Charlie Kirk: Martyr and Prophet?
Historically speaking, martyrdom is sometimes the express lane to canonization. And yes, Charlie Kirk is a martyr. The word in Greek means "witness." He was murdered, it is true, and more specifically, assassinated. These facts do not preclude martyrdom. If we think of Martin Luther King, Jr. as a martyr, or Janani Luwum (the Archbishop of Uganda who was murdered for opposing Idi Amin's dictatorship in Uganda), or Thomas a Becket (who was murdered at the Altar in Canterbury Cathedral when four Anglo-Norman knights took Henry II's outburst about "this meddlesome priest" rather too literally), then Charlie Kirk is a martyr as well. His public witness to his understanding of the Christian faith, including social doctrine, cost him his life. There are some Christians, particularly mainline Protestants, who will find his conservative, Evangelical expression of the Christian message unrecognizable. It's important to note such an assessment cuts both ways. As...