The Assassination of Truth
Charlie Kirk, co-founder of Turning Point USA, was a thought leader among politically conservative Americans until last Wednesday afternoon. Why did a black-clad man take up an elevated position and a high-powered rifle to fire a lethal round into Kirk from two hundred yards?
Kirk was a highly skilled debater, because he was well-informed and a keen, quick thinker. He always had an answer to every argument put forward against what Charlie believed to be true. He was also highly controversial, since he so boldly and forcefully pushed back against cultural and political views popular with his generation.
As of Thursday, September 11, the shooter at Utah Valley University remains unidentified. So, no one yet knows the answer to the “why” question. Yet, many have not hesitated to project their own moral framework onto the available facts.
A reporter with a Fox network affiliate in Orem, UT interviewed witnesses immediately after Kirk was shot. A few of them believed they had witnessed a coordinated attack by a cabal of Kirk's enemies.
On MSNBC, as news was unfolding, Matthew Dowd blamed Kirk for the shooter’s action: “Hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions,” Dowd said.
It may be that as you read this the shooter has been identified, and an official explanation of his motives has been given. That will help us all to understand that terrible, collective trauma last Wednesday.
Whether or not we ever learn the identity and motivation of Wednesday’s shooter, Jesus has already given us wisdom to understand the big picture.
In Revelation 11, the Apostle John recorded a vision he was given regarding “two witnesses.” These were two prophets whom God empowered for a short time to speak God’s word and to oppose God’s enemies. They could not be defeated until their short time was completed. Then, God allowed his enemies to succeed in killing them. The world then celebrated in the streets.
The assassination of Charlie Kirk was not the historical event foreseen by John in that vision. Yet, we should recognize that Kirk’s martyrdom fits the pattern revealed in that vision. For a short time, Kirk could not be silenced from speaking according to the word of God, as he understood it. Many Americans heard him and let hatred grow in their hearts. In enemy circles, Kirk was compared to Hitler. He was accused of “hating” people because of their politics or different moral views.
Charlie’s “hateful words” plainly confessed the lordship of Jesus Christ. In fact, whatever topic Charlie was debating--from abortion to socialism--his reasoning rested upon his understanding of Truth revealed by and through Jesus. Those who knew him testify that Charlie’s work was motivated by his genuine love for those who opposed him.
On Wednesday, a shooter accomplished what no debater could. Many celebrated that violence in the “streets” of social media and network news.
But as some time has now passed since tempers flared on the political Right and Left regarding Charlie Kirk, can we find a way to come together?
Perhaps we can all agree that Charlie Kirk’s assassination was an act of evil, and it represents a terrible state of division in the USA at this moment. It should be neither an accomplishment to be celebrated nor a call to arms. We must at least agree that such violence resolves nothing.
Perhaps Christians across the land can lead the way by coming together in spite of our politics being either "Left" or "Right." We must at least remember that the ground on which we stand as one rests high above the political debates. That ground is Jesus Christ and the hope that he will ultimately make this broken world better than it was when it was created.
That hope is evident in John’s vision, which concludes with God's enemies seeing the resurrection of the two witnesses. Accordingly, we remember that the enemies of Truth do not get the last word or the ultimate victory. Charlie Kirk trusted in the promise of resurrection when Jesus returns someday. Let every Christian agree with Kirk on this point and see beyond the present darkness to the light of that resurrection morning.
Kirk was a highly skilled debater, because he was well-informed and a keen, quick thinker. He always had an answer to every argument put forward against what Charlie believed to be true. He was also highly controversial, since he so boldly and forcefully pushed back against cultural and political views popular with his generation.
As of Thursday, September 11, the shooter at Utah Valley University remains unidentified. So, no one yet knows the answer to the “why” question. Yet, many have not hesitated to project their own moral framework onto the available facts.
A reporter with a Fox network affiliate in Orem, UT interviewed witnesses immediately after Kirk was shot. A few of them believed they had witnessed a coordinated attack by a cabal of Kirk's enemies.
On MSNBC, as news was unfolding, Matthew Dowd blamed Kirk for the shooter’s action: “Hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions,” Dowd said.
It may be that as you read this the shooter has been identified, and an official explanation of his motives has been given. That will help us all to understand that terrible, collective trauma last Wednesday.
Whether or not we ever learn the identity and motivation of Wednesday’s shooter, Jesus has already given us wisdom to understand the big picture.
In Revelation 11, the Apostle John recorded a vision he was given regarding “two witnesses.” These were two prophets whom God empowered for a short time to speak God’s word and to oppose God’s enemies. They could not be defeated until their short time was completed. Then, God allowed his enemies to succeed in killing them. The world then celebrated in the streets.
The assassination of Charlie Kirk was not the historical event foreseen by John in that vision. Yet, we should recognize that Kirk’s martyrdom fits the pattern revealed in that vision. For a short time, Kirk could not be silenced from speaking according to the word of God, as he understood it. Many Americans heard him and let hatred grow in their hearts. In enemy circles, Kirk was compared to Hitler. He was accused of “hating” people because of their politics or different moral views.
Charlie’s “hateful words” plainly confessed the lordship of Jesus Christ. In fact, whatever topic Charlie was debating--from abortion to socialism--his reasoning rested upon his understanding of Truth revealed by and through Jesus. Those who knew him testify that Charlie’s work was motivated by his genuine love for those who opposed him.
On Wednesday, a shooter accomplished what no debater could. Many celebrated that violence in the “streets” of social media and network news.
But as some time has now passed since tempers flared on the political Right and Left regarding Charlie Kirk, can we find a way to come together?
Perhaps we can all agree that Charlie Kirk’s assassination was an act of evil, and it represents a terrible state of division in the USA at this moment. It should be neither an accomplishment to be celebrated nor a call to arms. We must at least agree that such violence resolves nothing.
Perhaps Christians across the land can lead the way by coming together in spite of our politics being either "Left" or "Right." We must at least remember that the ground on which we stand as one rests high above the political debates. That ground is Jesus Christ and the hope that he will ultimately make this broken world better than it was when it was created.
That hope is evident in John’s vision, which concludes with God's enemies seeing the resurrection of the two witnesses. Accordingly, we remember that the enemies of Truth do not get the last word or the ultimate victory. Charlie Kirk trusted in the promise of resurrection when Jesus returns someday. Let every Christian agree with Kirk on this point and see beyond the present darkness to the light of that resurrection morning.
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