To Mrs. Erika Kirk and Turning Point USA:
I hope that this letter finds you well and in good Christmas spirit. I imagine this year’s festivities carry more than a little sorrow after the loss of Charlie in September. I can only say that you all have been in our prayers since that dreadful day. I am appalled at the attacks that began that horrible day, and I wrote about them in my article in October, “Underestimating Jezebel” (Underestimating Jezebel – Maranatha Full Gospel Church). The rhetoric was becoming increasingly vitriolic, and (for lack of a better word) demonic.
As much as I appreciated TPUSA’s, and particularly Charlie’s, Christian worldview and ethic, his work and yours was (and is) primarily known for its political organizing on college campuses and other places, rallying a new generation of youth to vote for conservative candidates and causes. I appreciated the fact that Charlie made it his personal ministry to go and engage the youth, a facet of ministry that many churches and denominations gave up on. He seemed to believe that the Christian kids who had left their churches just needed to be revived, and they would be like a sleeping giant rising, a force that was nearly unstoppable.
He was right to a certain extent on that point, but if the endgame of politics is to get the largest number of people to the ballot box on election day who will vote your way… then Christian evangelism and apologetics take a secondary consideration. Charlie, and others like him, had to make alliances and compromises with non-Christian, non-Biblical elements.
To his credit, Charlie never compromised his Faith and testimony. And he personally kept up his spiritual disciplines such as attending a Bible believing church and maintaining a personal devotion time in Bible study and prayer. I heard that there were prayer teams in TPUSA, people who were engaged in intercessory prayer, because of the reality of spiritual warfare. Very good. It shows that Charlie was paying serious attention when he read Ephesians 6:10-13:
“Finally my brethren be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to with stand in the evil day, and having done all to stand.”
It is important to understand this point. Not everyone who claims to be followers of Jesus Christ recognize this warfare, or the reasons behind it or for it. It implies that there is a supernatural power of resistance against the cause of Jesus Christ and His Church. The Apostle Paul makes it very clear that the reason for being prepared to face that resistance was because the chance of falling into failure against that resistance, the powers of darkness, was very high. The Holy Spirit would gift the Believer with the armor to resist that power, and to overcome it.
It is interesting that Paul speaks of this warfare as a climax of a letter to the Church at Ephesus. He addressed the individual Believer, the Believing Family, and then the Church as a whole. The final part of the letter is the above passage. The idea that the Apostle reveals is that the Church as a whole has to face this spiritual enemy and that every member is part of that warfare and must be 100% committed to that warfare.
From what I read, Charlie was a very strong believer who attended Holy Spirit filled churches such as Godspeak Calvary Chapel in Newbury Park, California, and Dream City in Phoenix, Arizona. Those are Pentecostal/Full Gospel Churches whose theology and practice not only allow for the dynamics of Holy Spirit endowed ministry according to the Bible, but also the possibility for people to fall away from the Truth. I did not say that our theology encourages failure, but recognizes its possibility. It is an area where Calvinists and Arminian will differ; Irresistible Grace vs Free Will.
We argue humanity does have the choice between walking with the Holy Spirit or yielding to Sin. From that standpoint, we believe people can fall away from the Faith. Or to put it more bluntly, lose their Salvation. But it happens because of willful choices.
That does not mean that God has changed, but rather human hearts can be tempted into spiritual failure and/or apostasy.
“Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:29-32.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, lord, did we not prophecy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’” Matthew 7: 21-23.
Pentecostal theology and doctrine recognize that Salvation and Sanctification are both works done by the Trinity working on this Earth: the Holy Spirit, the Water of the Word of God, and Blood of Jesus (I John 5:7-8). Eternal security goes in tandem with one’s relationship to God through the Holy Spirit. Salvation, and subsequently Sanctification, are works done by the Trinity every day until death takes us from this world, or until Jesus returns for His Church in the clouds (what we call the Rapture).
“Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE, HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME AND WILL NOT DELAY. BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.” Hebrews 10:35-39.
For those who come from a Calvinistic bent, they may disagree with the idea, but as a matter of Practical Theology, I believe that we Pentecostal are not only right, but more consistent as well, especially in recent times.
Charlie Kirk walked with and made alliances and relationships with many figures who are in mass media and politically involved as well as those in different and disparate Christian Denominations, and non-Christians. In these United States, I am well aware that conservative minded Believers from just about every Christian denomination come together during election times for issues and candidates and that we can find agreement. But regarding the Truth of the Word of God, and especially the dynamics of the Holy Spirit… I’m sorry, consensus does not work. This is point must be very clear as we address the proverbial “elephant in the room:” Candace Owens.
I remember watching them work together in the earlier years, only 10 years ago, like comrades in arms. The blazed a trail in this nation and in England standing against the woke ideologues and ideologies that plagued this nation. Candace called out BLM and its fraud when many other people stuck their heads in the ground in 2020. I applauded her principled stand, and she was well honored by many a conservative church, ministry, colleges, and political groups. She was close friends with many people besides Charlie, luminaries such as Allie Beth Stucky, Matt Walsh, Brett Cooper, Officer Brandon Tatum, Larry Elder, and others. She joined the Daily Wire, but I knew that the type of driven person that she was would not work in such a group such as DW. The best collaboration she had was with Charlie Kirk and TPUSA.
