There is no doubt that horrific events happen in this world. We witnessed that this past week in the killing of Charlie Kirk and also another school shooting. Many of you are old enough to remember previous assassinations in the 1960’s. I can remember the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in the 1980’s. Charlie Kirk was simply attempting to engage with college and university students on an intellectual level regarding the major issues of our day. Dialoguing goes back to the ancient world. He was doing nothing new and certainly nothing wrong.
Debate, discussion, and dialogue between opposite positions is a good and healthy practice. As Christians who hold to certain positions and beliefs, we should seek to understand where those who hold different views are coming from. This is called intellectual honesty. Sadly, we live in a day where there is not a lot of intellectual honesty on either side of the political aisle. It is much easier and seems to be more effective to take speeches out of context in order to spin something heinous about your political or even religious opponent. If you think about the trial of Jesus for a moment, you can see this wicked activity. The false witnesses against Jesus stated that he said he would destroy the temple and then raise it up in three days. In Scripture, we have the context of what Jesus actually said. He was speaking not of the building that stood in Jerusalem but of his own body.
I believe that we are at a place in our history where most people have either forgotten or never learned how to have a real and honest discussion about matters important in our lives and to our nation. In a debate, you can always tell when someone has lost. They either start using straw man argumentation, they yell and scream, or they try to distract from the original issue. That tactic is called a red herring. Most debate, discussion, and dialogue in our day ends with the losing party using ad hominem attacks. Instead of addressing the issue, they call names. They attack the person rather than the argument. What we saw on September 10, 2025, was the ultimate ad hominem. When words no longer work, a bullet does the job.
What that should tell us loudly is that the foundations are eroding in our society. We are supposed to have in this country freedom of speech which is the open exchange of ideas. Now, because most people cannot rationally engage in debate, discussion, and dialogue usually nothing but mudslinging is accomplished. This is a dark time for us and will get darker for our children and grandchildren if something does not change.
I believe the foundational issue that many Americans have forgotten is that we are created beings. And because we have a creator, we are under authority. And because we are under the authority of our creator, we will one day give an account for our actions. Every debate, discussion, and dialogue comes down to one single issue ultimately. On what authority are we standing on and making our argument from? For the Christian, our ultimate authority is God and we learn God’s will and God’s thoughts in Scripture. Understanding the Bible helps us understand the world in which we live and how we are to live and act in it. Christians should and must view other people as those who have been created in the image of God. Whatever God says in His Word is true and right for us and we are to submit ourselves to that.
Charlie Kirk believed that. He debated that way. And he was killed for it. No matter what side of the religious or political perspective you are on, that is terrible news for our society. Ask yourself this question. What is my authority? Is it God and His Word? Or is it your own limited intellectual capacity? Or is it even the collective limited intellectual capacity of your side of the aisle? For Christians and really for everyone else, there is only one true authority and that is the God of the Bible. This is why the Proverbs teach us that the fear of the Lord is not the end of wisdom, but rather the beginning of it. Pray for our nation.
Joe Tolin
Kingman Presbyterian Church
