I made the mistake of reading a Facebook post applauded and forwarded by someone I knew. It read, “The irony cuts deep: the very movement that has excused, minimized, and even glorified violence is now recoiling from it when the cost touches home.” The writer identified as a “progressive” and referred to the assassination of Charlie Kirk. It was a very long night as those words raced around my mind. Reeling from the events of that week, I wondered what low point the writer had arrived at in implying that Charlie got what he deserved.
LOVER OF DEBATE
Charlie Kirk loved and delighted in discussion. His vocabulary when debating was never a vile stream of four-letter words against opponents. He went on campuses to encourage debate and to motivate students to think for themselves. Unlike others, he researched and knew what he was talking about. Charlie’s numbers grew because he was engaging and had a photographic memory. He actually gave his opponents the larger mic.
DIDN’T WANT TO BE A POLITICIAN
At the age of 18 Charlie began by wanting to influence politics in America. He was not afraid to stand up for what he believed was good for his country. Charlies didn’t do what was politically expedient in order to get votes. He didn’t want to become a career politician.
WHAT HARM IS IT TO READ THE GOSPELS?
His worldview greatly matured over the years. Charlie unabashedly stood up for his faith in Jesus Christ. Especially in his last few years, it was Christ first, politics second. He was not Christian Nationalist. Christian Nationalists contend that to be a “true” American, one must be a Christian. Charlie did invite people to investigate who Christ is. What harm is accomplished by reading the Gospels?
FORGIVENESS OUT OF OBEDIENCE
Have you listened to the speech his wife gave at his memorial service? Erika Kirk said she forgave Charlie’s killer. She agrees with Jesus: “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14-15; Matthew 18:21-35).
A commentator from MSNBC said, “Mr. Kirk pushed hate speech. Hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions.” The man implied that Charlie deserved what he got.
VIOLENCE IS WRONG
Violence, in all its forms, is wrong. Ask yourself which movement(s) and thought process excuse, minimize, and glorify violence? Mahatma Gandhi believed violence was a temporary, harmful approach, stating, “I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent”. He asserted “Non-violence is a weapon of the strong”. Nonviolence requires courage, distinguishing it from cowardice.
COWARDLY VIOLENCE
Where is the strength demonstrated in setting fires, tearing down statues, destroying businesses, and attacking citizens? This is not courage. It is cowardice.
ONLY LIGHT DRIVES OUT DARKNESS
Martin Luther King Jr. famously stated, “Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that”.
NON-VIOLENCE: WEAPON OF THE STRONG
Remember the mobs on college campuses? Isn’t targeting an ethnic group a crime? Students threaten to hurt students on campuses because they were Jewish. What good is accomplished by threats of violence? The mobs show their moral weakness. They don’t know “non-violence is a weapon of the strong.”
THE NIGHT DEVOID OF STARS
“Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars”. Who can forget the violence of October 7, 2023? More than 1,200 men, women and children, including 46 Americans and citizens of more than 30 countries, were slaughtered by Hamas – the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. Girls and women were sexually assaulted. Babies were slaughtered. The depravity of the terrorists’ crimes is unspeakable. All the hostages (living or dead) still have not been released.
You posted on Facebook: “The irony cuts deep: the very movement that has excused, minimized, and even glorified violence is now recoiling from it when the cost touches home.” Please make sure you know which movement(s) and thought process have excused, minimized, and gloried violence.
WHERE EVIL COMES FROM
We can’t heal until evil is looked squarely in the face and called evil, regardless of political or ethnic affiliation. “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Evil doesn’t originate with the weapon of choice. Evil originates from the heart.