The sudden wave of grief and admiration from young people after Charlie Kirk’s death caught many parents and grandparents off guard. High-schoolers and college students didn’t just know his name — they were fans. They followed him closely, quoted him, and saw him as a guide in confusing times.

But why? Kirk was not a movie star, athlete, or pop-culture influencer. He didn’t set fashion trends or headline concerts. What made him connect so deeply with a generation?

Silence does not comfort the searching. It leaves them adrift.

The answer is simple: Charlie Kirk had answers.

While America’s pulpits too often fell silent about cultural issues, Kirk spoke plainly about them. And young people, desperate for clarity and confused about the way forward, finally had a leader.

Silence in the pulpit

I once interviewed a 19-year-old in Madison Square Park who was visibly frustrated. He insisted he didn’t hate women or minorities and wasn’t extreme politically. He simply wanted the chance to live his life without being branded a "bigot" because of his identity as a white male. His frustration wasn’t anger — it was despair.

What struck me was not just his words, but the hopelessness behind them.

If he attended most evangelical churches in America, he would not have found answers. Many churches, even when disagreeing with progressive ideas, avoid speaking against them. Instead, they sidestep controversy, hoping silence will win them credibility.

But silence does not comfort the searching. It leaves them adrift.

What young people face

Several years ago, a megachurch youth pastor asked me what challenges high-schoolers face. I told him this generation is drowning in questions of identity. They don’t know who they are, how to discern truth, or how to recover from failure. Depression and suicidal thoughts are widespread.

He dismissed my concerns until days later, when both gender-identity questions and suicidal struggles appeared in his ministry. Even then, when I offered to help equip his students, he rejected the offer — in anger.

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This isn’t an isolated story. For decades, many youth leaders have minimized cultural and moral questions, reducing Christianity to behavior management and vague encouragement. Students are left unprepared for the real battles they face.

Of course, I’m grateful for the pastors and leaders who reject this trend, but make no mistake: The trend was very real. Students needed answers. Charlie was giving them.

A hunger for clarity

That's why Kirk struck a chord. He didn't shy away from questions about gender, identity, politics, and morality. Agree or disagree with his conclusions, young people heard in him something they rarely heard from pastors: conviction.

When I was once given 50 minutes to “equip” high-school seniors for college with apologetics, I found the proposition laughable. You’ve had services twice a week for four years, and you think 50 minutes of apologetics is enough to prepare them for the lies and untruth they will face day in and day out?

But it illustrates the deeper problem — leaders who thought silence is safe. They were told by all the church gurus that if they were silent, somehow that would turn into gospel opportunities.

Big mistake. It isn’t until people know the truth that the truth will set them free. Silence brings slavery. And into that vacuum stepped Charlie Kirk.

The lesson for the church

Kirk’s popularity among young people should encourage us: This generation's young people are hungry for answers, and they are not turned off by clarity.

At the same time, it should warn us: If pastors will not equip the next generation with biblical truth about cultural issues, someone else will step in to fill the void.

Charlie Kirk did not captivate young people because he was trendy. He did it because he was clear. And that is precisely what too many pastors have been unwilling to be.

I’m thankful for the exceptions. Men like Rob McCoy, Jack Hibbs, David Engelhardt, and many others have been faithful to equip their congregations.

The challenge is before us now. Will the church continue in fearful silence? Or will it recover the courage to declare what scripture says — not just about heaven and hell, but about identity, morality, truth, and life in the public square?

Young people are listening, and they are desperate for your voice. Let’s learn from the life of Charlie Kirk and boldly speak truth in love.

Charlie Kirk's legacy exposes a corrosive lie — and now it's time to choose

Charlie Kirk’s memorial service was wasn’t just a remembrance — it was a revelation.

The memorial service was Christian nationalism in nascent, immature form. Not everyone who spoke was a Christian — and Christian nationalism does not require that. Yet what stood out most was that even people who do not share Charlie’s faith in Jesus showed open respect for the gospel. Everyone at the service was operating under the Christian gaze.

As the left grows more openly hostile to Christian belief, the right is becoming more consistently Christian.

The truth is this: We cannot make America great again without making America Christian again, which in turn means making America biblical again.

MAGA needs MACA and MABA.

No neutral ground

For too long, Republicans spoke in vague religious clichés, paying lip service to an undefined faith in a nameless god. But Kirk’s memorial service was different. We saw speaker after speaker dare to define his faith in explicitly Christian terms.

