Charlie Kirk’s death has sparked a national conversation about his words. As evangelicals hail him as a martyr, others point to the harm he caused through the racist, sexist, homophobic, violence-celebrating remarks he made during his life.
Pastor Howard John Wesley of Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va., said, “I’m overwhelmed seeing the flags of the United States of America at half-staff calling this nation to honor and venerate a man who was an unapologetic racist and spent all of his life sowing seeds of division and hate into this land.”
He added, “How you die does not redeem how you lived.”
AI-generated image of Charlie Kirk in heaven.
Many people on the right apparently are unaware of the hateful words Kirk said during his life. They think he was simply a good Christian Republican who all the mean, leftist God-haters don’t like. So they’re acting defensively to support their team.
Others know full well what Kirk said and have embraced his cruelty as their gospel.
But there’s another odd trend that’s beginning to spring up. Rather than reflecting on the words Kirk said during his life, evangelicals are creating AI videos of Kirk talking to evangelicals after his death.
‘Blessed are the persecuted’
“I’m Charlie,” one video opens with the image of Kirk in a room with a black background, as a piano calmly plays a somber sounding version of the Hillsong worship hit “Oceans.” “My faith cost me my life. But now I stand forever in glory with those who also stood firm.”
Then the AI Kirk adds, “So at this time, I’d like to introduce you to some of my brothers and new friends.” Notice he doesn’t introduce evangelicals to any of his sisters. That’s pretty on brand.
“My name is Paul,” says a balding, bearded old man in a first-century robe. “And I was beheaded for the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Then a scraggly, longhaired man in stained clothes adds, “My name is Andrew. And I was crucified for following the cross of Christ.”
“My name is Stephen,” a focused, younger man says. Then as the camera zooms in, he defiantly adds, “And I was stoned for proclaiming Christ as Lord.”
“My name is Peter,” an old man weakly shares in a voice that invokes sadness. “And I was crucified for my faith in Jesus.”
Then AI Kirk comes back into view and confidently exhorts: “My brothers and sisters, root yourself in a Bible-believing church. Pray for your enemies, for our battle is spiritual. It is time to awaken your faith. Rise up. Speak truth without fear. And overwhelm the world with Jesus.”
The video ends with an image of AI Kirk and his four martyr friends staring into the camera with the caption, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:10.”
‘Don’t mourn … double down.’
Dream City Church in Phoenix jumped into the mix with a post-death AI video of its own on Sunday. This is the Pentecostal church Kirk and his family attended.
“Really, all AI is they take the fulness of a man’s words recorded and they crunch all that together and they answer a question the way he may answer it,” Dream City Pastor Luke Barnett explained.
Dream City Pastor Luke Barnett
“First, I want you to know I’m fine,” AI Kirk began as the auditorium filled with dim blue lights and the image of Kirk smiling with the words “Well Done, Charlie” on screen. “Not because my body is fine, but because my soul is secure in Christ.”
Cheers began to erupt in the congregation.
“Death is not the end,” AI Kirk continued. “It’s a promotion. Don’t waste one second mourning me. I knew the risks of standing up in this cultural moment and I’d do it all over again. Second, do not let this violence divide us further. The enemy wants chaos, fear and retaliation. Don’t give it to them. Instead, double down on truth. Double down on courage. Double down on your faith and on your families. That is how you honor me. Third, remember this. America is worth it. Free speech is worth it. Fighting for the unborn, for families, for sanity in a culture gone mad, it is all worth it.”
Then he concluded: “So dry your tears, pick up your cross, and get back in the fight. Do it with joy. Do it with strength. And never ever let evil think it won.”
The congregation roared with applause.
Code language
“Isn’t it cool that a computer can take what really mattered to a man and spit it out and say, ‘This is what my life stood for’? I think that’s pretty cool,” Pastor Barnett said.
Of course, these AI videos don’t share Kirk’s dehumanizing words about Black people, women, LGBTQ people or immigrants. They don’t show Kirk talking about televising Coca-Cola-sponsored decapitations for 12-year-olds to watch or calling for the death penalty for President Joe Biden.
Instead, they present a veneer of hope and joy in resurrection while subtly speaking in code to convince white evangelicals they’re being persecuted by insane, baby-killing Democrats and they need to avoid lament and instead double down on the cause, which is a fight.
“The early church, they experienced the most explosive growth when Christians were thrown in the coliseum being fed to lions,” Barnett told his Arizona congregation. “President Trump just said, ‘There’s an assault out on Christianity in America, a bias toward Christ,’ and this happens the very next day. Isn’t it amazing? So we really are in a spiritual war.”
Of course, there’s no reflection on how Kirk’s white evangelicalism plays the role of the Roman Empire toward the oppressed today.
Just as the Right compares opposition to Trump with the crucifixion of Jesus, so did Barnett. “They beat him. They tortured him,” he reminded the church about Jesus amidst calling Kirk a martyr.
For leaders like Barnett, the response to Kirk’s death is decidedly political. “We’re going to proclaim with more of a clarion call than ever before that marriage is between a man and a woman. We’re going to proclaim like never before that there are only two sexes, male and female. And God decides that at your birth,” he said during Dream City’s Wednesday service.
Then looking directly at the camera, the pastor threatened, “You’ve just unleashed the dragon! You’ve unleashed the Kraken!”
Rick Pidcock is a 2004 graduate of Bob Jones University, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Bible. He’s a freelance writer based in South Carolina and a former Clemons Fellow with BNG. He completed a Master of Arts degree in worship from Northern Seminary. He is a stay-at-home father of five children and produces music under the artist name Provoke Wonder. Follow his blog at www.rickpidcock.com.
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