Politics

On September 10 2025, Charlie Kirk, follower of Jesus, husband, father and the Founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, was murdered whilst speaking at an outside event on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. He was shot in the neck, in front of the crowd and his young family and he died later in Hospital. He was 31 years old. His death has taken him from his wife Erika and their two children.

‘Google’ Charlie Kirk and you will very likely come across the phrase ‘far-right’ early on.

This is a lie. Not least in that the phrase ‘far-right’ (often distilled into ‘right-wing’) is little more than a cowardly trope used to silence people who dare to challenge the mainstream narrative.

Charlie Kirk was not ‘far-right’ (whatever that is), but he most certainly was a follower of Jesus, a Christian who sought to change people’s minds through debate.

And he was very good at debating.

Take a few minutes to watch this debate to get a flavour for just how well he engaged with his audiences.

It’s safe to say that he was public enemy to the progressive ideologues who push the melting pot narratives of DEI, Critical Race Theory, transgenderism, LGBT, unfettered immigration, pro-Palestine, pro-Mohammedanism, cultural Marxism etc. Yet despite being labelled in the most vile of ways, Charlie Kirk sought to change hearts and minds by engaging with the people who disagreed with him. He built a formidable reputation in doing so and was used mightily by God.

The truth is that Charlie Kirk was helping to free young people from the woke mind virus that has infected and crippled so many and he has paid the ultimate price in standing for the truth.

The death of Charlie Kirk is likely to be another Martin Luther King Jr. moment – it really is that significant. Konstantin Kisin puts it very well here:

I hope I’m wrong. But tonight feels like some sort of invisible line has been crossed that we didn’t even know was there. The last time I felt like this was 9/11 when it was clear, without knowing the how and the what, that the world was about to change forever. Like the rules of the game had been permanently altered and there was simply no going to back to the innocent, peaceful past. I didn’t feel like this when an attempt was made on President Trump’s life. If I had to rationalise why I didn’t, I guess it’s because several US Presidents have been shot at and even assassinated. Somehow it was within the realms of the possible, no matter how awful. But to murder a young father simply for doing debates and mobilising young people to vote for a party that represents half of America? This is something else. Charlie’s death is a tragedy for his wife, his children and his family. I don’t pray often. I am praying for them tonight. But I fear his murder will be a tragedy for all of us in ways we will only understand as time unfolds. I hope I’m wrong.

Many on the ‘left’ progressive side of the fence, celebrated at the news of Charlie Kirk’s death. Even the Oxford Union’s incoming president, (quite how his position can remain tenable is anyone’s guess) George Abaraonye, posted in a WhatsApp group, “Charlie Kirk got shot, let’s f—— go”. What kind of warped humanity takes people to this point? The answer is a Godless one. To try and remove God from culture, worldview, school, workplace, media, leads to the place where the death of a young man, a husband, a father, a leader, who simply sought and spoke the truth is celebrated.

Equally, some so-called ‘Christian’ media news outlets are sadly predictable in their reporting on the death of a Christian man who lived by and for the truth. Caveating his death with words like ‘outspoken’ or ‘controversial viewpoints’, these BBC wannabes can’t help themselves as they try and tread the fictional ersatz line of impartiality.

Make no mistake, Charlie Kirk was not ‘right wing’, ‘far-right’ or even ‘controversial’, because he was a man who lived fearlessly for Christ and the cause of the Gospel. You see, Charlie Kirk was not being controversial, he was being faithful. To think otherwise is to take the position of compromise, to water down what Christ calls those who claim to follow Him to.

Tragically, we have lost a role model for boys and young men who so desperately needed his voice, an antidote to the toxic feminism that has pervaded their everyday. God can raise up other voices, but right now, it feels like a void.

In the moments before Charlie Kirk was shot, he had been sharing from 2 Corinthians 5:15 which says, “And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”

Amazingly, that was Charlie Kirk’s testimony. He did not live for himself, but for Christ and he paid the ultimate price.

The deep pain and sadness his death brings, not least to his wife and children, has to have hope attached to it. It’s because of what Jesus has done on the cross, his death and resurrection, that this is not the end of the story for Charlie Kirk.

A glorious eternity awaits those who are faithful to their Lord and Saviour and Charlie Kirk has shown the rest of us not only what walking that narrow path looks like, but that our faithful and courageous service in the Lord is never in vain.

With a general election tomorrow, called early by Sunak, the predictions are grim. To be blunt, how any thinking, theologically sound Christian can vote Labour is unfathomable given their stance on the family, sexuality, Islam, the unborn and assisted suicide. Saying that, we’ve had 14 years of the Conservatives, who have simply acted like a socialist government.

Back in the 1990’s, Barry Smith was right, it matters little as to who is in power, as they all follow the ‘script’ they are given. The evidence of this can be seen in recent history. Look back over the last 20, 30 or 40 years and you can chart a direction of travel that is unaffected by differing flavours of government in No.10. Yes, there will be small discrepancies based on whether it’s a tory or socialist government, but overall the direction of travel does not change.

To back this up, the former UK Prime Minister, Liz Truss wrote the following in the Wall Street Journal

“Across the West—especially the English-speaking world—there has been a shift of power away from democratically accountable officeholders to unelected bureaucrats and technocrats. The administrative state undermined Mr. Trump’s first term and undermined my tenure as Britain’s prime minister, forcing me out of office after 49 days. I assumed that I would be able to drive through the agenda on which I was elected. How wrong I was. The opaque British bureaucratic state undermined my proposed reforms, and their American equivalents will have Mr. Trump in their sights if he is victorious in November. The deep state will attempt to undercut him even more than it did in his first term… As soon as I announced plans to institute a range of supply-side reforms, I was marked by the technocrats for political extinction.”