This marks a seismic shift in a very short period of time. At the memorial, civil magistrates openly proclaimed the lordship of Christ as public truth. Media influencers called on us to repent of our particular sins particularly. A new widow forgave her husband’s alleged killer, in accord with Jesus’ teaching, and civil magistrates promised to use their power to terrorize evildoers, in accord with Romans 13.

As the left grows more openly hostile to Christian belief, the right is becoming more consistently Christian.

The lines are more clearly drawn than ever before. Both the service itself and the events of the last two weeks illustrate this reality.

Perhaps the most important part of the memorial was that Charlie Kirk’s legacy was accurately portrayed. Charlie consistently emphasized the cultural, political, and civilizational impact of Christian faith. Unlike many pastors, he was willing to connect the dots, linking his Christian beliefs to every sphere of life: economics, marriage and family, immigration and nationhood, limited government, and more.

For him, the Christian faith was not a private set of religious ideas but a comprehensive system of truth that works in the real world. He challenged people (especially college students) with a biblical worldview, demonstrating that Christian faith offers coherent and compelling answers to both the pressing personal and political questions of the day.

That conviction came through in the memorial service, and for that I am grateful.

Third-wayism fails

It's now becoming painfully obvious that the “third-wayism” of so many “Big Eva” leaders has been exposed as untenable.

Third-wayism treats both sides of the political spectrum as morally equivalent, with each side getting some things right and other things wrong. Third-wayism advocates attempt to remain neutral, in order to avoid controversy and causing offense.

But in reality, there is no middle ground between progressive/secular and conservative/Christian political commitments. Those who want to avoid the culture war will still be drawn into it — just on the wrong side.

Third-wayists try to stay above the fray, but in doing so they actually compromise with evil. Because they insist on balancing left and right, if the left radicalizes and moves farther left, the third-wayist must also shift leftward in order to remain in the “middle.” In the process, third-way advocates end up justifying extreme progressive positions simply to maintain their supposed neutrality.

They are constantly chasing an Overton window that keeps moving leftward.

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At its core, third-wayism attempts to treat progressivism as equally compatible with the Christian faith as conservatism. It's true that there exists a kind of Christ-less conservatism that reduces faith to cultural nostalgia or civic religion. This kind of “bar-stool conservatism” should be critiqued and rejected. But in general, conservative positions overlap with biblical truth, whereas progressive positions stand as its direct antithesis.

Conservative, or traditional, Christian theology simply cannot mix with progressive politics any more than oil can mix with water.

Third-wayism is not humility or evangelistic wisdom. Rather, it's a form of the fear of man disguised as humility. It seeks to ingratiate itself with the left — never to the right. It's surrender rather than engagement, following rather than leading. It lacks substance and depth. It has no coherent political philosophy of its own. Its positions are dictated by how far to the left the progressive zeitgeist is willing to go. Third-wayists are easily manipulated precisely because of their refusal to take a firm stand. The third-wayist cannot draw a line in the sand.

The third-wayism dynamic, therefore, produces the familiar “coddle the left, punch the right” tendency, where progressive evils are gently excused while conservative shortcomings are harshly condemned. It assumes there is neutrality in the culture war when, in reality, there is none.

The third-wayist paradigm that has dominated the church in recent decades has allowed the culture to keep moving leftward without resistance. It never actually fights the battles that most need to be fought.

Christian faith, however, is not a private sentiment that can remain above political conflict.

Christ or chaos

The Christian faith is a fighting faith. It's a civilization-building, culture-transforming faith. It claims to be public truth, rooted in hard-edged historical fact. It's inherently political because it makes demands on rulers and the ruled alike. It includes an ethic that governs all of life, including political life.

America is dividing between those who embrace a consistently Christian vision of life and those who oppose it.

When King David commanded the kings of the earth to “kiss the Son,” there was no third way. When the apostles proclaimed “Jesus is Lord,” they were not splitting the difference between competing political poles. When Jesus said all authority in heaven and earth belong to him, he left no middle ground. When Christians say that life in the womb must be protected, there is no third option; the baby will either live or be murdered. When Christians say men are men and women are women, there is no place for the third-wayist to run and hide from the truth.

The gospel does not call us to neutrality. It calls us to allegiance. Third-wayism, by pretending otherwise, only serves to mask compromise as virtue. Third-wayism is a denial of Jesus’ lordship.

