media, on mainstream media, and for some, in person, were wishing death on those people who chose not to take a certain medical intervention. 

Condoning or celebrating death based on opinions is a disgusting development of our time, but it didn’t start in the last week.

“Words are violence”  Actually, no, violence is violence.  The prevailing ideology which says that words are violence directly feeds into this kind of atrocity. 

If words are violence, then physical violence can be justified as an act of self-defence. Feed that “words are violence” mindset with a constant stream of terrible slurs and lies, and there will be someone ready to perpetrate an evil act of violence. 

After all, the public are being repeatedly told of the danger to democracy posed by people like Charlie because they are __________ (you can guess the labels.) 

I think Charlie said something like, “The most important thing is to tell people about Jesus, and the second most important thing is to fight for the freedom to do the first most important thing.”  We live in a society that is hurtling towards the loss of free speech, and I am perplexed that so many people seem so unconcerned about that, or think it is just a political matter that can be left for others to defend.

“This is all just about politics”  True, Charlie was an outspoken supporter of values that meant broad alignment with one side of the political divide, and he actively worked to campaign for one presidential candidate. 

Sadly, I don’t think people in Britain understand the American political scene, and many only see the twisted impression promoted by the British media.  Nevertheless, we cannot keep acting as if politics and faith are totally distinct. 

Politics is not just made up of parties.  It is also made up of issues: issues that impact the lives of people, issues that relate to morality, issues that matter to us as Jesus followers. 

I am not suggesting politics is the answer.  No, Jesus is the answer.  But many of the issues really matter, and we cannot, we must not, keep abdicating our responsibility to speak out about those issues appropriately. 

Too many Christians act as if they are “above politics”, and they simply want to focus on the gospel. But for some, the driving motivation seems to be fear of ruffling the feathers of those who may disagree. 

I see that fear impulse in myself, too.  Yes, let’s preach the gospel; it is the only hope for our world.  But self-censoring out of fear is not the faith-filled approach to the life that we are called to as followers of Jesus. 

You don’t have to become a party-affiliated influencer, but let’s have the courage to speak about what is true, what is right, and what is good.  Politics matters because people matter.  We, of all people, should be ready to speak, precisely because we believe that people matter.

So we have a choice.  Either we continue to shy away from anything that could be considered political, or we face the fact that there is an existential battle raging in our society that is much bigger than traditional left vs right policy squabbles. 

It is a spiritually charged battle of ideologies. It is about unaccountable control versus freedom. It is about death versus life. It is a clash of worldviews.  We need to speak about issues that matter, even if we get labelled with a political slur (either way). 

No party will ever represent key biblical values perfectly, but can we stop hiding our heads in the sand and acting like we are somehow “above all that stuff?” 

We cannot be “above” freedom of speech, or morality and the redefinition of crime, or sexual ethics, or the protection of children, or assisted suicide, or abortion, or war, or terrorism, or compassion, or any number of other issues. Values drive agendas, which in turn drive policies, legislation, and ultimately, change, affecting people’s lives for better or worse.  Some political issues are directly related to our Christian values, and so we must speak up. 

“Charlie shouldn’t have been so outspoken”  Why?  First, a lot of people are taking the British media slurs of “hateful”, “racist”, etc. as if they are accurate. Watch Charlie for yourself, don’t trust the BBC, Sky News, ITV, etc.  Second, realise that if you or I were significant enough for the media to go after us, they would probably use some of the same derogatory labels for you and me.  Unfair?  That’s precisely my point. 

Third, many people, especially young people, admired Charlie for his courage in speaking out. Was it the silence of many church leaders on “controversial” issues that made so many young people flock to Charlie as a mentor from a distance?  We would do well to consider that possibility and examine ourselves. 

I am doing that myself.  Let’s not fall into the trap of fear.  Speaking truth and the gospel may cost any of us our lives, but we should speak it anyway. With grace, of course. With kindness, absolutely.  Christlike? Without a doubt. But silence, fear, and trying to be acceptable to a fallen world is not the Jesus way. 

“If you live by the sword…”  Can we be clear, please?  Charlie lived “with two microphones” – he let people disagree, he listened to people, he encouraged dialogue, and he believed in open debate.  He put people who disagreed with him at the front of the line. He spoke as a Christian, and he was killed for it.  He didn’t live by the sword.

“There is hate speech and violence on both sides”  Can we find bad examples of individuals on all sides of political divides? Of course.  Are there good-willed people on all sides of political issues? Absolutely. But this “both sides” line is a misleading and disingenuous summary. 

Compare and contrast the response to Charlie’s murder and other high-profile deaths. Where is the looting, the rioting, the destruction, etc.?  Do we see Christians or political conservatives celebrating the deaths of others, or even worse, calling for the killing of more people they disagree with? No, we don’t.

The way of Jesus is profoundly different. We are called to love our enemies and not to return evil for evil. Ideologies differ, and it shows.  Let’s stop pretending every ideology is the same. 

“He has been silenced”  No, he hasn’t.  He has been amplified and multiplied. Charlie’s death is only going to raise up thousands of others like him who are ready to be courageous and speak for Christ and for the truth.

God is going to build his church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

“What will the impact be?”  We cannot know yet.  I’ve seen people posting videos saying that they’ve been fearful in the past, but now they want to start speaking the truth, sharing their faith, and so on. I’ve seen people writing about buying their first Bible and beginning to read it. I’ve seen people asking where to go to church.

When the five missionaries were martyred in Ecuador in 1956, nobody could have known the multiplication in missionary sending that would follow that atrocity. Perhaps Charlie Kirk’s death will turn out to be a turning point in history, too. 

Actually, not perhaps, but definitely. God knows what He is doing, even when evil seems to get the upper hand. He is building his church, and we know the end of the story. 

Somehow, in the midst of grief, indifference, and even evil celebration, God is working out His purposes, and we will eventually see that God does all things well.

“Things feel different.”  My brother was assassinated, and I know many are feeling it deeply. However we’ve been impacted, may it make us all different.  Perhaps more courageous, gracious, informed, and deeply committed to Jesus, to truth, to communication and to conversation. 

If speaking costs you your life on earth, is it worth it?  I’m sure Charlie would say absolutely, Jesus is worth it.

We sang these words on Sunday, words I am sure Charlie would have sung wholeheartedly:

The Jesus Way  (Phil Wickham)

If you curse me, then I will bless you

If you hurt me, I will forgive

And if you hate me, then I will love you

I choose the Jesus way

If you’re helpless, I will defend you  

If you’re burdened, I’ll share the weight

And if you’re hopeless, then let me show you

There’s hope in the Jesus way

[Chorus]

I follow Jesus, I follow Jesus

He wore my sin, I’ll gladly wear His name

He is the treasure, He is the answer

Oh, I choose the Jesus way

If you strike me, I will embrace you

And if you chain me, I’ll sing His praise

And if you kill me, my home is Heaven

For I choose the Jesus way

[Chorus]

I follow Jesus, I follow Jesus

He wore my sin, I’ll gladly wear His name

He is the treasure, He is the answer

Oh, I choose the Jesus way

[Bridge]

And I choose surrender, I choose to love

Oh God, my Savior, You’ll always be enough

I choose forgiveness, I choose grace

I choose to worship, no matter what I face

I choose the Jesus way, I choose the Jesus way

I choose the Jesus way, I choose the Jesus way

[Chorus]

I follow Jesus, I follow Jesus

He wore my sin, I’ll gladly wear His name

He is the treasure, He is the answer

Oh, I choose the Jesus way

Peter Mead is mentor at Cor Deo and author of several books. He blogs at Biblical Preaching.