They were close, so much so that in the early years, I often wondered why they were not more intimate. They maintained a type of brother/sister relationship to the point of being involved with each other’s decisions when it came to choosing their individual partners. George Farmer for Candace. You, Erika, for Charlie.
In my culture, one had better think twice not just about marrying outside one’s ethnicity, but especially one’s religion, especially if they are Christians. Differences in churches can become a serious problem. I know that those rules do not apply in the wild West, but it would be better if people started considering those rules of engagement more often. George Farmer is Roman Catholic, and Candace was Baptist. Last year, she made a big deal of converting to Roman Catholicism. And this too after she hosted a debate on her podcast between her friend Allie Beth Stucky and George Farmer.
At the time, I thought it was only a matter of time before she would convert, after all, how long could a family continue if on the matter of worship, they were on two disparate sides? I felt she was free to choose whichever church she wanted, but that she should be honest about it. It was not a matter of Truth as much as it was for convenience. The argument Farmer made about his Roman Catholic faith had more to do with Tradition than what the Bible says. We maintain that no tradition, no pope, no church institution, no priest, no historical precedent, no sacrament can save, only the Trinity can. Jesus Christ is the ultimate and only Sacrifice for sin. It is paid for once and for all. The ordinances or sacraments of the Church are not means for Salvation, but rather memorials to the One who paid the ultimate price and died on the Cross of Calvary and the Resurrected from the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea on the third day.
We recognize that there are many Catholic adherents who are fine upstanding people who live decent lives and do much good for the society in which they live (like many in other religious traditions). If we cannot agree, then we will respectfully disagree. And we will pray for their Salvation!
Candace went on a religious offensive against conservative evangelicals and protestant churches. Granted, some of that was earned, but the tone and tenor became vitriolic, even mocking. Perhaps many of us were intimidated by her, not necessarily by her arguments as much as the fact that she has a large podcast following that can be turned into a private army in the battlefield of public scorn. It is telling that Candace did not invite preachers and teachers like the late Dr. John MacArthur or others to make their points on her podcast. This is not to belittle Allie Beth Stuckey, but no offence, she is not in the category of preachers and teachers like MacArthur or Dr. Al Mohler who would have struck head on against her conversion to Roman Catholicism. But for the most part, almost no one raised any objections on this matter. She was free to make her life decisions. I would say that she should have considered the questions regarding Pneumatology (the theology of the Holy Spirit) more closely, especially with regards to the life of the Believer, particularly the work of personal Sanctification.
She went on a “righteous crusade” against Briggite Macron, the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron. And since many of the details were factual, many considered it to be justifiable. But for a person like Candace, I believe she thought this work was more than being a commentator/journalist/influence. She thought she’s doing God’s work! She was vying to be the proverbial “one voice crying in the wilderness.” No one else will shout the truth, so she will and does! At least that is what she seems to want to portray. The truth is, to gain an audience online, the more salacious and vitriolic, the more the numbers increase, as well as the press attention.
During the Israel/Hamas war that began in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, attacks, she found a new “enemy,” Israel. There are many liberal Jews who always will be opposed the Netanyahu government of that nation, and no matter how dreadful the October 7 attack was from Gaza, to them Israel’s retaliation will always be more evil, even genocidal despite the fact that it is not genocide. But there it is. There are the pictures of dead babies in Gaza, and then the presentation of accusations and facts without telling the Truth. The vitriol moved into the level of paranoia. She began to peddle every antisemitic lie associated with Jewish pogroms in the last 1,000 years. This is also became the reason for her to proclaim war on “Christian Zionist” (Christian churches and ministries who support the modern nation of Israel). Facts were used to libel an entire nation of people, and then on top of all of that, she (and others like Tucker Carlson) began to praise Islam, and even Sharia Law! To me that was insane. But that is how far she was willing to go in her angst against the Jews, and the Judeo-Christian/evangelical/Bible believing Christians of this nation who support Israel, and who had previously been her supporters. She thinks she’s doing “God’s work.” The only problem is that her systematic theology is highly flawed, as is her willful ignoring of Scripture, and the other perspective on the matter.
In the aftermath of Charlie’s assassination, she made her grief at his death as the cause for another personal crusade, this time against “the group that killed him.” She first said it was the government of Israel, without a shred of evidence. Then it involved a cabal of people: elements of the CIA and FBI, Evangelical Christian leadership, and so on and on it went until she came to accusing TPUSA, and even you, Erika.
I wrote in my article that I stopped listening to Candace after I heard her attack Charlie’s pastor, Rob McCoy. That was the last straw. I did not believe her when she said that Charlie was planning to convert to Catholicism. I did not believe her that Charlie was becoming an opponent to Israel and to the Netanyahu government in particular, and a supporter of the Palestinians. I found every attack vile, vicious, and libelous. No one was allowed to grieve in the last three months. One suspicion after another without any thought about previous friendships and to the point that lives were being threatened. And for what? Jealousy? Envy? A possible desire for intimate love with a now late friend who has risen to a new level of honor after his martyrdom?
