Assassination of Charlie Kirk: a personal reflection

On 10th September, my wife and I had just put our children to bed when I noticed a plea for prayer on social media. Charlie Kirk had been shot. News of his death soon followed. I was aware of Charlie Kirk, and I had seen some of his videos online. Although I was not a close follower, I was deeply shocked. At just 31 years of age, Charlie Kirk was a young man with so much life ahead of him. He left a wife and two young children. First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers should be with them at such a time of loss.

Over the next few days, I followed events closely as the authorities hunted for his assailant. This huge story was commented upon from many different angles. One thing that stood out was how polarised people were in their comments on Charlie Kirk and his death. It made me reflect on the nature of the division, what it teaches us about our culture, and how Christians should respond.

Charlie Kirk was an activist who aligned with the political right and shared his conservatism through writing, debating and touring college campuses. He founded student organisation Turning Point USA and was a friend of Donald Trump. He was also an outspoken Christian who often sought to share his faith within political conversations with students. He nailed his colours to some very specific masts, engaging regularly and directly with cultural issues often deemed sensitive and controversial, including abortion, LGBTQ+ rights and gun control.

Perhaps this explains the strong and divided public reaction to Charlie Kirk’s assassination. On the one hand, some responded with adulation, describing him as a fallen hero and comrade. President Trump lamented:¹

The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us.

In the same vein, conservative social commentator, Ben Shapiro, paid tribute: [2]

It was a privilege to watch this principled man stand up for his beliefs and create the single most important conservative political organization in America. But more importantly, Charlie was a good man, a man who believed in right and wrong, who stood by his Biblical values… And we must pick up the baton where Charlie left it, fighting for the things he believed in so passionately.

These are just two of many, both famous and non-famous, who praised Charlie Kirk as a national hero, fighting on the side of truth for a better future.

However, alongside such tributes, a sizeable number of people were expressing a counter viewpoint. Some portrayed Charlie Kirk as homophobic, racist and hate-filled. A few seemed to celebrate his death.

What struck me, when reading these comments, was the extreme polarity and lack of nuance. Kirk was presented either as a hero who could do no wrong or a villain who had done no right. Very quickly, people commenting turned against one another. Kirk’s supporters vilified those “on the left” as intolerant, accusing them of lacking the libertarian values they claim to uphold. Some were quick to apportion blame for the killing before there was any evidence of the killer’s motives. Kirk’s critics, meanwhile pointed the finger back at those “on the right” as regressive and hate-filled. Controversial quotes, allegedly made by Kirk, were presented as justification for celebrating his passing.

The polarity of views I observed in this case has been well-recognised in recent years across the political spectrum. Each side exudes confidence in its own rightness and the vilifies of the other side. Many people have recognised an increasing lack of ability to converse respectfully with those with whom we disagree and to listen to ideas and opinions which may challenge our own. Perhaps this is to be expected when social media algorithms create echo chambers that reinforce our own ideas against the “other side”. People are convinced of their own merit and devalue or even dehumanise those with whom they disagree.

The Bible presents a very different way of thinking. In our culture, people divide based upon their judgements that they have merit and others do not. The Bible unites everyone in their lack of merit. Quoting from Psalm 14, the apostle Paul writes, “There is none who does good, no not one." [3] The division the Bible describes is not between “good” people and “bad” people but between a good God and rebellious humanity. Whatever our political or moral ideals, however we feel about other people’s points of view, God’s Word reminds us that everyone has fallen short of God’s perfect standard, and all deserve judgement. It also tells us of a perfect God who loved his enemies, even to the point of laying his life down upon the cross.

Social media exudes hatred towards one’s enemies. But Jesus showed another way. The apostle Paul writes: [4]

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. […] For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

In our divided world, we define those with whom we disagree as enemies. But God, in Christ has loved the enemy and accomplished everything needed to reconcile us to himself. Whereas many people are quick to cry hatred against one another, God has chosen to act in love. People seek to devalue and dehumanise one another by boasting of their own moral superiority. But God has shown the value and worth of sinful people by sending Jesus to die in our place. In Jesus, God turns everything upside down.

What does this mean for the kind of people Christians should be? I have three thoughts.

Firstly, whatever our political views, we must resist any temptation to look upon others with a sense of moral superiority. As Jesus once said to a rich young man, “No one is good but God alone". [6] Christians need to be cautious like everyone else. After all, Jesus often took issue with religious leaders for their pride in their religiosity and condemnation of others they deemed inferior.

Secondly, in all our conversations – especially with those with whom we disagree – we ought to model Christ. Jesus sometimes showed anger, but his anger always reflected the true righteousness of God. It was usually directed towards people who claimed to know God but denied him through their words and actions, promoting injustice and denying God's love. But Jesus also had a unique authority to judge such people, because he knew their hearts. When we speak to or about people we disagree with, we would do well to heed the apostle Paul: “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person." [6]

Thirdly, we must remember Jesus’ own example. He died for his enemies – and that includes you and me. Who are we to withhold grace from others when such grace has been shown to us? It is not just to Christians, however, that Christ’s example speaks. For those who are yet to place their faith in Jesus, his example not only teaches us a better way than the way of hatred, but it extends the hand of love and forgiveness to all who will take hold of it.

The assassination of Charlie Kirk reminds us of the darkness of the human heart - but it is a darkness into which Christ’s coming shone light. As the world continues to respond to the tragic news, let us reflect on our own response. We certainly remember his wife and family in our prayers. And let us pray that we too would be transformed by the love of God and seek to bring that hope to others - whether we agree with them or not.

Endnotes

1.  NBC News. (2025) ‘Who is Charlie Kirk? His assassination’, NBC News, 10 September. Available at: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/know-charlie-kirks-assassination-rcna230552 (Accessed: 14 September 2025).

2.  Shapiro, B. (2025) ‘And we must pick up the baton where Charlie left it, fighting for the things he believed in so passionately’, X, [September 10]. Available at: https://x.com/benshapiro/status/[postID] (Accessed: 14 September 2025).

3.  Romans 3:10

4.  Romans 5:6-8, 10

5.  Mark 10:18

6.  Colossians 4:6

Image by Gage Skidmore: https://www.flickr.com/photos/22007612@N05/53069222184/. Used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.