Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by his nonprofit political organization when he was fatally shot.
Charlie Kirk didn't die for his culture war views. He died for free speech.
For all he got wrong, Kirk got right the radical power of freedom of speech.
Episcopalians Denounce Violence After Charlie Kirk’s Death
Leaders in the Episcopal Church—from various dioceses and parishes, across the ideological spectrum—expressed sympathy, condemned violence, and offered prayers after Charlie Kirk, a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, was killed on September 10 by an assassin’s bullet. A full day after the shooting, the FBI reported that the gunman was still at large.
Also See: Utah diocese, bishop urge end to hatred and violence after Charlie Kirk assassinationMAGA influencer Charlie Kirk shot dead in Utah
Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old Christian nationalist political activist and founder of Turning Point USA, was shot dead during an event he was hosting Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University near Provo.
Trump and allies blame ‘radical left’ for political violence
Donald Trump and his allies wasted no time after Charlie Kirk’s murder Sept. 10 blaming the “radical left” as the source of political violence in America.
The morning after an assassination
If Charlie Kirk had been a Democratic activist and Joe Biden were still president, the right-wing conspiracy theories would have taken over the conversation already.
I had similar thoughts when I first saw report of what happened. The shooting had the marks of military operation, the kind of operation carried out by a trained sniper--a single shot from a concealed position. While I do not think that Trump had any direct connection with the shooting, he does benefit from it. How? It draw attention away from him and his troubles--the seriousness of his declining health, the extent to which he knew about Epstein's sex trafficking and his own possible involvement in that trafficking, and his contributions to high food prices and a stagnant economy. It also provides his administration with a seemingly plausible rationale to take repressive measures against those Trump labels "enemies of the state." Trump and his allies are already blaming the "radical left" for political violence in the US while downplaying the contribution of the extreme right to this violence. In addition, the shooting is likely fosters more ill will and animosity between the various groups in an increasingly polarized nation and gives the online agitators more ammunition in their efforts to stoke political and social unrest and destabilize the country for their own ends.How Charlie Kirk went from college dropout to Trump influencer
It seems Charlie Kirk — the Millennial founder of the Christian nationalist powerhouse Turning Point USA — is everywhere these days.
We are all complicit in Charlie Kirk’s death
There’s not a single reason in Kirk’s ideology, politics or rhetoric that should have made him the target of an assassin. Charlie Kirk should still be alive and promoting his right-wing agenda. His free speech rights, his First Amendment Rights, his right to live — all of this should still be in operation.
A deeper concern is our own relationship with violence. There is a practiced drama to our mundane, meaningless response to violence.
Three Biblical Principles for Christians After Charlie Kirk’s Death
The way parents and youth workers talk about this will matter just as much as the content of what we say. For that reason, I want to offer a few biblical principles that may help us collectively grieve and seek unity as a nation.
The Day We Stopped Seeing The Humanity In Each Other
No, we shouldn’t be surprised, since God‘s Word tells us that “evil will be called good and good will be called evil.” And yet, it shakes us because this is not what we were made for.
But it also seems that we’ve arrived here because of how culture has slowly taught us to dehumanize one another. Instead of seeing each individual person as a soul made in the image of God (even if living in ignorance and denial of it), individual faces fade into oblivion when they’re grouped into categories. “The left”, “the right”, liberal, conservative, the color of skin, a belief system, etc. And when a face becomes nothing more than a category we disagree with, we’ve lost touch with humanity. Anything becomes justifiable toward another because they are no longer a created being, they are simply a threat to our perceptions and desires.
Scattered Thoughts from a Heavy Heart
Some are saying this week marks an inflection point, a loss of innocence like America felt after 9/11. My kids don’t know a world before that day. They won’t know what it was like to go to an airport and breeze through a metal detector and wait at the gate to see off a friend or family member. They don’t know the old world, when the thought of hijacking a plane as a weapon was unthinkable. Just as they don’t remember a world before Columbine or Sandy Hook, a world when we did fire or tornado drills in school, but never thought to do “active shooter drills” and “lockdown preparation.”
This Will Turn Us into Radicals
I think the day of Charlie’s death will be remembered as a day that we, as Christians, came to a fork in the road. One path leads to radical devotion to Christ and His teachings. Radical compassion. Radical obedience. Radical love. Radical mercy. Soft hearts. Gentle answers. The other path leads to radical political vengeance. Hatred. Bitterness. Rage. Hard hearts. Cruel words. His murder and the commentary that follows will turn us into radicals. The question is: which radical path will we choose?
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