Baptist Standard: Turning Point Event Exposes Rifts in Religious Right
Any possible respect I might have had for Charlie Kirk and his Turning Point USA political organizartion disappeared when, early on, he had Donald Trump Jr. as a speaker. At one of their rallies in Phoenix, held in the auditorium of an Assembly of God church, Don Jr. criticized one of the core principles preached and taught by Jesus himself when he declared that following Jesus' example, to "turn the other cheek" was an ineffective strategy for "getting anywhere in this world."
That's a disqualifying comment for any group labelling itself "Christian." If you look at Turning Point's core values, and what Kirk has said over the course of his involvement with the organization, there is a whole lot more, among his assertions, statements, and comments made in speeches and public appearances, that removes any doubt as to the fact that "Turning Point" and "Christian" are oxymorons. Kirk is pseudo-Christian, using a lot of language familiar to conservative Christians but, as the Apostle Paul warned Timothy, "having the form of Godliness, but denying its power."
It's not surprising that a political group with its roots in conservative Evangelical theology and doctrine would miss the mark when it comes to discerning Christian truth. Evangelicalism's theological and doctrinal structure is built on core beliefs that are not accurate interpretations of true Christian faith, but are, instead, a modern aberration that fails to consider the historical and cultural context in which scripture was written before trying to interpret it. The literal "verse by verse" approach to interpretation, along with the claim, not made by any of the Bible's writers, that it is without error in its original manuscripts, and that it is infallible in its content, skews the actual meaning behind what was written. Verses are reference points, not complete thoughts in some kind of order.
The recent AmeriFest event in Phoenix, an annual event sponsored by Turning Point USA, shows how confused and fragmented those Kirk pulled into the organization have become since his death, if they ever were really interested in anything more than hanging on to his coattails.
According to Kathryn Post, of Religion News Service, "The movement's cohesion has been tested in recent months by Tucker Carlson's controversial interview with antisemitic internet influencer Nick Fuentes and by disputes over America's support for Israel."
"It's also been shaken," she said, "over ongoing revelations of tying Trump world figures to sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein and by roiling conspiracy theories, such as former Trump advisor Candace Owens' suggestion that Turning Point USA is complicit in its own co-founder's murder."
Post noted that Erica Kirk acknowledged these rifts in her opening remarks, warning about their effect on the organization, but that these warnings largely went unheeded by the array of speakers, like Ben Shapiro, Carlson, former White House strategist Steve Bannon and journalist Megyn Kelly who each took turns in their speaking slots swiping at each other.
Well, thieves do have a tendency to fall out, you know.
And if you're billing yourself as a theologically correct, conservative, Christian organization, shouldn't the speaking line-up reflect this perspective? None of those speakers have credentials connecting them to Christian theology and practice, only conservative political beliefs, on the extreme edges of MAGA, at that. There's nothing Christian about any of them, or the content of their regular harrangues.
But then, there wasn't much orthodox, Biblical Christianity in anything Kirk spoke about, or debated, or argued, or asserted, either. Pseudo-Christian is an accurate description of both Kirk and Turning Point. It completely ignores the cultural and historical contexts necessary to interpret the Bible accurately in order to discern its meaning. And that's deliberate, I think, because they're not interested in orthodox, Biblical Christian belief, principle or practice. They are only interested in using its followers to advance their own politics.
And this December AmeriFest gathering is an excellent illustration of that, along with the fact that there is no longer any real leadership in the organization focused on its mission and purpose.