The Deep State Lies in Wait for Trump – Liz Truss

This is why many bold manifesto pledges do not come to pass once the people who promised them reach power, because they come to learn where the real power lies. This is before we even get onto the tyrannical reality of Stakeholder Capitalism.

The truth is that Labour and Conservative are two sides of the same coin. Voting Labour will fast track us to tyranny. Voting Conservative is the same direction, but a little more slowly. A vote for Reform UK, will slow that journey down the most, although the destination will be the same (unless the deep state, globalist machine is disabled first).

We are living on ‘borrowed’ time in the UK, a time of extended grace, but this may soon run out. For the Christian, the need is now critical to be awake and alert to what is happening and to live accordingly.

This video by Dave Brennan is worth a watch and will stand the test of time, should the worst happen and a Labour majority be delivered tomorrow.

Can you really vote Labour? As a Christian I believe the answer to this is a resounding no, but then the Conservatives are not much better either. Is this the point where the only viable options are either spoil the ballot paper or vote Reform UK? I think it is, but I also think this is the point where we need to spur one another on and get serious about what it means to follow Jesus in a country that has turned it’s back on the Gospel.

These days, when something is presented as being ‘unacceptable’, a pile-on quickly ensues. A recent example is the kissing of Jenni Hermoso by Luis Rubiales whilst Spain was celebrating at the Women’s World Cup final. It was a fleeting moment; he was giving her a hug then a kiss on the lips and that was it. Although it wasn’t. Amidst calls to resign, it was reported that even Rubiales’ mother went on a hunger strike to protest the “witch hunt” against her son. Certainly, there is lots wrong with football and much wrong with women’s football but by any objective measure, this has been blown out of proportion.

However, this is not about football, but about a troubling trend that we see in the wider church that concerns truth and faithfulness. There is a well known media organisation based in the UK called Premier that has a wide reach and influence with many Christians and Christian organisations. Premier describe themselves as “Europe’s largest Christian media organisation” and cover a wide range of content through their magazine, website, podcast and radio stations. They have established what could be described as a ‘BBC-esque’ position in the Christian media world, giving the appearance of balance whilst holding to a subtle bias that too often aligns with the mainstream. In essence, neither hot nor cold.

“God’s Word is not there to prop up a mainstream media narrative”

With the Rubiales furore, an article appeared on the Premier Christianity website by Jane Chevous that serves as a good example of Premier’s editorial approach. The piece takes the reader swiftly from a kiss at a football match to talk of church abuse survivors in a matter of paragraphs, the intention being to conflate the behaviour of Rubailes with serious sexual abuse. The danger with this approach is that it runs the risk of minimising genuine abuse along with the associated hurt and confusion that comes with that. The BBC did a (predictably) similar thing and Rob Slane (The Blog Mire) puts it very well when he said “By describing a 1-second kiss during celebrations as a “sexual assault”, the term “sexual assault” is flattened to make it meaningless. This could have been dealt with by the man apologising & the woman saying “forgiven”. But we must have our witch hunts.”

In her article, Chevous makes the outlandish (and revealingly mainstream) claim that the “Church is another chauvinistic and patriarchal institution…”. On its own, that’s a weighty statement about the Body of Christ, yet Premier would appear to stand by it through their active promotion of her piece. Chevous goes on to mention Jesus’ words on justice and how God is for truth and judges with equity. She then quotes Psalm 72 out of context, like a kind of Biblical flag wave for Jenni Hermoso. But God’s Word is not there to prop up a mainstream media narrative as Chevous implies and Premier facilitates. It’s almost as if Premier is wanting to be a broad road for Christians to travel down comfortably, without any real consideration as to the destination.

Near the end, Chevous writes, “Hermoso’s experience symbolises the oppression of women in a misogynistic culture; she has come to represent every woman who has been ignored or threatened when they have stood up to injustice.” This dramatic overstating, complete with a reminder that we live in a ‘misogynistic culture’ (yes, here in the west) would be bad enough, but the author goes on to suggest that God is there in solidarity with Hermoso as if the ‘#metoo’ movement is high on God’s agenda.

It’s clear that Premier Christianity tries to be all things to all people. Their website is weighed down with content that all too often adheres to the mainstream narrative whilst wrapped in ‘Christianese’, although occasionally there will be something good. With articles like “AI can write a great sermon. But should you use it?”, “Christian leaders’ silence on animal welfare is scandalous”, “Why it’s time to build a truly diverse Church”, “What Christians can learn from Just Stop Oil” and “Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech is often misunderstood. He wanted reparations”, you could be forgiven for thinking you’ve stumbled onto the faith section of The Guardian. The problem runs deeper however, as author and podcaster, Nick Franks highlights so well in this video.

Premier Christianity claims the following “Our editorial approach emphasises the beliefs and values that Christians generally hold in common. We believe that throughout the years that God has blessed Premier with resources and media platforms to communicate through, that our mandate is to be there and report on all those who would say ‘Jesus Christ is Lord’.”

So, if I say “Jesus Christ is Lord” and then state (for example) “that the practice of homosexuality is not a sin” then is that ‘ok’ by Premier? I suspect they gloss over their theological shortcomings in order to try and hold a perceived middle ground and that, perhaps, is the issue. As a Christian media organisation, surely Premier should stand for and seek the truth whilst faithfully holding to what the Bible teaches?

If they did, they would not be as popular, but those that follow hard after Christ never are.