I do not pretend to know a lot about Charlie Kirk. This post is not directly about the man. While I was certainly aware of him and his college interactions, I did not follow him terribly closely. I would say I did admire him, though. After over a quarter of a century in higher education, working at three different schools, I know the lion's den he chose to enter.
So this is not about Charlie Kirk directly. I could also say a few things about his wife, Erika Kirk but after an initial response (video below) I will let things play out for her future at this point. In this entry, what I will refence regarding Erika is simply the doctrines of the church that she claimed for most of her life and how that relates to my concern.
My concern is that in the aftermath of the horrible murder of Charlie Kirk, a political movement has been spawned. To whatever degree Charlie was an Evangelical believer (and it seems like he was a strong believer in the finished work of Christ), political movements cannot be sustained merely in strong Christian beliefs alone.
There are simply not enough committed, Evangelical (Christ alone, Grace alone, Faith alone, Bible alone) believers to take over American institutions (governmental, educational, social, etc.). Political movements are made up of coalitions. Political movements need allies. We see this far more clearly in European politics where nations have multiple political parties spanning the ideological landscape and coalitions are formed to gain a majority. Certain differences must be put aside to achieve unity.
If the new movement that some want to build on Charlie's legacy wants to gain strength, it must necessarily compromise foundational Christian beliefs. We have seen this already in the Charlie Kirk memorial event in Arizona. Four of the most prominent speakers (all with large followings), are not Bible-believing Christians.
- President Trump has questionable beliefs about Christianity.
- Vice President J.D. Vance is Catholic
- Social media influencer Jack Posobiac is Catholic
- Tucker Carlson leans Catholic and is openly anti-Israel
If the Charlie Kirk movement grows, its Christian message will weaken more and more as more as more allies are sought and needed to attempt to reach its political goals.
The true faith has always suffered persecution. But that persecution has come from pagans, false religions, and sacramentalist false Christianity. The end times persecution (as I see it forming) will come from professed Evangelicals aligned with the enemies of Christ, all in the name of Christ. We will be called names and be accused of being "judgmental" or "unloving." All the pejoratives the Left and other enemies of the true faith have used for a century will be adopted by political Christianity.
I can see even the Reformed churches aligning with a political ecumenism. After all, in my experience, some Reformed are more repulsed by dispensationalism than they are by Romanism. The late Reformed theologian R.C. Sproul was a great admirer of the Catholic theologians Aquinas and Augustine.
An intellectual and political Christianity will arise and those who cling to Christ alone, especially those who seek to rightly divide the Word of Truth, will be cast out and further marginalized, all in the name of Christ.
Perhaps it's not just a coincidence that the man they will use to build their beast is named "Kirk."
The name "Kirk" is of Scottish and Northern English origin, derived from the Old Norse word "kirkja," meaning "church." (Wikipedia)
The experience of the Apostles will be seen again in an age to come.
They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.
-John 16:2-3
