At Charlie Kirk’s memorial service his wife Erika in the midst of deep sorrow accorded us all an extraordinary moment of unconditional Christian forgiveness. “That young man, I forgive him,” she said. “I forgive him because it is what Christ did and it is what Charlie would do. The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the gospel is love and always love, love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.”
Mrs. Kirk displayed great faith and courage in saying this, catching the attention of all sorts. Even Jimmy Kimmel noticed, calling it “a very beautiful moment…a selfless act of grace, forgiveness from a grieving widow.” As we know, just minor forgiveness can be oh so hard. Yet, utter forgiveness is what Jesus calls us to do in Matthew 6:14-15 and 18:21-22, Luke 6:37 and 23:34, and Mark 11:25, and the Bible from Leviticus to 1 John. Regrettably, Mrs. Kirk’s faithfulness was not universally shared by other speakers at the service. One in particular stands out. The last speaker was President Donald Trump who spoke fondly of Charlie Kirk and his impact on the MAGA movement. He also noted that when Kirk spoke to students who disagree with him he had no hesitancy. “I’m not here to fight them – I want to know them and love them,” he quoted Kirk as saying. Describing Kirk, the president also said, “He was a missionary with a noble spirit and a great purpose. He did not hate his opponents; he wanted the best for them. That’s where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponents. I don’t want the best for them.” “I hate my opponents,” said the President of the United States. Such a dark statement cannot be overlooked or minimized.
A sitting president professing hatred toward citizens who oppose him should alarm true patriots. A favorite of evangelicals proclaiming “I hate” should shock all true Christians. Neither outcome appears to be likely. As columnist David Brooks laments, we have “entered an era of dark passions.” We allow hate to pervade social media and infect our politics every day. The late, great Billy Graham equated hatred with murder, drawing on the Bible verse 1 John 3:15 which states, "Whoever hates his brother is a murderer." He believed the "poisonous venom of hatred and bitterness" harms people and their souls. I dare say it will also harm our nation and its sprit. Sadly, Trump seems to know better. Following his contrary comment he said, “Charlie’s angry. He’s angry at me now.” “Love your enemies” – Luke 6:27, Matthew 5:44. Crawford is an author and syndicated columnist from Jackson.
30 comments:
Interesting that Bill conveniently forgot the two assasination attempts on Trump that were fueled by the same hateful rhetoric on the left that guided Charlie’s assassination. Very convenient indeed. Not really since Bill himself is nothing more than a propaganda mouthpiece.
Pretty embarrassing week to be American…unhinged Trump loses it at the UN and classless Ryder Cup fans match their team’s pathetic performance. Make America Likeable Again
Back at ya, Bill. “Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.” Malachi 1:2-3
And our government is so dysfunctional that it continually shuts down annually due to political incompetence on both sides. Yet many of these same idiot politicians lament that government should be run like a business. Don’t know of any businesses that shut down when the board has a policy dispute. Pitiful and gutless leadership on both sides.
I tolerate Trump as I did my many Commanders in my Military career that were ignorant assholes, he too will wither away! My God Bless America!
More like attention seekers, that left wing zealots otherwise their politics would warrant a FOX news special.
@9:45, what years did you serve?
Who is Bill's audience? Boomers? Some Gen X? RINOs? But that is it.
I did not like that Trump said that, but that is who is he is and we all know that.........SOOOOO, when do you write the column on all the individuals that are continually calling others nazis and fascists, when they are obviously not that? Just wondering
of course trump hates his opponents and doesn't wish the best for them.
i dont wish to pop your balloon but thats a big part of being president of the united states.
i liked kirk and i supported his positions, but what he did for a living was a far cry from bring president of the united states.
politics is a blood sport , as is dealing with rouge nations and sometimes it gets ugly.
to 9:45.... one big difference........trump was elected , your ''commanders'' were not.
Nobody expects Mr. Trump to be a Christian. He's the President. We had a Christian President with Carter and that didn't turn out so well. At least Trump is brutally honest.
Taken out of context.
Evidently Bill can add to his list of deficiencies a lack of the recognition of contrast and subtleties. Even if Trump were to taken literally Trump has seen two attempts on his life, a law created specifically in a an attempt to bankrupt him, a prosecution under a law that hasn't been enforced in over 100 years to try to imprison him, his very intelligent and high functioning son called autistic by the media, etc.
But rather than to cut Trump some slack (even if taken literally) Bill decides to pile on more. Crawford is a waste of bandwidth.
KF, please replace Bill Crawford with former columnist James Tulp who brought cogency and insight to his JJ columns.
Trump is doing exactly what the majority of people elected him to do. Stop pretending that the majority of this nation doesn’t want this. Kamala would be president if we wanted a leftist useful idiot.
I confess that I stopped reading Bill Crawford a long time ago. Reading Crawford is simply a waste of time. On a lark, I read this column.
Wow, reading Crawford makes watching MTV seem productive. I'll plan not to waste any more time here.
@12:54
James Tulp performed his pantomime well and was rewarded with a high paying job at Baker Donelson.
I doubt he will try to alienate any current and future clients with more right-wing political performances.
He might make a comeback to the political grift if things don’t work out at BD.
What do you think Biden thought about MAGA supporters?
11:43 just saying they won’t be around forever just like me. They come and go!
10:10 I served from 1975-2005 and supported and served all presidents because that was my oath! If Trump was President when I served I would have supported him also!
Bill should examine the log in his own eye
If Trump loved his enemies that would not make him any better at his job. It might even make him worse at being the cutthroat effective SOB he needs to be. His job is all we care about, not his soul or his Christianity. If we did he would not have gotten elected.
Honest is honest. If we love the Lord, we are commanded to hate evil. The turn the other cheek ministry will lost as it has throughout history. Only violence will determine the outcome of good versus evil. Buckle up.
One who speaks truth. As long as he does what we want, we will look the other way. Whether it’s legal or not matters not.
@Anonymous 4:07 - the outcome of Good vs. Evil has already been determined by the man who called for turning the other cheek. The same man who said, in Matthew 5 (the Sermon on the Mount): 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven."
As it says in Romans 12: 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Legality is for SCOTUS to decide.
@115 Trump didn't get a majority of the votes. He won without a majority.
11:43 FOR THE WIN
and when it does get ugly, and it will, trump is the man to call.
he was not elected to be a choir boy.
he was elected to be the 911 for this country.
my father used to say ''somebody got to be the SOB''
and trump is the somebody.
and as archie used to say.........................''case closed''.
OH crap
it had to happen
been a reader here since 2010
the bible thumpers/ quoters have finally shown up.
Bill has taken the place of Bill Minor here in Mississippi, constantly “penning away” on his next column against Republicans.
Democrats have literally become the party of evil. Lawlessness, crime and perversion are their MO’s. But what does Bill Crawford do? Bill finds a way to complain about the National Guard being used against crime to SAVE LIVES. When, like Bill does, one takes the side of evil, verses saving innocent lives, isn’t this much worse than hating those who do evil things?
P.S. has Bill Crawford ever written a column condemning the haters on the left that call us Nazis, Fascists, etc.? Has Bill Crawford ever written a column condemning leftist haters like Jimmy Kimmel, that make up lies including that the Charlie Kirk shooter was MAGA? That stir the pot knowing that the pot stirring carries the risk of inflaming more violence?
For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Romans 13:4
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