Charlie Kirk Bashes The Church, Claims Jews Are Called By God To Evangelize

One of the indicators to the shifting Overton window is the speech that becomes acceptable for Conservative Inc to utter, with some shifts being more genuine than others. With Gen Z becoming more polarized than any prior generation, it should be expected that the Conservative Inc outreach program would drift rightward to meet the young base where they are, which is to some extent the success of Charlie Kirk’s TPUSA.

Whereas before TPUSA prioritized economic messaging of free markets and fighting back against the communist left, they have shifted dramatically into the Culture War. This month, they sent their contributors to Davos to weigh in on the World Economic Forum. The question must be asked, is this a genuine shift, or is it a means of monetizing and perpetuating the political soap opera?

Idolatry of Israel

[H/T Daniel Schmidt @ College Dissident for all quotes]

One of the biggest inhibitors of US foreign policy is the idolatry of Israel, whereby US must unequivocally and unconditionally back the modern nation state of Israel above all else. Much of this is driven by Dispensational Theology, which places an unbiblical significance on modern Jews in relationship to the Church. Under the guise that the Jewish people have a unique claim to the Holy Land, this leads to billions in US foreign aid to a developed nation that possesses nuclear weapons.

During TPUSA’s Young Jewish Leadership Summit, which was held on December 16, 2022, Kirk stated the following before a crowd of presumably Jewish conservatives:

So a Christian that’s not pro-Israel, I doubt they actually love their Bible. And I will stand by that statement. If you are a Christian that doesn’t love Israel, then you take your Bible way, way, way too much for granted.

Where in the Bible does it dictate American foreign policy? This is fundamentally no different than saber rattling that tragically got Americans involved in World War 1, the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, and the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Nevermind that Israel promotes instability not peace in the Middle East while actively promoting abortion and homosexuality within the regions. Similar to Prager U, TPUSA would advocate against the sexual degeneracy of Drag Shows in America while turning a blind eye to the promotion of gayness within Israel. The same goes to opposing Joe Biden’s vaccine tyranny while ignoring the Covid tyranny of modern Israel, which was amongst the worst of all the nations.

I think that, you know, American Christians, of which I speak to churches all the time, need to continue to support Israel and the Jewish people

Why does the church need to continue supporting Israel and Jewish people? As a society, federal deficit spending is the primary driver of inflation, meaning we impoverish ourselves with reckless spending, of which foreign aid and conflicts play a major role. This is not to say Churches should not assist the poor with evangelistic and kingdom building intentions, yet Dispensationalism leads to a number of ministries that often advertise on TBN, Fox, or wherever, which prioritize “Christians and Jews working together to help impoverished Jews.” Kirk’s ideology would suggest that Jews do not require evangelism.

The idea that Jews are the chosen people, which you are the chosen people. But a rational question is then, what are you chosen to do? And I believe you’re chosen to bring the Word of God to as many people as possible. You’re chosen to obey God, to honor God, but you happen to be the messenger, the community, the nation, the people that God saw fit to bring his divine and transcendent commands.

Kirk would go on to say that Jews need to be more evangelistic in promoting their values, whatever those are, and that they were “chosen to bring the Word of God to as many people as possible.”

The Word of God already came in Human form. This is not the unforgivable sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit as Jesus describes in Luke 12:10; however, Charlie Kirk is instead insulting Christ’s bride, by attributing to modern Jews that which Scripture prescribed unto the Church. This is no different than the effeminacy of Jordan Peterson tearing up and calling Israel the “city on a hill” which is an explicitly Christian phrase derived from Matthew 5:14. At the end of the day, by contending that the Jews are the chosen people who have a mission from God, Charlie Kirk is advocating a universalism in which there is a path for Jews to Heaven apart from Christ. 

Contrarily, Scripture teaches that there is One people of God—the elect. Romans 9:8 states, “This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.” Romans 11:11-22 teaches that the unbelieving Jews were grafted out of the tree, and the faithful gentiles grafted in. There is only one olive tree, not two. People will happily quote Galatians 3:28, but in verse 29, Paul continues, “And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.” This means the promise bestowed to Abraham, who is mentioned nine times in Galatians, via his covenant with God are inherited by the Church. Lastly, John the Baptist, the forerunner to Christ declared in Matthew 3:8-10:

Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

There is only one people of God—The Church. No one gets to the Father but through Christ. It was never about being born to a chosen lineage. The ministry of Jesus consists of warnings much like John the Baptist states above, that those who do not bear fruit will be cast into the fire, that is hell. God does not send His children to hell; instead, He redeemed them through the blood of His son. He came for the lost sheep in the house of Israel, which includes disciples of all nations. Evidently, Charlie Kirk believes Jews do not require Jesus, the promised Messiah, to obey and honor God and that they can do so without believing in Christ.

Whether for monetary benefit or theological error, Charlie Kirk bowed the knee to a pagan religion, usurping the Church in the process. One cannot advocate America First while shilling for Israel, nor is worship of modern Israel consistent with the gospel.

TPUSA Faith and Sean Feucht

In addition to veering right and addressing the Culture War, TPUSA launched TPUSA Faith in 2022 to mobilize the faith community into political action. Likewise, Kirk has taken a more forthright stance in affirming the necessity of Christian values in politics and the spiritual problems at play in the broader culture. Throughout the year, Kirk participated in conference events that were hosted at Luke Barnett’s Dream City Church, which is a multi-campus, charismatic megachurch in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

Within political alliances, it can be expected that there is a semblance of ecumenicalism, loosely speaking. For example, Protestants and Catholics might coalesce regarding pro-life activism in state legislatures. Contrarily, it can be seen in the Pro Life Industry the pitfalls of ecumenical politics that is absent the more faith minded ministries like End Abortion Now.

In 2021, Turning Point had Jack Hibbs speak at their conference, in which we offered critique to historical inaccuracies in his message. Though imperfect, there was potential that a more faith driven direction for Turning Point would benefit the organization. Rather than lose their Christian flavor through broad ecumenicalism, TPUSA Faith will be captured under the umbrella of charismatic theology before it could even amass a broad coalition of believers. Though they have featured the likes of Virgil Walker, Voddie Baucham, and Samuel Sey, this content did not generate much notoriety.

For 2023, TPUSA Faith is partnering with Sean Feucht’s upcoming Kingdom to the Capitol tour, which is his follow up to “Let Us Worship.” The tour is designed to target state capitols and legislatures. Although it is unsurprising that Feucht’s political activism would cross paths with TPUSA, a sponsored tour goes beyond a podcast interview or speaking appearance at a given event. TPUSA’s faith movement is yoked to Feucht, and all the questions and controversy that surround him.

Conclusions

TPUSA’s shift into the culture war was a dramatic shift for the organization that was reticent towards social issues while promoting homosexuals like Rob Smith as conservatives. This shift tapped into an ongoing political rift on the right between the Evangelical Christian base and Conservative Inc, who desire a big tent and gradual liberalism. Though AmericaFest has risen in prominence as the Gen Z and Millennial version of CPAC, Turning Point USA is still Conservative Inc. until proven otherwise.

Helmed by Charlie Kirk, Turning Point is unlikely to rise above the horrendous theology of its captain, which is the fruit of hyper dispensationalism. Whether on Fox News, Twitter, or before Dream City Church, Kirk has no qualms about advocating Christianity in politics, but when placed before a crowd of Jews, he bends the knee and pays homage, perhaps because there is an incentive to do so. Unless he can rise against this flawed worldview, there is nothing to suggest the authenticity of Charlie Kirk being anything more than a grift who panders to Christians with shallow talking points.