Candace envies you, Erika. You were the beautiful wife, and now grieving widow, of a young man who was possibly the most transformative figure among the younger generation of this nation, ever. And unlike the hippies of the late sixties and seventies, your husband’s life was positive for the Kingdom of God, not only in the United States, but all over the world. Since the death of your husband, you, in your quiet dignity, have commanded more attention than just about any other public figure I have ever seen. Your speeches at Charlie’s memorial service in Phoenix, and at the White House when President Trump posthumously awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom were some of the most memorable and eloquent since Winston Churchill. I do not say that lightly. I was moved to tears on both. Unlike Candace, you are soaring with the eagles rather than scouring in the sewers. Let me encourage you to never lose that.
Many others and I kept you and your children and TPUSA in prayer every day since Charlie’s assassination and continue to do so. I knew that the verbal excrement from the political left were coming, and they deserve no attention at all. But from Candace? No, I do not believe that you saw that coming or that it would reach the level that it has now. I am appalled that so many who are purportedly mutual friends cannot respond or call her to account for what she is doing.
She is supposedly the target of French and Israeli government hit squads. She has evidence from the government to back up this claim… allegedly from “inside the government” and that information could not possibly be a false flag! Increasingly people are finding each statement not just false, but appalling. And yet, she cannot stop.
The question now is, “Why is she like this? Has she lost her salvation? Is she demon-possessed? How did she get to a place where she seemingly has no other emotion except anger, wrath, and malice, all directed at you and TPUSA and/or anyone she deems an enemy?
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians warning them about the dangers of “shipwrecking in their faith:”
“Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.” Philippians 3:17-21
She cannot stop because it’s too much “fun” being what she is being now. What is worse, most in the conservative podcast forum will not say anything because “she’s like a sister” or “she has their back.” At what point does someone say, “Stop. This is wrong.”? I fear that if no one does, then God will have to handle her in His own way.
She may think that she has achieved something, or perhaps she enjoys the fear and intimidation she generates. Or like many in the mass media, being the center of attention is its own adrenaline rush. Whatever it is, I tell you she has nothing to worry about from fantasy hit teams or assassins. She has plenty to fear from the hands of an angry God. I would advise you to keep your distance.
(This section was written after the December 15 meeting between Erika Kirk and Candace Owens.)
If the meeting between the two of you brings a certain détente, so be it. But I will retract nothing that I wrote in the previous parts of this letter. She accused Frank Turek of not only being in on Charlie’s assassination, but also a CIA asset! Does she take any of that back? Can she explain herself? Did she? She is not doing detective work nor is she on a pursuit for the Truth. As I said earlier, the salacious draws attention… especially from a left leaning, antichristian Legacy media. I ask you, is there even the slightest contrition, any apology to the people in TPUSA whom she libeled? She made your lives a living hell the last three months to prove… what? She declared no one and nothing would stop her. Why?
The Apostle Paul referred to an appetite which we refer to as the Sin Nature; the components of which (1 John 2:15-16) are the Lust of the Flesh, the Lust of the Eyes, and the Pride of Life – this is what is driving her. Mutual conservative friends may think there is a détente. But pray to God for discernment and do not forget what happened the last three months.
I hope someday that we can meet. I know that you are an adult, and you do not need instructions as if you are a child. But be willing to listen to people who have endured hard experiences in ministry. You’ll find out that they are wise beyond years. Some of us have prayed our way out one step at a time from the Valley of the Shadow of Death, the Lord always leading us out. He promised that His sheep would hear His voice, especially in the worst of times. Isaiah 30:21. We invite you to come to Maranatha Full Gospel Church one day. Until that day, we will continue to pray for you and Turning Point USA. May God bless you.
In Service of the King of Kings
Pastor Justin Jacob
(Postscript): On December 18, TPUSA’s AMFEST convention began. On opening night, the keynote speakers were Ben Shapiro, followed later by Tucker Carlson. Shapiro mentioned many of the points that I made in this letter, and especially called out the silence of fellow conservative (particularly Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly) for the silence or less than “forceful” rebuttals of her outrageous claims and/or actions in the course of the last three months. Tucker Carlson, who came up afterwards and was obviously perturbed despite trying to “laugh it off” made the issue about “deplatforming” and his “shock” that conservatives are calling for the type of censorship that democrats, leftists, liberals, carried out the last few years. Cancel Culture. No one among the Right called for Candace Owens to be cancelled, as far as I know. But many (and I would include myself here) did want a serious expression of disgust (at least), if not a serious condemnation of much of what she screeched the last few months. As I said in this article/letter, TPUSA is not a religious ministry. It is known more for its political work. So talking about the Holy Spirit’s Gift of Discernment will not be understood by many, but for the few who have an “ear to hear,” let them hear. And be warned. And the spirit behind Candace Owens’ rhetoric is not Holy. Nor is it acceptable. And so we surrender her to the Lord.