In Scripture, the veil is significant and a reoccurring theme.
For Moses, the veil he was commanded to wear shielded him from God’s glory just enough that he could be in the Lord’s presence.
God also commanded the Israelites to fashion a veil to separate the Holy Place, where God resided, from the rest of the Tabernacle, and later Temple. The High Priest entered this place once a year, and God was seen clearly.
St. Matthew reports that when Christ was crucified, the veil was torn in two. St. Paul explains this to the Corinthians in this way: the veil was to shield God’s people from the calamity that was set before them because they did not have the boldness of Christ yet. However, Christ has split the veil so now, whenever someone turns their heart to the Lord, the truth is seen clearly.
“Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not see the end of the fading splendor. But their minds were hardened; for to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their minds; but when a man turns to the Lord the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
- 2 Corinthians 3:12-18 (RSV)
When The Earth Was Shattered
Yesterday, Charlie Kirk went to be with his Lord Jesus Christ. I’m not going to rehash the events, there’s no need, it’s the talk of the nation. This evil has particularly struck me. Charlie began speaking at colleges and gaining traction around the time I started college, so maybe it is because I heard him so much in such a formative time. We are also close in age and his kids are around the same age as mine, maybe that’s why.
But if I’m honest, what really strikes me is how it has become apparent many corners of Christianity in America has had a veil over their eyes for a long time.
Yesterday, when Charlie Kirk went to be with the Lord, that veil was lifted, at least temporarily. I truly believe this is because Christians everywhere went to the Lord in earnest prayer. The outpouring on social media was significant. I witnessed Christians who have never heard of Kirk or Turning Point USA lament and pray. I saw folks who I know have profound disagreements with the views Charlie espoused express they were turning to the Lord, lament, and pray.
The truth is Charlie Kirk was no racist, xenophobe, transphobe, Nazi, or any other pejorative commonly used before yesterday to describe him. That was the lie of the veil that went unopposed by so many who are not bold. He was a pretty run-of-the-mill traditional Christian from a Calvary Chapel background with traditional Christian beliefs about anthropology, marriage, and theology. He loved people and often witnessed about the love of Jesus Christ to those he engaged with in his work. He was a political conservative, and his views were not radical. Not only that, but he debated with people not to drown them out, but to bring ideas into the light and let reason win the day. Yes, of course he believed his opinions were correct, otherwise why would he espouse them? Don’t you believe you are correct and want others to come around to your preferred way of thinking? He was intelligent, composed, and respectful. He often quieted ‘his side’ to allow those who disagreed with him to have the floor, uninterrupted.
I shouldn’t even have to say this, but of course not all of his political opinions were correct. We all have wrong opinions about politics. Most political opinions are not transcendental truths that inform moral beliefs, however derived from truth, beauty, and goodness they may be. They are usually someone’s earnest but fallible opinion about the best way to guide a nation, state, or community.
Sometimes, though, someone’s earnest political opinion is immoral. The beliefs of the person who selfishly murdered Charlie Kirk are immoral. Murder, the taking of innocent life, is always wrong. Murder is an attempt to usurp God’s authority in matters of life and death.
As Christians, we have to be better about distinguishing what is good and true from immorality. When we hear the claim that another Christian is a [insert pejorative here] we must demand evidence. Because if it is true, it is a scandal. Even if the one being criticized is not a Christian, evidence is due for claims. It is unreasonable to not.
Why? Because if someone is falsely believed to be a [insert pejorative here], then the immoral, under Satan’s influence, will rise up and attempt to do evil in the name of their false morality.
I’ve specifically heard Charlie Kirk criticized by Christians before. Statements like: “I don’t agree with him being so mean about [insert pivotal Christian issue here]”, or “The way he talks about ____ isn’t loving”, or “People like him give Christians a bad name.” Christians have even taken up the prejorative labels like racist or woman-hater to describe him. I am sick to my stomach that I did not defend him or at least demand those saying these things give him the benefit of the doubt or produce evidence every time I heard something like that. Lord, forgive me.
Where did it happen? Cite the instance. Give the evidence. I’ve seen a good bit of his debate and campus tour content over the years, and I can’t remotely fathom it. The unpopular truth is American Christians often accept as default not speaking publicly on hard truths that violate the cultural status quo.
