Responding to the Assassination of Charlie Kirk

The assassination of Charlie Kirk has shaken Christian communities across the U.S. and beyond. In this episode of No Hard Feelings, Jess (Melbourne), Emily (Texas), and Kristen (Tennessee) sit with the grief, confusion, and deep polarization surrounding Kirk's death.

Together, we ask: how do we resist letting tragedy harden us into tribalism? How do we hold the tension between condemning violence and naming the real harm of Kirk's rhetoric? And what does it mean to choose love over retaliation in an age of outrage?

In this conversation, we explore:

• Why reactions to Kirk's death split so quickly into polarized "camps"

• The role of social media algorithms in fueling anger and division, with insights from Jonathan Haidt (The Coddling of the American Mind).

• Mark Noll's critique of evangelical anti-intellectualism in The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind.

• A pastoral response from Kristin Mockler Young, reminding us that empathy in the face of enmity is a supernatural calling

• Reflections on collective grief, generational impact, and the temptation to idolize or demonize leaders.

• Why stepping away from online debates and reclaiming in-person conversations might be our best path forward.

This is not an easy conversation — but in No Hard Feelings fashion, we try to hold complexity, honor grief, and root ourselves in love.

Sources:

https://jimrigby.substack.com/p/my-prayer-today-in-a-liberal-church

https://tialevings.substack.com/p/evangelicals-are-venerating-charlie

https://www.straightwhiteamericanjesus.com/episodes/political-violence-before-and-after-charlie-kirks-murder/

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/ladies-we-need-to-talk/misogyny-sexism-ai-ladies-we-need-to-talk/105775024

https://turningthegem.substack.com/p/one-pastors-response-to-the-effect

https://www.aei.org/society-and-culture/the-unraveling-how-political-violence-reveals-americas-fraying-social-fabric/