Charlie’s legacy is at the heart of this moment. Charlie never took the third way. He took the Christian way. He refused to compromise with the madness and folly of the left. Charlie’s ministry and martyrdom are a sign that the time for fence-sitting is over.

The lines are drawn.

America is dividing into two camps: one that bows to Christ and one that rages against him. The future belongs to those who have the courage to say what Charlie Kirk said with his life — that Christian faith is not optional if we want a civilization worth living in. America is dividing between those who embrace a consistently Christian vision of life and those who oppose it.

Which side are you on? Only two options are on the table — not three.

The memorial service revealed something profound: a clear contrast between two moral and spiritual visions of America and the need for courage in identifying with the one that aligns with biblical truth rather than cowardly compromise. Charlie embodied that courage, and his legacy continues to press the church and the nation toward a faith that is not abstract but applied — a faith that shapes culture, politics, economics, and civilization itself.

The memorial marked more than the remembrance of one man. It revealed a cultural realignment that Charlie helped bring about. His courage in connecting Christian faith to every dimension of life is the kind of legacy that points the way forward.

The Left Accuses The Right Of Hate To Avoid Debate And Silence Opposition

Conservatives' views on marriage, transgenderism, abortion, race, and more are based on reason, science, economics, and the Bible — not hate.

Charlie Kirk’s Death Is Filling Churches Across The Country

In the wake of Charlie Kirk's assassination, we are witnessing a renewed hunger for timeless truths, amplified by the moral listlessness of secular leftism.

The 'AI Bible' is here — but something important is missing

AI is coming for us all. For our jobs, our schools, our relationships — even our prayers. Nothing is safe from its reach, not even the Bible.

What was once the bedrock of faith is now being mined for content, carved up by algorithms, and served back as digital slop.

This is much more than bad taste. It’s bad theology.

Behind this push is Pray.com, an app that sells itself as the digital home for faith. One of its newest creations is the “AI Bible,” a controversial project that promises to bring scripture to life with computer-generated imagery.

'AI Bible'

In the app's hands, the Red Sea parts like a movie trailer. Revelation’s beasts look like they’ve stepped off a comic-book page. Christ’s words are framed with cinematic flair meant to hold the eye but not the soul. To those hard of sight and lacking neural firepower, it may look like innovation. But in truth, it turns the Bible into content. One more product in the stream of things we swipe past and instantly forget. What was once revelation becomes just another reel.

Think of the AI Bible like a pear. Whole, raw, pristine, this piece of fruit is truly glorious. It's nutritious, natural, sustaining, a gift from above. Now, imagine squeezing that pear into juice, then pumping it full of preservatives, chemicals, and sugar. Ostensibly the same fruit, but, in reality, a syrupy poison. That’s what happens when you take scripture — alive with mystery and insight — and feed it into a godless black box.

This isn’t sanctimonious pearl-clutching or fear of progress. It’s a sober warning about what happens when the sacred is ground down into pulp and poured back as pop culture.

We’ve seen it before. Christmas, once holy, became little more than an extensive shopping spree. The cross, once a symbol of sacrifice, became little more than a cute piece of jewelry. Each time, the revered was reduced to something retailed, commodified, and corrupted.

What we lose

What’s lost is the humanity that gives these stories their weight.

Abraham’s anguish as he raised the knife. David’s trembling faith as he faced giants. Peter’s shame when the rooster crowed and he realized what he had done. These moments are not mere side notes but the marrow of the faith itself.

When AI turns every prophet into a caped crusader and every psalm into a stadium anthem, we have a serious problem. The fragile, flawed, human vessels through which God works are erased. You don’t see a fisherman break down in tears after denying Christ; you see a subplot for the next Netflix series. You don’t hear the gentle whisper that steadies the brokenhearted; you hear the booming roar of an action trailer, half expecting Tom Cruise to drop in from a helicopter.

Audiences don’t file these images in their hearts. They file them next to Marvel, Fortnite, anime, and whatever else the algorithm feeds them.

And once that switch is made, where does it end? Today it’s Psalms in IMAX; tomorrow it’s Paul’s letters as TikTok skits; then the beatitudes on Broadway.

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The AI Bible invites consumption — not reflection. It trains people to treat sacred text like a season of television. Genesis turns into a pilot episode and Revelation becomes a cliff-hanger. But wisdom isn’t designed for marathons. Wisdom and understanding require pause, not playlists. Faith is not built for autoplay, and the soul can’t be nourished on fast-forward.

