A Christian call for political discernment

The tragic murder of Charlie Kirk during a speaking event at the University of Utah has sparked an unprecedentedly strong reaction, not only in the United States but also in the United Kingdom. Outside right-wing political circles in the USA Charlie’s views did not receive much publicity, but his death has drawn attention to what purports to be a Christian crusade against the evils of our time.

Murder is always wrong and a political assassination is not the way to solve problems. Charlie, who was only 31, has left behind a widow and two young children, who deserve every sympathy. He himself claimed to be a Christian and much of what he said will resonate with believers everywhere. But unfortunately there is more to it than that. Charlie was a spokesman for a peculiarly American form of Evangelical Christianity, which combines conservative moral and spiritual values with a belief that the American constitution and way of life are God-given and therefore beyond serious criticism.

Charlie was the victim of the epidemic of gun violence that has spread dramatically in America in recent years. He himself was on record as saying that gun rights should be protected, even if it meant that there would be occasional shootings of innocent people. He must have known that the death rate from guns is far higher in the USA than in any other advanced industrial country, and that the absence of adequate gun control laws is largely to blame for this, but he could not see that it was his Christian duty to encourage the authorities to crack down on this social evil.

In this failure, Charlie was by no means alone. People outside the USA are constantly astonished by what seems to be an obvious blindness. It stretches to many other things as well, which do not receive the same degree of publicity outside the country. Are people in Britain aware that the US government is currently dismantling the health care system, such as it is, and casting doubt on the efficacy of vaccines to prevent disease? What would be unthinkable anywhere else is public policy there, and many Christians have been persuaded to go along with it. Charlie was one of them.

What is truly astonishing, and deeply disturbing, is the degree of support that this way of thinking has acquired in the UK. It comes out in different ways, but it is there nonetheless. The most obvious manifestation of it is in the widespread protests against what is seen as uncontrolled immigration. There is no doubt that the policy of offering asylum to almost anyone who asks for it is being abused by economic migrants who are in no danger of persecution in their home countries. Something does have to be done to curb this, but finding proper solutions is not easy. Waving the flag and causing riots is not the answer however, and Christians must be careful not to let such things be associated with the Gospel.

The political right wing has done an amazing job of recruiting Christian support, and this has to be resisted. The same is true of the political left, of course. Their simplistic belief that Israel is evil and that the people of Gaza are innocent victims is not good enough. Christians cannot uncritically support Israel on biblical grounds, but neither can they turn a blind eye to the behaviour of Hamas in Gaza, which lies at the root of the current crisis there.

The Gospel says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. It is never the case that one side is totally right and the other totally wrong. Nor do we have any reason to suppose that complex political issues will be resolved by drastic action on the part of governments or protest groups. A change of heart is the work of the Holy Spirit. In this world we are told that there will be wars and rumours of wars until the end of time. There is no salvation in this life – Utopia does not exist.

Every age needs to hear the message of Christ loud and clear, and that message points to a solution that goes beyond the cares and concerns of the present age. That does not mean that we should be indifferent to the human needs of our time, but that we should be able to step back from them, analyse them objectively, and suggest remedies that may alleviate the worst problems. This is where Charlie Kirk and his followers have failed. However attractive some of what they say may be, it is not the Gospel of Christ, and Christians must be clear in pointing that out.

Charlie Kirk was a sinner saved by grace, and we may be thankful for that, but a martyr for the cause of Christ he was not.

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GERALD BRAY is the Director of research for the Latimer Trust. He is the author of several articles and books, his latest one with James Clarke & co is 'A Companion to the Book of Common Prayer whilst with the Latimer Trust, he published the Church's one true foundation..

Views expressed in blogs published by the Latimer Trust are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Latimer Trust.