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Over the past decade, we have seen an increase of high-profile political violence. In June of 2017 Steve Scalis and other Republicans were shot at in a baseball park. In 2018 pipe bombs were mailed to a number of Democrat politicians, in 2020 a militia group planned to kidnap Gretchen Whitmer, July of 2020 saw an attempt on Esther Salas, in 2025 Josh Shapiro’s home was set on fire, June 2025 Melissa Hortman was shot and killed. President Trump was subjected to no less than five assassination attempts (not including threats or those not confirmed to be directly targeting him): June of 2016, October of 2017, October of 2018, September of 2020, and the two attempts in July and October 2024.
Recently, Charlie Kirk was killed by a shot to the neck at an event at Utah Valley University. With Charlie Kirk’s death, we have seen five politically motivated attacks in just two years.
I could go on to say that we are too polarized as a country, but that is old news. I could use this as an illustration of how the political left has become a dangerous element in the United States because they doubled down, encouraging their constituents to become violent extremists where the Republicans are quick to disown terrorists from their side of the aisle. That would be selfish of me, and would add nothing useful to the discussion. Instead, I will talk about how Charlie Kirk is first and foremost a Christian martyr.
While Turning Point’s platform has always been about conservatism and free speech, Charlie frequently proclaimed his faith in Christ, and we can see from his conduct that Christ came before politics. For example, during an event at UT, he was approached by a girl who said her parents were divorced. Her mom was conservative, and her dad was liberal. Her mom wanted her to talk with her dad about politics more. The girl was troubled, and asked Kirk how she should navigate the situation. Kirk had every opportunity to score political points or give an easy answer of how to talk to loved ones about politics, or even get another clip for the highlight reels. Kirk chose to talk about the Bible instead.
He noted that her shirt quoted Isaiah 6:8: “Whom shall I send … send me.” He talked about the Hebrew word for “to call.” “You are going through a trial right now,” he said. “It will not be easy for you, and you will grow up fast.” He then talked about how we have a biblical obligation to honor our father and mother. “If you are incapable in this case of honoring your earthly father, you will never honor your heavenly Father.” To honor them is to spend time with them, love them, and to give them the respect they are due. Instead of encouraging her to go along with her mother’s desire over that of her father, he told her that since she has yet to form her own political beliefs, he encouraged her to say she’d rather talk about the Bible with them, as this will establish common ground in their relationship.
It speaks to Kirk’s character, that when the opportunity presented itself, he chose to give the hard answer that brought glory to God. He frequently proclaimed God’s word and ministered to those in the church. You may not agree with everything he said, you may believe he erred at times, but you can see that Kirk’s heart was set on Christ.
With this in mind I say Charlie Kirk is a Christian martyr in the truest sense of the word. We routinely see that he sought to keep his heart set on Christ, and his arguments flowed from there out of a place of love. Like Telemachus, who leapt into the Colosseum to preach against the cruelty of the games, and Polycarp who pointed back at the Romans and jeered, “Yes, down with the atheists!,” Kirk was killed because he dared to stand up for the Gospel.
“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11-12)
What we need to keep in mind is the issue of spiritual warfare. Satan wishes to drag people, who are the image bearers of God, into depravity not only because it separates them from Him, but because it is an insult to God. Wherever you find an abundance of evil, you can be sure demons are there encouraging it.
Any good Christian should believe that Satan and demons are real, and that they are active in trying to keep people away from Christ. This changes our perspective of people. It is harder to hate a victim than a perpetrator, and we are called to fight against the powers of the world rather than flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12). This is why I pray the young man who took Charlie Kirk’s life does not receive the death penalty, as he is the victim of a demonic worldview that caused him to stew in his hatred to the point of murder. Kirk was martyred because he confronted the dark powers behind identity politics, marxism, and LGBT+.
So, with his example fresh on our minds, it is good to see that the church is working harder because of Kirk. People are going to church for the first time in years, being baptized, and talking about Jesus more than they ever have because one man stood firm for the Kingdom of God. Now it is our turn.
©2025 Probe Ministries
Kyle Skaggs
Kyle Skaggs is Probe's newest Research Associate. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Biblical Studies at Dallas Baptist University in 2021 and his Master’s in Theological studies in 2023.
What is Probe?Probe Ministries is a non-profit ministry whose mission is to assist the church in renewing the minds of believers with a Christian worldview and to equip the church to engage the world for Christ. Probe fulfills this mission through our Mind Games conferences for youth and adults, our 3-minute daily radio program, and our extensive Web site at www.probe.org.
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