This is much more than bad taste. It’s bad theology. Passages that demand contemplation — the Nephilim, the visions of John — get twisted into definitive depictions that erase centuries of debate.

The real danger

The result is religious entertainment. The word becomes just another franchise to be monetized, its characters reduced to archetypes, its stories to HD clashes between good and evil. But the gospel deserves reverence — not a reboot.

Christians are not called to resist technology. But the line is clear: The printing press spread the gospel. Radio and TV amplified it. AI, in this case, distorts it. The motivation behind the "AI Bible" program may be noble, but noble intentions don’t sanctify rotten results.

And that is where it crosses into blasphemy. Not because it uses new tools, but because it erases the truth those tools are meant to carry. Scripture is testimony, commandment, and covenant — not special effects. To recast it as entertainment is to drain it of authority and credibility.

The danger is not that people will reject the Bible outright, but that they will absorb a counterfeit version and never know the difference.

Why Charlie Kirk's murder feels personal — even if you never met him

I’ve heard it over and over again from people across the country: “I can’t believe how much Charlie Kirk’s death has impacted me. I’ve never been this shaken by the death of someone I didn’t personally know.”

Grief and righteous anger over his brutal assassination have resonated with millions, creating a palpable sense of shock and loss unlike anything we’ve experienced in our lifetimes. Charlie Kirk wasn’t just another influencer, and his death wasn’t just another senseless crime.

Charlie stood for truth, and the father of lies hates truth-tellers. Jesus made it clear that spiritual neutrality isn’t possible.

There’s a deeper and more spiritual reason why we’ve been shaken by this tragedy.

1. You're more connected to Charlie than you might think

Many of us felt a deep, personal connection to Charlie. We listened to his voice or watched his videos for hours on end, and over time, you really do develop a personal connection whether you’ve met in real life or not.

Especially because Charlie was so likable, it’s easy to think of him as your brother, son, or close friend. That’s not weird or unearned. It's natural.

But there’s also a supernatural reason you feel this loss. We feel connected to Charlie as a reflection of our spiritual unity. The apostle Paul wrote, “The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. ... But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:12–13).

The same Holy Spirit who dwelt in Charlie is in all who’ve received Jesus as Lord. For Christians, Charlie is our brother in Christ, and when he was wounded, we all felt the pain. Further, his murder grieves the Holy Spirit in us. Our collective grief is a sign of our shared faith and unbreakable bond as Christians. When one part suffers, we all suffer.

2. We're in a spiritual war

Charlie’s assassination wasn’t just a political act. It was a demonic attack.

The same evil spirit that killed the prophets, crucified Christ, and martyred Stephen has now manifested itself in our day against Charlie Kirk. And it’s jarring to realize you’re smack dab in the middle of a spiritual war.

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Ephesians 6:12 reminds us that our true enemy is spiritual, “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” Charlie stood for truth, and the father of lies hates truth-tellers. Jesus made it clear that spiritual neutrality isn’t possible. He said, “He who is not with me is against me” (Matthew 12:30).

For the children of God, we will overcome the enemy, not with bullets, but with our Bibles and the power of the Holy Spirit.

3. We mourn with his family

While we all feel the loss, our hearts break for his family — his brave wife, Erika, and his young children who will grow up knowing their father was great without the blessing of enjoying him personally. The sadness we feel for them is biblical compassion.

Romans 12:15 commands us to “rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” Our grief for the Kirk family is a righteous and compassionate response to a pain that grieves the heart of God. We must continue to pray for them, knowing that the Lord loves Charlie’s family even more than Charlie, and He will take care of them as only He can.

This tragedy also serves as a poignant reminder to cherish our own families and not take a single moment for granted.

4. Murder desecrates image-bearers of God

The video of Charlie’s death, widely shared online, made us witnesses to murder. This marks the human soul in a traumatic way. It’s hard enough to see an animal slaughtered, but destroying a human being — made in the image of God — with such gruesome malice is the ultimate act of desecration.

Murder is a sin against man and God, and it’s why we should support capital punishment.

Genesis 9:6 states, “If anyone takes a human life, that person’s life will also be taken by human hands. For God made human beings in his own image.” The death penalty assigns the highest punishment to those who commit the highest crime, affirming the sacred value of life.

