A note to Christian conservatives in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s death
Charlie Kirk speaks at the 2023 Turning Point Action Conference in West Palm Beach, Florida. Photograph by Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons.
Nathan Perrin
I’ve spent the last two years in a state of managing grief and anger, mainly over the genocide in Gaza. I’ve spent countless hours marching, listening to my Palestinian and Muslim neighbors, writing and advocating, and praying with those who are in deep despair. All the while I was doing this, I asked myself how an American Christian could casually ignore this happening. I found myself pondering what shocking image would it take for someone indifferent to finally care. How about a church bombed? How about a mass grave? A baby starved to death?
I found the answer yesterday after the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
My social media, filled with people I used to worship with, were blaming the Left as a whole before the police even identified a shooter. They were demanding all of their progressive friends to feel empathy towards Kirk, and to look at him as a Christian martyr. I was, and am still, in a state of disbelief over what I’ve read.
I don’t disagree about the empathy part. I should empathize towards people who decided to label themselves my enemy. As a Christian, that’s one of the ways I’m called to be faithful. And, to be clear, I condemn Kirk’s assassination as well as all acts of political violence.
At the same time, I recognize Kirk wouldn’t have had sympathy for someone like me. He labeled empathy as a made-up “New Age” concept. He rejoiced that Nancy Pelosi’s husband was beaten, and advocated that the person who did it be released on bail. His last words perpetuated the myth that trans people were more likely to commit mass shootings, despite evidence showing this to be blatantly untrue. Instead, trans people are more likely to be victims of violence than cis people.
As someone who patiently tries to discuss with conservative Christians why they should care that this current administration is committing atrocities, it is bewildering for me to experience right-wing media labeling people like me as being indifferent at best, and complicit in Kirk’s assassination at worst.
Every threat of violence I’ve had against the kind of work I’ve done has come from the right. When I moved in evangelical spaces, I was told frequently to keep my opinions to myself or my career would be on the line. All the while conservatives could say what they wanted without consequence. I’ve been among those radicals that right-wing media wants to be seen as violent. Instead, in leftist spaces I’ve met people who are committed to nonviolent actions and care about humanity.
For conservative Christians reading this, I want to implore you that we share a common faith and I’m your neighbor, as are people sharing my political stance. Despite what your media circles may tell you, I’m invested in your safety and wellbeing. I believe all of our liberation is tied together. I believe you and I have more in common than we realize.
So when I’m met with demands for empathy, it makes me pause. Not because I don’t feel it, but because I’ve spent a large part of nine years trying to help the evangelical church understand basic human rights and to feel, well… empathy. To be blunt, my politics are found in the Sermon on the Mount and it would be hypocritical of me to be cold towards Kirk’s family today. However, that same urgency to feel empathy isn’t being practiced in right-wing spaces — and that can be seen in how they’ve promoted people like Kirk for years.
It comes back to a basic Christian principle that Jesus taught several times. In Matthew 5:43-45, he said: “You have heard that it was said, You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who harass you so that you will be acting as children of your Father who is in heaven” (Common English Bible).
Reading this and actively praying for those who charge me with failing in my work has sustained me. This spiritual, timeless truth applies to everyone, regardless of political philosophy. We are in dangerous territory when Jesus’ words are ignored altogether in favor of empire building.
For conservative Christians reading this, I want to implore you that we share a common faith and I’m your neighbor, as are people sharing my political stance. Despite what your media circles may tell you, I’m invested in your safety and wellbeing. I believe all of our liberation is tied together. I believe you and I have more in common than we realize. I don’t call out the American church because I hate her. I call out the church because I know we could be better.
So, I wake up today with a fresh heart and heavy feelings. I know there is work to do still, and my prayer is that one day even you, the conservative Christian reading this, will realize I’m not the person bogeyman influencers want you to believe I am. I feel empathy for Kirk’s family, and for your pain in this. I hope and pray someday you feel empathy for others’ pain and for the Palestinians trying to survive a genocide. I hope someday you look at the migrants being arrested on the streets and see the image of God. Please don’t waste this opportunity to self-reflect on the political violence in our country.
I wouldn’t call Kirk a Christian martyr. That’s a step too far for me, after all I’ve seen him advocate for. I will say this: I believe Charlie Kirk, when he died, met a God that is far more graceful and compassionate than he could have imagined. In fact, it’s more than belief. It’s confidence — and I know you’re more than capable of meeting this God too on our side of eternity. That’s why I do this work, and why my hope stubbornly makes me march.
Nathan Perrin (he/him/his) is a writer and Anabaptist pastor in Chicagoland. He holds an MA in Quaker Studies and is a doctoral student studying Christian Community Development at Northern Seminary. His doctorate work centers on creating a writing program for nonprofits and churches to use to help under-resourced communities process trauma. His work has been published in the Dillydoun Review, Bangalore Review, Collateral Journal, Esoterica Magazine, etc. His forthcoming novella “Memories of Green Rivers” will be released in winter 2026 by Running Wild Press. He is also a screenwriter. For more information, visit www.nathanperrinwriter.com
The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of American Baptist Home Mission Societies.
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