Language was pretty rough in this video, but, actually, I didn't see or hear anything that I disagreed with that should not be used as an illustrative "reality" of what is really happening... I'd never heard of this man; once I heard just a few comments, I was shocked...Is this a martyr for Jesus Christ?
NOT...
Michael A. Smith
Associate Adjunct Professor at University of Maryland Global Campus Writer
At the funeral of Charlie Kirk, a moment of grace unfolded. Erika Kirk, grieving her husband’s death, stood before mourners and publicly forgave his killer. Her words echoed the radical ethic of Jesus—“Father, forgive them”—spoken from a cross soaked in injustice. It was a rare and luminous act of Christian witness.
Then President Donald J. Trump took the podium.
“I am sorry, but I hate my opponents. I do not want the best for them,” he said.
The contrast could not have been more jarring. One voice offered forgiveness in the face of violence. The other rejected the very notion of loving one’s enemies. And yet, it is the latter voice that continues to command the loyalty of millions of American Christians.
This is not a new contradiction. In 2016, when many evangelicals hesitated to support Trump, three prominent ministers—Franklin Graham, Jerry Falwell Jr., and James Dobson—met with him for fifteen minutes and emerged declaring him a Christian. Their imprimatur gave permission for a seismic shift in evangelical ethics: from grace to grievance, from humility to hubris.
Since that day, these leaders have watched a man whose daily rhetoric contradicts the Christ they claim to follow. And still, they remain silent—or worse, complicit.
Trump’s words at the Kirk funeral were not a slip of the tongue. They were a window into a worldview that sees enemies not as people to be loved, but as obstacles to be crushed. It is a worldview that has seeped into pulpits, pews, and political platforms. And it stands in direct opposition to the Gospel.
Jesus forgave his enemies. He welcomed a criminal into paradise. He taught that love for enemies is not optional; it is the mark of divine sonship. To abandon that ethic is to leave the cross itself.
I added the following on YouTube's video by Powell, sharing the history of this song and my personal connection ...This song was often used as a call to the church at the end of the service. It was a time that we could choose to join the church-- or ask for prayer or some other type of help needed. I joined at age 13... And I was involved with the music program--piano, singer for the rest of my life... Using this video to support today's post at Book Readers Heaven, 9/23/2025 when a historian speaks about today's world... And, I sang at one national gospel of the Billy Graham Group, where this song was used... as the call to come at the end/beginning of our relationship with Christ. It was held in a local stadium near Pittsburgh, PA... One of the highlights of my memories!
So what has happened to the thousands of Christians who now cheer hatred and mock forgiveness? What has happened to the church that once sang “Just as I am” and meant it?
A favorite solo for me...
They trample underfoot the very blood that saved them.
This is not just a theological crisis—it is a moral one. The credibility of Christian witness in America is at stake. If forgiveness is weakness and hatred is strength, then the church has lost its way.
!!!
But there is still time. Erika Kirk’s words remind us that grace is not dead. It is still possible to choose the way of Christ over the way of Caesar. It is still possible to repent—not just personally, but collectively.
The question is whether we will.
And Other News...
Out Today!
Excerpt shared soon...
Thanks again to Professor Michael A. Smith for sharing his thoughts on important issues!
God Bless
Gabby
It's Here... Again...
Now that the U.S. and China are talking, apparently somebody thinks it is nearing the Rapture... Again!
I read the Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey in the 80s!
I was ready to be taken in the first group! Nothing Happened!
That was the end of my acceptance of the supposed Rapture...
Now I know...God is Here Already!
In each of Us who has Opened Our Hearts to Him!
Do your research... God has never said there was a date for the second coming...
But he did say that he would come to each of us
I was one of the lucky ones that took His Promise literally
He's been within Me since Age 13...
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