Charlie’s death reminds us that while our earthly bodies are fragile and easily destroyed, our hope is in Jesus Christ. One day, at the sound of the trumpet, our perishable bodies will be raised imperishable, and death will be swallowed up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:52–57).

5. It could have been you

This was not a political assassination. Charlie wasn’t a politician running for office; he was a truth-teller combating lies.

Everything he believed and stood for was based on his faith in Jesus Christ. His entire worldview was shaped by the Bible. Make no mistake, Charlie Kirk is a Christian martyr — perhaps the most significant in American history; he was slain on American soil, by an American, fighting to liberate Americans from the bondage of deception.

There will never be another Charlie, but we can honor his legacy by picking up the torch and taking even more ground.

As fellow believers, we stand for the same truths he was murdered for.

This forces us to confront a sober reality: Following Jesus courageously may come at a high cost. Occasionally, we must all look in the mirror and ask, “Am I willing to die for this?” The answer must be, "Yes."

Jesus said in Matthew 16:25, “Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." We must not allow fear to silence us. We must become even more committed to our righteous cause.

Be encouraged: The martyrdom of Stephen gave rise to the ministry of the apostle Paul, and Charlie’s martyrdom will give rise to thousands of bold voices who will not shrink back from death.

6. We lament over lost potential

Charlie was a uniquely gifted leader who was helping to change the political and cultural landscape of our nation. Many believed he might one day become president. His sudden death leaves us mourning over the lost potential of what he could have accomplished with so many more years of life ahead.

But we can trust in God’s sovereignty. As Psalm 33:11 reminds us, “The Lord’s plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken." We are shocked by Charlie’s death, but God is not; and this tragedy won’t thwart God’s plan. The Kingdom of God doesn't advance through the gifting of a single “superman,” but through ordinary men and women empowered by the Spirit of God.

Charlie’s death requires all of us to step up and fill the void. There will never be another Charlie, but we can honor his legacy by picking up the torch and taking even more ground.

7. We can feel helpless

In the face of such a tragedy, we feel helpless. We prayed for a miracle, but God did not heal Charlie or raise him from the dead.

It's OK to be disappointed with the outcome, but we must never be disappointed in God. He is always good, even when our circumstances are not. Even when we feel helpless, we are not hopeless. We can make a difference by standing for truth, sharing the gospel, raising our families, and doing our civic duty. We will do our parts and trust God to do His.

8. The wicked are celebrating

The evil, celebratory comments from Charlie’s critics reveal the wickedness in their hearts. These are people so blinded by sin that they call good "evil" and evil "good." They are too hard-hearted to hear reason, and only God can change their hearts.

Our lives on earth are short, but eternity is forever.

Remember what Jesus commanded in Luke 6:27–28, "Love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you." The fact that hell is throwing a party over Charlie’s death is a testament to the difference he was making. The demons also cheered when Jesus was crucified, but their celebration was temporary, while our victory is for eternity.

Let's live our lives so courageously that hell throws a party when we die, too.

9. Earthly justice is incomplete

The news that Charlie’s alleged murderer was caught provides a measure of satisfaction, but it won’t bring him back. Even the swiftest and most severe earthly justice will not provide perfect retribution for this crime. This is why we hold onto the hope of God's final, complete justice.

The Bible promises that one day Jesus will return to judge the righteous and the unrighteous. For those who have placed their faith in Him, our sins are forgiven, and we will receive eternal reward. For those who reject Christ, there will be eternal punishment.

We can thank God for a justice system that holds murderers accountable, but we find our ultimate peace in knowing that God will settle all accounts perfectly on the final day.

10. Life is short, but eternity is forever

Charlie was only 31 years old — young, healthy, and strong. His life was cut short, a stark reminder that our days are numbered.

As Psalm 39:4–5 says, “Remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered — how fleeting my life is.” This tragedy should be a call to action for all of us. Don’t waste your life on things that don’t matter. Don't be a spectator.

Our lives on earth are short, but eternity is forever. While we mourn, we do not grieve like those who have no hope. We have the blessed assurance that for Charlie, and all believers, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

Charlie's assassination was meant to silence him, but the enemy has made a grave miscalculation. His martyrdom has awakened a sleeping giant. Let our grief be a catalyst for strengthening resolve. We will weep, we will heal, we will fight, and we know that we will win. We’ve read the back of the good book, and it says that in the end, we win.

We will not be silenced, and the truth Charlie died for will not be buried. It will only get bolder, louder, and stronger!

