I had never heard the name Charlie Kirk before September 10, 2025, but now I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. Days after Kirk was killed and the media was flooded with commentary about this unfortunate event, I decided to join the masses.
I went down a rabbit hole of YouTube videos, spending hours watching Kirk share his views. I listened to Kirk’s podcast, watched him at various U.S. and U.K. college campuses, and watched him give speeches at church conferences and participate in one-on-one “debates.”
I ventured past the YouTube shorts and social media clips in my attempt to get a sense of why this man that I had never heard of was now the hottest topic. Even more important, I wondered what could cause another person to violently and publicly end Kirk’s life.
America has a sad and alarming reputation of gun and political violence. A mass shooting also occurred at Evergreen High School in Denver on September 10, while two other school shootings took place just two days before. Sadly, many of us Americans have become numb to gun violence; when we hear about a shooting it’s usually shrugged off as just another Wednesday.
Yet, seeing a video of a 31-year-old man get struck by a bullet was different. And many Americans are now caught in its polarizing ripple effects, especially some Christians.
Over the past several weeks, people have put Kirk into two different extremes of saint or sinner. But this event should remind us that sometimes it’s necessary to hold space for “and.”
To be clear, I believe that if Charlie Kirk professed Jesus Christ as Lord, he was a Christian.
And
He was also extremely misguided in many of his viewpoints, and I don’t think his oftentimes aggressive, combative, and argumentative approach reflected Christ.
And
He was a human being who didn’t deserve to be violently killed. His death nor any violence should ever be celebrated.
And
Him saying he was okay with a few gun deaths per year so that Americans can have the 2nd Amendment was not only problematic but, sadly, ironic.
Kirk once said he was a Christian AND a nationalist, but this is one of those times where space for the “and” cannot be offered.
I strongly believe that Kirk, MAGA, President Trump and those who follow their ideologies have been deceived by the enemy into believing that they are promoting Christian values through American politics.
As much as people want to herald Kirk and other conservatives as fighting for the Gospel, this is simply and sadly untrue. Listen to any of Kirk’s rhetoric and that of Trumpism, MAGA, and the like and you can see that the messages of America First, political ideologies, and nationalism have superseded the Good News.
Sure, conservatives like Kirk throw out a few scriptures when speaking against abortion and gay marriage, but the overwhelming majority of their agendas focus on politics and keeping America the “greatest nation of earth.” American interests and ideals have contaminated our views and practices of Christianity, allowing a false version called Christian nationalism to consume far too many.
Christianity cannot be married with nationalism. Jesus Christ is Lord of all who accept Him, and in Christ there is no division, no exclusions, and no favoritism.
Christian nationalism spews love for country and shared ideals in the name of God and above all else. It seeks power to serve its own interests under the guise of “Christian values.” It promotes divisiveness within our society as many of the messages from this so-called Christianity are steeped in bigotry, racism, sexism and xenophobia. It has subtly crept into our pulpits, our voting preferences, and even how we view our neighbors.
But it’s not true Christianity; it is an idol.
Real Christianity means being a follower of Jesus and living according to his teachings. It does not promote violence like the Christian nationalists who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Real Christianity doesn’t degrade and devalue others like that vulgar and disrespectful language and merchandise seen and heard at Trump rallies. And it wouldn’t demand exclusivity and proudly claim that “America is for Americans only.”
This tragic event, and the polarizing rhetoric that preceded it, should serve as a wake-up call for all who follow Christ. The false gospel of Christian nationalism, with its focus on worldly power, political division, and exclusionary ideals, is a dangerous counterfeit to the true message of the cross. It’s a tool of deception, used by the enemy to corrupt our faith, turn us against one another, and elevate an idol of nationalism masquerading as our unwavering allegiance to Jesus Christ.
My prayer is that we won’t continue being deceived. In Matthew 7, Jesus told us that we would know false prophets by their fruit, and Christian nationalism continues to produce a combative and divisive spirit within this nation. But I continue to pray that God would open the eyes of all those who truly follow him, and by the power of His Word, help us shine a light that reflects the true Gospel and expose the darkness of nationalist ideology.
