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Christians grapple with the complex legacy of Charlie Kirk
When co-workers told him that Charlie Kirk had been shot…
Forgiving Charlie Kirk’s killer
Grieving widow and Trump offer differing theologies.
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PARIS — “I forgive him.”
Erika Kirk’s emotional words Sunday concerning her 31-year-old husband’s assassin reached all the way across the Atlantic Ocean.
I heard them in France — roughly 5,500 miles away — where I am on a reporting trip.
Nearly a week later, I’m still struck by what the grieving widow of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk said at his memorial service, which drew tens of thousands of mourners to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
“My husband, Charlie, he wanted to save young men just like the one who took his life,” declared Erika Kirk, 36, pausing as the crowd cheered.
Related: Christians grapple with the complex legacy of Charlie Kirk
“That young man,” the mother of two orphaned little children whispered, bowing her head before glancing toward heaven. “That young man.”
Tyler Robinson, 22, is charged with climbing onto a rooftop at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10 and fatally shooting Charlie Kirk from about 200 yards away. Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty.
Regaining her composure, Erika Kirk recounted the crucifixion of Jesus.
“On the cross, our Savior said, ‘Father, forgive them for they not know what they do,’” noted Kirk, wearing a silver cross necklace and quoting Luke 23:34.
“That man, that young man, I forgive him,” she said, sobbing. “I forgive him because it was what Christ did and is what Charlie would do.
“The answer to hate is not hate,” she added. “The answer we know from the gospel is love and always love — love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.”
A top podcaster and ally of President Donald Trump, Charlie Kirk was “an unabashed Christian conservative who often made provocative statements about gender, race and politics,” according to The Associated Press. Kirk “launched his organization, Turning Point USA, in 2012, targeting younger people and venturing onto liberal-leaning college campuses where many GOP activists were nervous to tread.”
Erika Kirk will succeed her late husband as Turning Point’s CEO.
A few days before the memorial service, in an interview with the New York Times, she said she’s a strong believer that Charlie Kirk’s death was a part of God’s plan.
“I’ve had so many people ask, ‘Do you feel anger toward this man? Like, do you want to seek the death penalty?’” she told the Times. “I’ll be honest. I told our lawyer, I want the government to decide this. I do not want that man’s blood on my ledger. Because when I get to heaven, and Jesus is like: ‘Uh, eye for an eye? Is that how we do it?’ And that keeps me from being in heaven, from being with Charlie?”
What forgiveness means
Forgiveness is of course, at the heart of the Christian message.
But that doesn’t make the act any less profound, especially when it occurs under such difficult circumstances.
“Absolutely stunning” is how I described it in 2019 when 18-year-old Brandt Jean extended forgiveness to the Dallas police officer who killed his older brother, Botham, and even hugged her.
