Remembering Charlie Kirk: Faith, Conviction and the Fight to DEFEND Freedom

Charlie Kirk, a prominent speaker focused on equipping the next generation, discusses the foundational principles of American liberty, the vital role of Christianity in sustaining the republic, and the imperative for believers to live truthfully in public life, drawing on constitutional history and biblical wisdom.

Religious Freedom: The Core of American Liberty

Kirk asserts that religious freedom is the mother of all freedoms. This freedom is essential because it encompasses the ability to worship one’s Creator and was fundamental to the American Founding.

The American system of religious freedom is unique and protected in the Constitution in two primary ways:

1. The Establishment Clause: This was a promise to the diverse Protestant traditions of the colonial era (Quaker, Presbyterian, Lutheran, etc.) that the US would not establish one specific denomination as the official state religion. The clause ensures that Congress shall not make a religion.
2. The Free Expression Clause: This is considered the most critical provision. It ensures the government has no right to interfere with an individual’s religious conscience, their ability to gather, assemble, and worship their Creator.

Losing religious freedom quickly leads to state control setting in. After giving one’s life to Jesus Christ (the most important act), the second most important thing a person must do is ensure they have the freedom to do that.

Virtue and the Necessity of a Religious People

The Founding Fathers designed the US system of self-government based on the premise that it is only possible with a moral and religious people. John Adams famously stated that the Constitution was written “solely for a moral and religious people” and is “wholly inadequate for the people of any other”.

• Limited Government Requires Self-Regulation: Limited government requires that individuals regulate their own decisions and conduct, particularly within religious communities, with the worship of God as a centerpiece of life.
• The Pursuit of Virtue: The Founders’ definition of liberty was the ability to pursue virtue without somebody obstructing the path. Virtue was fundamental to the American Founding.
• Christian Roots: The signers of the Declaration of Independence were overwhelmingly Christian; 55 out of 56 signers regularly attended church, and at least a dozen were pastors or held religious degrees.

The Judeo-Christian Ethic Defines “Good”

Kirk addresses the common argument that people can be virtuous atheists. While acknowledging that “good atheists” exist, he argues that they are practicing the Judeo-Christian ethic even if they won’t admit it.

Concepts of right, wrong, transcendence, and evil are rooted in the Christian tradition. For example, the definition of good includes growing closer to the Creator, defending the innocent, and telling the truth. Conversely, it is evil to call “good evil and evil good” or to turn your back on those who cannot defend themselves.

Freedom is not sustainable if religion, specifically Christianity, is removed. Without the belief in a transcendent order or divine revelation, society is ruled simply by senses or consciousness, leading toward a “survival of the fittest” or eugenicist mindset.

Exposing the “Separation of Church and State” Myth

The concept of the “separation of church and state” is widely misunderstood and often cited incorrectly as a constitutional mandate.

• Not a Foundational Document: The phrase is not found in the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, or the Federalist Papers.
• Historical Origin: The term originates in a single letter written by Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Convention.
• Modern Weaponization: It was adopted by the Warren Burger court in the 1960s and 1970s as justification to remove prayer from schools.
• Inconsistent Application: If the state truly believed in separation, it would not interfere with the church, such as when public health officials locked churches down during crises.

The Founding Fathers believed that Christians were needed to be “counselors to the king,” whispering advice to political leaders. When the church abdicates this moral role, society suffers the result. If the culture chooses to remove God from the throne, a vacuum is created, and the State assumes the role of “supreme dictator,” leading to totalitarian government.

The Mandate for Public Courage: Overcoming Fear

Fear is identified as a primary tactic used by the enemy to silence truth. When individuals succumb to this fear, they play directly into the opposition’s greatest weapon.

The single most important step for Christians is to be the same person publicly that they are privately. This means refusing to “put on the jersey of being kind of this like secular liberal” when at work or school. This pretense of living a lie is viewed as being just as damaging as telling an outright lie.

• Non-Conformity is Biblical: It is a biblical teaching to “not conform to the ways of this world” (Romans 12:8).
• The Testing Point: The moment a person feels a “knot in their stomach” when pressured or prodded to lie about a political, social, or religious matter is the testing point.
• The Cost of Truth: While being brash is unwise, Christians must tell the truth when asked or pressured. Kirk acknowledges that living truthfully comes at a cost, which may include losing a job or friends. Courageous and moral things rarely come without sacrifice.
• The Secret to Success: Living without separation or camouflaging one’s views is “liberating” and is the “secret to success”.
• Courage Rooted in Truth: Courage is only moral when it is rooted in truth. Since Jesus is the embodiment of truth, believers have God on their side, and their cause, if just, will shine.