What God says about the evil that killed Charlie Kirk

Like you, I learned that Charlie Kirk had been murdered — assassinated — on Sept. 10 at an event in Utah. Dead at 31 years old, shot while answering a question about gun violence.

I’m so disturbed by what happened and so furious about it all.

We should pray that we will grow to love what God loves and to hate what God hates.

Political violence on a college campus made a lasting impression on countless eyes and ears. People who were present at the event, as well as millions of other people, have videos seared in their minds that depict the horror of what took place in Orem, Utah. And a precious wife and children are deprived of their husband and father.

On that tragic day, we were reminded, once again, of the real and palpable presence of wickedness.

Besides being a widely known commentator on political and social issues, Charlie was an outspoken Christian who was bold about Jesus. He spoke unhesitatingly about Jesus being his savior, about the historicity of the resurrection, about the truthfulness of the Bible, and about the need people have for salvation. Truly, Jesus is the hope of the earth.

The biblical authors are crystal clear that God hates evil. On the appointed day of judgment, He will administer His righteous wrath with holy and unimpeachable justice. In the meantime, since believers are image-bearers who are being restored and renewed in Christ, we need to hate what God hates and to love what God loves.

Solomon gives us a list of things God hates. Proverbs 6:16-19 says:

There are six things that the Lord hates,
seven that are an abomination to him:
haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that make haste to run to evil,
a false witness who breathes out lies,
and one who sows discord among brothers.

Notice these three expressions: “hands that shed innocent blood” (v. 17), “a heart that devises wicked plans” (v. 18a), and “feet that make haste to run to evil” (v. 18b).

These three expressions are things God hates, and all three were on display on Sept. 10 in Utah. A life was unjustly taken in a scene of unfolding horror and panic and disorientation. Not only should such a thing disturb and horrify us, we should hate it.

We should hate it because God hates it. We should be disgusted and indignant. We should identify evil, evaluate it biblically, warn others about it, and oppose it. And we should, with renewed resolve, commit ourselves to what is good and true and wise and beautiful and righteous.

All truth is God’s truth, and it is worth staking everything on.

Sometimes our cultural landscape seems to have not only a famine of biblical literacy but also a famine of common decency. I recognize that broad-brush statements don’t tell the whole story, for there are plenty of civil people who are equally weary of the escalated political rhetoric that vilifies and demonizes and condemns. But our digital age gives us immediate and constant awareness of human depravity.

The nasty fruit of secularism and materialism have brought such damage to our discourse.

MELISSA MAJCHRZAK/AFP via Getty Images

If you’re like me, you’ve been aware in the past month of enough tragic stories that your mind feels overwhelmed by the sheer sadness and sorrow of it all. A comforting thought, from Proverbs 6:16, is that such evil is “an abomination” to the Lord. He “hates” the things listed in Proverbs 6:17-19.

God is not indifferent, not remote, not neutral. And He will deal with what is abominable. He is wise and good and righteous, so the wicked should tremble.

The assassination of Charlie Kirk was a major societal event. We should pray that the person (or persons) involved in the plot would be swiftly brought to justice. We should pray that, as a society, truth and sanity would prevail over delusion and deception. We should pray that we will grow to love what God loves and to hate what God hates. And we should pray that the ministers of the gospel would be bold heralds in our churches, unashamedly proclaiming the word of God in its fullness and grandeur.

Our days are numbered, and our lives are brief. We live as earthly citizens with a heavenly identity. And our earthly citizenship is a stewardship, so we must be faithful. Being courageous for truth, pursuing virtue over vice, pointing people to Jesus, getting involved in a local church that’s committed to the Bible, investing in and caring for your family — these are good and God-honoring things. These are things God loves.

Rest in peace, Charlie Kirk.

This essay was originally published at Dr. Mitchell Chase's Substack, Biblical Theology.

Free speech is more than a slogan. It’s a duty.

Leftists insist that “words are violence.” They also claim that “silence is violence.” Curious. They wield the term “hate speech” as a weapon, though it has no legal definition. It’s a political tool designed for abuse, much like the tactics of China’s Red Guard during the Cultural Revolution.

Recent debates over free speech have shown how few Americans — left, right, powerful, or powerless — actually understand what the First Amendment protects. That ignorance is unnerving.

Every silence either defends or betrays liberty. Kirk lived and taught that truth. Now, in his absence, we carry that responsibility.

To honor Charlie’s legacy, we must defend free speech boldly, graciously, and without compromise.

