Let’s face it: In today’s culture, being a traditional, Christian, Proverbs 31 woman is seen as outdated at best — and oppressive at worst. Feminism, goddess worship, and self-idolatry have replaced biblical womanhood, pushing a false idea that true power comes from rebellion, not obedience.

We see it everywhere.

As we face the growing pagan threat in America, we must raise up more Erika Kirks.

In 2018, San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral hosted a “Beyoncé Mass,” calling it a “womanist worship service” that praised Beyoncé as a goddess. Social media echoed the sentiment: “God is a woman and her name is Beyoncé.” Not long after, Taylor Swift’s fans held a Taylor Swift-themed "worship" experience in a 600-year-old church. Swift’s own performances have leaned into witchcraft-inspired visuals, while other pop icons like Ariana Grande (whose song is literally titled “God Is a Woman”), Nicki Minaj, Vanessa Hudgens, and Lady Gaga flaunt occult imagery and sexual empowerment wrapped in faux liberation.

This cultural shift is not new. It’s rooted in a long-standing rejection of Christian orthodoxy. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, in her 1875 work "The Woman’s Bible," sought to rewrite scripture, even calling for the “emancipation of the woman” and the “exoneration of the snake.” Feminism's earliest architects viewed biblical womanhood as the enemy to be dismantled.

The fight wasn’t for equality — it was for dominance.

Today, that legacy lives on. Women are praised not for motherhood, humility, or holiness, but for independence, sexual expression, and self-glorification. We now live in a culture where being a godly woman is seen as laughable, something to be mocked, dismissed, or feared.

But then came Erika Kirk.

Gospel power

On Sept. 21, just 11 days after her husband, Charlie Kirk, was assassinated allegedly by one of the very people he dedicated his life to reaching, Erika stood before the world — with tears in her eyes — and said these words: “That man, that young man: I forgive him.”

There were no calls for vengeance. No bitterness. No rage. Just grace. And a power that only the gospel can provide.

More than 100 million people were watching the broadcast when she said it.

RELATED: How Erika Kirk answered the hardest question of all

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Charlie was shot in the neck while answering student questions on a university campus — microphone in hand, actively engaging with those who disagreed with him. In one violent moment, Erika lost her husband and their two young children lost their father.

And yet, days later, she stood next to the empty chair where Charlie had hosted "The Charlie Kirk Show," and declared: “The movement my husband built will not die. It won't. I refuse to let that happen. … My husband’s mission will not end, not even for a moment.”

Sharp contrast

Since then, Erika has become one of the most talked-about women in the world. Her Instagram following has skyrocketed from a few hundred thousand to over 7 million. But she didn’t seek the spotlight — she stepped into it because her faith and the moment demanded it.

Before Charlie’s death, Erika was largely known within Christian and conservative circles. She ran a clothing brand, Proclaim Streetwear, led BIBLEin365, and hosted the "Midweek Rise Up" podcast, all while raising their children and supporting Charlie in his work at Turning Point USA.

“I was Charlie’s confidante. I was his vault, his closest and most trusted adviser, his best friend,” she said at his memorial. “I poured into him and loved him so deeply, empowered him, because his love for me drove me to be a better wife."

Compare that to the culture’s role models: women who flaunt their bodies, reject motherhood, and redefine empowerment as self-worship. At the Grammy Awards this year, Bianca Censori wore nothing but a sheer dress that fully exposed her body — a display heralded by the media as “bold,” but more accurately described as a humiliation paraded as liberation.

How far have we fallen, when being a godly wife and mother is seen as weakness, while degrading yourself publicly is considered power?

Spiritual war

This is the spiritual battle we are facing. The pagan threat is real — and Erika Kirk stands as a holy contradiction to it.

She is not just a grieving widow. She is a modern-day Deborah. A Proverbs 31 woman. A warrior in the fire.

At a Turning Point USA event earlier this year, Erika issued a challenge:

After you leave here, please go confuse the culture. Confuse the crap out of it. ... Do not conform to it. Let them stare at you. Let them write the meanest Instagram comments. Let them wonder. Let them whisper. … Because that’s just noise. Build your family. Go raise a family. Go build a life of holy defiance. Go love your husband. Go love your babies. Go teach your children how to blaze a trail of glory. Go lead in truth, and go be the light.

This is exactly what we need — holy defiance. A new generation of women who aren’t afraid to embrace their God-given roles. Women who don’t need the culture’s validation because they have God’s calling.

And Erika wasn’t done. At Charlie’s memorial, she challenged both women and men with a call to biblical courage.

“Women, I have a challenge for you too: Be virtuous. Our strength is found in God’s design for our role. We are the guardians. We are the encouragers. We are the preservers,” she said. “Guard your heart; everything you do flows from it. And if you’re a mother, please recognize that is the single most important ministry you have.

“To all the men watching around the world — accept Charlie’s challenge and embrace true manhood. Be strong and courageous for your families. Love your wives and lead them. Love your children and protect them. Be the spiritual head of your home, but please be a leader worth following,” she said. “Your wife is not your servant. Your wife is not your employee. Your wife is not your slave. She is your helper. You are not rivals; you are one flesh working together for the glory of God.”

This is the antidote to cultural decay: biblical men and women who refuse to bow to the false gods of modernity and recognize that our design is divine. That submission to God is not weakness but strength. That humility is not shameful but honorable. That motherhood is not bondage but ministry.

Holy defiance

As we face the growing pagan threat in America, we must raise up more Erika Kirks — women of fire-tested faith, uncompromising in truth, fearless in love, and grounded in scripture.

The culture is watching. And in Erika, people are seeing something they can’t explain: a woman standing in the ashes of atrocity, radiant with hope. A woman of grace. A woman of gospel power.

A woman the culture tried to erase — but couldn’t.