In the sombre aftermath of the loss of one of America’s finest spokesmen for the protection of innocent human life, traditional family values and personal freedoms, Christians and all who cherish these principles and work for their eventual outworking in our culture are trying to come to grips with the harsh realities of our human condition—the unwillingness of so many to even consider other points of view and their willingness to disparage, demonize and destroy those with whom they disagree.

At 12:20 pm, on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, Charlie Kirk, a 31-year old pro-life, pro-family, pro-freedom American man was shot and killed as he was speaking to students at Utah Valley University. That university setting—like so many of the places where Charlie spoke and answered questions, debating when necessary (and he was very good at that!)—was a challenging environment for the promulgation of conservative or traditional values and ideas. On September 10, hostility to those values and ideas took on an unthinkably horrible aspect. A wonderful and vibrant voice has been stilled; one of the most articulate and energetic Christian influencers—especially of college-aged young people—has been silenced.

Of course, as so many have said, his message lives on. His admirers and those who were inspired by his courage, his character and his confidence are determined that, not only his memory but the work he has so ably begun, will continue to influence this generation and, by those who follow in his footsteps, generations yet unborn. That is certainly some comfort . . . but it does not answer the questions we all are asking about the meaning of this senseless violence, the anger now so prevalent in our classrooms and city streets and expressed so shamelessly in social media posts and in personal interactions.

We are cohabiting this nation with dissociated members of the ‘cancel culture’, an assortment of fellow citizens who do not want to hear our voices, who are willing to shout down or silence their critics and who no longer place value on the lives, feelings or opinions of those they have deemed ‘enemies’.

That is the real tragedy of this sudden and unfathomable loss. The angry young man who pulled the trigger and brought shock and sadness to so many—including Charlie’s wife and two children—did not know Charlie and did not want to know him. Rather than attempting to debate the issues that form a yawning chasm between pro-lifers and pro-abortionists, between traditional marriage proponents and LGBT activists, between self-motivated entrepreneurs and socialists, between patriots and globalists, between Christians and atheists, this individual chose to murder a fellow American whose ideas he couldn’t counter and wouldn’t consider.

As has been mentioned by many of Charlie’s friends in the media, he loved to interact with the many confused and indoctrinated students who occupy the classrooms and dorms of America’s colleges and universities and to give them opportunity to voice their questions and verbalize their assumptions about social issues, economics and political platforms. His answers were sharp and quick; very often a student would have painted himself into a philosophical corner due to a lapse in logic or the weakness of a premise. That’s why some hated him. Those willing to follow his logic often experienced significant shifts in their thinking. Many became pro-life. Many became Christians. Many voted for Trump who would not have done so without this man’s willingness to meet them where they were and to discuss their differences.

Since the assassination of Charlie Kirk, pundits and talking heads across the political spectrum are asking out loud whether the days of open dialogue are over, whether the deepness of the divide and the rancour that now passes for commentary are too divisive, too hostile to ever allow for the type of open discussion and debate that Charlie Kirk had promoted so actively.

Friends, it must not be. We must not allow the violent rhetoric and actions of our political adversaries to limit our ability and willingness to share our opinions and to bare our hearts.

I’m old enough to remember the assassinations of JFK and Robert Kennedy and of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. All of these men were people who were willing to take risks, willing to be hated for the opportunity to change hearts and minds. And they succeeded. Our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified for not only telling the truth but for being the Truth. Two of His disciples, Peter and John, were imprisoned, beaten and threatened because the authorities were trying to make them stop speaking, to stop telling the truth. Their response to those threats was classic and one we need to remember and repeat: “We ought to obey God rather than men.”

As believers in these last days, we are sacred keepers of free speech and of the eternal truth that is so needed by our fellow citizens. We must not self-censor out of fear. We must not allow darkness to blot out our light. We ought to draw courage from the example of Charlie Kirk and of so many martyrs over the years who chose to stand for Christ and to bring light into the dark places of this world.

At the CHP, we will continue to speak the truth in love. We can do no other.