Free speech flows from God’s gift of free will, enshrined by the founders in our nation’s founding documents. As Charlie Kirk once said, “Without free speech, there is no such thing as truth. The moment you silence opposing voices, you destroy the foundation of democracy.”

Scripture underscores the responsibility that comes with this freedom. Colossians 4:6 reminds us to speak graciously, with words “seasoned with salt.” Matthew 12:36 warns that we will give an account “for every careless word.” Proverbs 18:21 drives the point home: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”

We are free to speak, but we will be held accountable.

Bondi’s blunder

That accountability is central to the recent firestorm over Attorney General Pam Bondi. Appearing on Katie Miller’s podcast last week, Bondi said, “Hate speech that crosses the line into threats of violence is not protected by the First Amendment. It’s a crime.”

Bondi later cited federal statutes criminalizing threats, doxxing, and swatting, promising full prosecution. She framed her argument as a defense of families, freedoms, and Charlie Kirk’s legacy.

But Bondi blurred a crucial line. Threats of violence have been crimes for centuries. “Hate speech” doesn’t legally exist. By conflating the two, Bondi gives more ammunition to those who want to criminalize speech they dislike.

Kirk himself once wrote: “There’s ugly speech. There’s gross speech. There’s evil speech. And all of it is protected by the First Amendment. Keep America free.” He warned that once “hate speech” becomes a category, it will be used against conservatives first.

Consequences, not censorship

Free speech carries consequences, both spiritual and legal. It also carries social consequences, often borne disproportionately by conservatives. Kirk frequently noted that conservatives are branded “bigots” and accused of “hate speech” simply for defending traditional values.

The media’s distortion of his words proves the point. Misquotations, half-truths, and selective edits continue to shape his legacy. Not long ago, speaking ill of the dead — especially the innocent — was taboo. Today, it is routine.

Government-sanctioned propaganda

The erosion of free speech didn’t happen overnight. In 2012, Congress passed the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act, allowing government propaganda once restricted to foreign audiences to target Americans directly.

Since then, administrations — especially Joe Biden’s — have funneled taxpayer-funded messaging into “news” outlets indistinguishable from government press releases. That’s what Trump meant when he labeled the media “fake news.” It’s not just bias. It’s legalized propaganda.

The results are obvious: riots over George Floyd but prayer vigils after Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Manufactured outrage for causes the left elevates, silence for causes it despises.

The algorithmic censor

Corporate media is only half the machine. Social media algorithms do the rest. Conservatives (myself included) face shadow bans and throttling for speaking truth. Posts about Iryna Zarutska’s stabbing death get sanitized into euphemisms like “poked” or “unalived” to avoid suppression. Kirk’s assassination was reduced online to being “pew pewed.”

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Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Language itself has been contorted. Political correctness has turned serious matters into absurdist code words. Kirk once warned: “Political correctness is the most deadly of political weaponry.” He was right. If this continues, truth itself will become unspeakable.

Cancel culture vs. accountability

The left wants to erase the difference between cancel culture and accountability. Cancel culture punishes thought, speech, or belief without moral or legal justification. Accountability punishes advocacy of violence. When employees cheer assassination or call for murder, employers have every right to fire them. That is not tyranny. That is justice.

Failing to distinguish between the two plays into the left’s hands. It allows them to conflate legitimate accountability with censorship, further eroding free speech.

The duty to speak

To honor Charlie’s legacy, we must defend free speech boldly, graciously, and without compromise. Free speech is not merely a constitutional right; it is a moral duty.

Every silence either defends or betrays liberty. Kirk lived and taught that truth. Now, in his absence, we carry that responsibility. Speak now — bravely, responsibly, and without fear — so that the freedoms Charlie cherished endure for generations.

Evil unmasked: How Charlie Kirk's murder exposed a diabolical spiritual war

Millions of Americans are still desperately trying to scrub their hearts and minds of the infernal videos and images that emerged after conservative commentator Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

Far from a typical social or political event, this murder has reverberated throughout America, igniting everything from fury to depression and opening a chasm filled with uncomfortable questions about the state of the nation and where we go from here.

Today, too many people are now fully embracing and emulating Satan’s nature.

There’s an alarm sounding among many faith and political leaders who believe America is at a dire crossroads — a point where we must carefully choose our destiny.

