I shared this on Facebook about 2 weeks ago now.
People are calling for prayers over Charlie Kirk’s murder. Condemning violence. I agree violence isn’t the answer; but let’s not pretend someone who called for “quick and public executions” was just an innocent victim.
Kirk built his career on inflammatory rhetoric and dehumanising his opponents. He advocated for violence whilst wrapping it in patriotic and Christian language. Christ warned that “all who draw the sword will die by the sword.” Kirk got exactly what he called for: swift, public violence.
This is what happens when political movements are built on exclusion and treating fellow citizens as enemies. History keeps showing us this pattern.
Christian nationalism isn’t Christianity. It’s nationalism wearing a cross, abandoning everything Christ actually taught about loving neighbours and welcoming strangers.
I don’t celebrate Kirk’s death. But I won’t pretend his rhetoric didn’t contribute to the climate that killed him. There’s another way forward. One built on genuine Christian values. Real strength comes from building communities where everyone’s needs are met, where everyone has dignity. That’s the Kingdom Christ described. That’s worth building.
As I’ve reflected more, another thread has stayed with me. A friend and former pastor of mine, Ben Lindsay, put it like this:
“If your favourite Christian leader or Christian politician has a harsher tone for the poor and oppressed than for those in power, they are not of Christ.”
Ben Lindsay, watch the full Reel on Facebook
That struck me, because it’s not just about what leaders say, it’s about how they say it. Jesus was gentle with the vulnerable and sharp with the powerful. If a leader flips that pattern, if their words tear down rather than build up, then however “Christian” their language may sound, their tone is not Christlike.
This isn’t about deciding who is or isn’t a Christian. That’s God’s to judge. But discernment and wisdom are part of following Christ. We’re told to test the spirits, to guard against false teaching, and to measure not just words but how they are spoken. That isn’t gatekeeping, it’s accountability.
There’s so much more that could be added here. Kirk’s words – on migrants, on Black women in public life, on LGBTQ+ people, on executions – are searchable, and they’ve been widely resurfaced since his death. Each of them deserves more attention, not because of him alone, but because of what they represent in our public life.
There are bigger conversations I hope to come back to. About how tolerance is not the same as acceptance, and why the so-called “tolerant left” is accused of hypocrisy when it refuses to give intolerance a free pass. About Karl Popper’s paradox of tolerance, which warns us that tolerating the intolerant corrodes tolerance itself. About the “marketplace of ideas” and whether it even exists anymore, when the loudest and most divisive voices are given the most amplification.
And especially about Christian Nationalism, which wears the cross but abandons the gospel. Christ’s message wasn’t about exclusion or public spectacle. It was about loving neighbours, welcoming strangers, and caring for the least of these. That’s the Kingdom Christ described. That’s worth building.
And for me, it’s about living to see Christ’s Bride beautified.
Jonathan Pay - email marketing consultant 