Matthew Boedy is a professor of rhetoric and composition at the University of North Georgia, a leading expert on Turning Point USA and its founder, Charlie Kirk, and the author of an important and alarming new book The Seven Mountains…
After Charlie Kirk’s death, Rev. Barber says discussions should be ‘rooted in truth’
Rev. William Barber said in an interview with Morning Edition that the job of ministers like himself is to “call out” divisive, dishonest language from those in power. “We have to have a strong moral voice rooted in our values,…
When Violence Is the Vibe
For some of us, this brings a sense of foreboding that goes beyond the deaths of these human beings made in the image of God. It portends a country seemingly on the brink of something unspeakably dark.
Erika Kirk will lead Turning Point USA, Sunday memorial planned
Charlie Kirk’s widow will take over leadership of Turning Point USA, the organization said Sept. 18. Erika Kirk will serve as CEO and chair the group’s board of directors. An announcement from the board said Charlie Kirk had said he…
The making of a martyr
The gunshot that killed Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University Sept. 10 changed everything. The conservative activist’s assassination tornadoed through America’s Christian nationalist movement, which reeled at the loss of one of its greatest warriors in a battle for the soul…
White pastors lash out at Black pastor’s comments on Charlie Kirk
White Calvinist pastors in the Southern Baptist Convention are attempting to cancel a Black Southern Baptist pastor because they don’t like what he said about Charlie Kirk. Tom Buck, a Southern Baptist gadfly who is pastor of First Baptist Church…
Here’s the real context for understanding Charlie Kirk
Charlie Kirk supporters have spent the better part of a week lambasting writers like me for allegedly quoting him “out of context,” so I’m giddy at the prospect of discussing context. The No. 1 criticism received at BNG over the…
The First Amendment is for we, not just thee
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees five related freedoms, and all five are under attack today by the Republican Party. That is not a partisan statement; it is a fact. The modern-day GOP, overtaken by Donald Trump and…
Charlie Kirk’s Christianity Was Caesar’s, Not Christ’s
When right-wing commentators like Charlie Kirk drape Christianity in the garb of American capitalism, they betray the very essence of the faith.
After Charlie Kirk’s murder, the US might seem hopelessly divided – is there any way forward?
If the U.S. is going to heal its civic life through dialogue, I think it will require Americans to not just speak with those they disagree with, but to listen to them as well.
Two AI videos depict Charlie Kirk in heaven as a martyr
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…
On Charlie Kirk, selective outrage and a church that refuses to tell the truth
When the news broke that Charlie Kirk had been shot and killed, I did what I often try to do. I asked a question. It wasn’t celebratory. It wasn’t cruel. It wasn’t wishing violence on anyone. I simply asked how Christians…