"We have crossed the Rubicon," Pastor Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, told me last week. "We're no longer what we used to be. The age of civility is officially over, and we've entered into the proverbial dark, slippery slope where rhetorical violence becomes physical violence."

He’s not wrong. The disturbing reality is that a sizable proportion of the public is now OK with political violence. In fact, a YouGov survey recently asked, “Do you think it is ever justified for citizens to resort to violence in order to achieve political goals?”

Shockingly, 11% answered, “Yes, violence can sometimes be justified,” with an additional 11% stating they were unsure and another 5% preferring not to respond. Thus, while 72% rejected political violence, 27% either weren’t sure, wouldn’t respond — or seemed to back it.

True evil

This willingness to entertain political violence is so alarming and otherworldly that it can only come from one source: true evil. And sadly, wickedness has, in some circles, become increasingly pervasive. James 4:7 in the Bible is monumentally clear that each person must “resist the devil” and, when we do, “he will flee.”

But today, too many people are now fully embracing and emulating Satan’s nature. The Bible tells us the “devil has been sinning from the beginning” (1 John 3:8) and is filled with ghastliness and lies.

“He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him,” Jesus proclaims of Satan in John 8:44. “When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Scripture also makes it clear that the devil prowls around seeking to “steal, and kill, and destroy” (John 10:10), hoping to so confuse human hearts and minds that people reflect his nature and reject the biblical command to love God and love others.

We see these elements permeating society and playing out not only in the brutal killing of Kirk, but also among the slew of people who have bizarrely and fiendishly excused or even celebrated the conservative commentator’s death.

Make no mistake: The only humane and sane reaction to an assassination like this is sheer horror. There’s no need to add a “but,” no warrant for a “well, his tone wasn’t always the best” — and certainly no excuse for debasing Kirk’s humanity as to gleefully react to his death.

Luciferian delight

Such insanity, though not the majority response, exposes the extent to which some have willfully chosen to baste in the bowels of Luciferianism. Relishing in death has become a newfound passion for those who have given themselves over to such evil.

Just consider that YouGov also found that 9% of Americans believe it’s acceptable to celebrate a public figure’s death. Sure, 78% said it’s inappropriate, but the fact that one out of every 10 Americans said it’s perfectly permissible “for a person to be happy about the death of a public figure they oppose” should send a literal shiver down our spines.

As it turns out, Democrats (11%) are more likely than Republicans (6%) to say it’s either “always” or “usually” acceptable to celebrate public figures’ deaths. Republicans are also far more likely (89%) to oppose this than are Democrats (71%).

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These statistics reveal a disturbing level of moral corruption within the American populace, with human hearts taking on the nature of the devil in such a merciless way. Rather than showing honor and decency, many in recent days have opted for full-blown hatred — a satanic level of bile that says much more about them than it does Kirk or anyone else.

One of the problems fueling the dysfunction in our politics has become an unhealthy rhetoric that dominates our discourse. Trump, Kirk, and others have been labeled as "racist," "homophobic," and other dishonest slurs.

Some, like former President Joe Biden, warned Trump would “sacrifice our democracy.” Former Vice President Kamala Harris also seized on this rhetoric as did other Democrats. For his part, Trump has often returned fiery rhetoric. Tragically, there’s a cost to such proclamations.

The choice is ours

I recently spoke with Dallas Jenkins, creator of the hit TV show “The Chosen,” about Kirk’s death and the chaos in our nation.

"We are in a time where people demonize the opposition — the political or spiritual opposition, so much that their death is a logical conclusion," Jenkins said. "If you tell enough people that someone or a group of people are Nazis, are a threat to your literal freedom and democracy, and in fact, your very life, I mean, why wouldn't you think that they should die, or at least be stopped in some dramatic way?"

His point? We’ve allowed callousness and rhetoric to become so untethered from goodness that we have unwell people getting panicked, ginned up, and, in turn, radicalized. This is a dangerous path for our nation, with Kirk’s death, in particular, forcing both sides to decide: Is this the America we want — or are we willing to strive for something better?

The Book of James warns that the tongue is a “world of evil,” can “corrupt the whole body," and is “set on fire by hell.” And Ephesians 6 delivers perhaps the most important context, explaining that the real battle is spiritual — not physical.

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms,” Ephesians 6:12 reads.

We’d do well to pause, reflect, and ponder where we are and where we want to go. Will we choose God or Satan? Will we opt for good or devilish hatred?

The decision is ours, and the very fate of our nation and the world depends on how we collectively answer.