A Gospel Witness
Often cited is something akin to “we just have to be loving,” which means we can’t tell someone they are far from God unless we’ve established a deep friendship for many years and whisper about it over coffee, and by then they’ll have seen the light of Christ in us anyway and accepted something vaguely defined because of how good you loved them. This is a works-based salvation, where another’s salvation is dependent on our good works. (You won’t find this sort of “witnessing” anywhere in the Scriptures, by the way. That is not what is meant by being salt and light.)
Actually, when the Gospel is proclaimed, the Spirit moves to convict sinners. The Spirit is moving before we do anything. Really, we can’t save people. Only God can.
My friends, we cannot shirk from run-of-the-mill Christian beliefs.
“When [Charlie Kirk and I] had that breakfast in Phoenix, we didn’t talk much about politics. We talked about theology, in which he had a deep interest, and about Christ.”
- Bishop Robert Barron
It is not unloving to tell a person who believes they are transgender that God created them and is calling them to a much more beautiful life than one in which they destroy their bodies. The self-destruction of the body is evil.
It is not unloving to oppose the mutilation of children. It is evil.
It is not unloving to tell a person who believes they can only romantically and erotically love the same sex that God restores even sexuality and Christ lived a celibate life—in fact it was the pinnacle of humanity. Sexual immorality is evil.
It is not unloving to women (or men) to tell them that abortion is a heinous evil and God has so lovingly created every child who is a human life from conception. Murder is evil.
It is not unloving to talk openly about the goodness of marriage and the joy it brings in the face of feminism. Self-centeredness is evil.
I could go on and on.
These are not bigoted beliefs. They are at the core of the Christian faith. “Well, I wouldn’t say it like Charlie Kirk did”, one might object. Friends, few people are going to waltz into our churches and accept these world-shattering truths. Charlie went where the primary population who are suffering from these nefarious and evil deceptions are—colleges (and, by extension, online)—and witnessed to God’s truth. Yes, his vocation was politics, and no you do not have to agree with him on whatever pet political issue you have (I am honestly sick and tired of qualifying that, that ought to be always assumed), but he never shied away from the truth of Gospel when it mattered, and he was reasonable and kind. He was just unafraid to talk about things our culture says are unacceptable in polite conversation. He was not an evangelist like Billy Graham but because of his willingness to unapologetically address spiritual matters in his line of work, where there was overlap with politics and where there was no political agenda, God used him in a profound way. Maybe we should reflect deeply on why we acquiesce to our fallen culture’s demands and restrictions on polite conversation so easily. It stifles the proclomation of the Gospel.
So Easily Deceived
Moving forward, we cannot continue to let Christians be falsely accused of what our present culture views as the most heinous of crimes and not speak up. Words are not violence. So what if someone voices their conservative political opinions, too?
“You shall not go up and down as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand forth against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.”
- Leviticus 19:16 (RSV)
Ask yourself: what even is the source of claims like “This person is a transphobe” or “He hates women”? It’s often leftist secular media, social media, or provocateurs who take words out of context, use doublespeak, and weaponize subtlety to defame and misrepresent others. This is rumor-milling and gossip. Why would we default to their claims about a brother or sister in Christ, instead of listening directly to that brother or sister? The Father of Lies uses those who would ignore the Word of God to kill the truth (John 8:39-59). Why believe those who have opened themselves up to the Father of Lies? What kind of upside down logic have we been deceived into when we believe those who openly oppose God and not a baptized Christian?
I pray the veil is more than temporarily lifted, and the Overton window shifts. American Christians must stand boldly in the faith. You do not have to agree with someone line-by-line and point-by-point to give them the benefit of the doubt, or to understand none of us agree politically 100% of the time, or to understand that when the immovable truths of the Christian faith are at stake we cannot shirk. This ought to be how American Christians operate. That is what Charlie Kirk did with everyone, Christian and non-Christian alike, who disagreed with him. He let them speak for themselves and not through media, rumor mills, and gossip. He also told them the truth, the best way he knew how, and with respect to boot. We can not go back to how things were before, or we will have more days like yesterday. Punching right and speaking softly to the left is not acceptable, it enables evil.
Pray for Charlie’s wife, who has lost her husband. Pray for Charlie’s two young and beautiful children, who lost their father. Every time I see a picture of him with his little ones, my heart breaks and I can’t help but come to tears.
Lord, have mercy.