In the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, politicians and pundits alike have rallied behind a swell of familiar refrains about the need for reasoned dialogue and bipartisan peace “summits.” Apparently, the irony has escaped them that Charlie Kirk was assassinated for the very dialogue they now profess to endorse.
Kirk perfected the art of the dialogue, taking his calm, reasoned discourse to college campuses awash in liberal indoctrination and long unmoored from the Socratic tradition that once anchored institutions of higher learning. Charlie Kirk’s approach has its roots in the Bible, where in Acts 17 the Apostle Paul engaged the Greek philosophers of his day on Mars Hill, also known as the Areopagus, a center for religious and philosophical inquiry. The Bible says the Greeks there did nothing there but discuss the “latest ideas” (v. 21).
Paul began his discourse with a pivot off a statue in their public square, one dedicated to the “unknown god.” Using logic, a thorough understanding Scripture, and even knowledge of their own literature, he presented the Gospel in a way that they could understand. At the end of his discourse, some philosophers mocked, but others wanted a second hearing.
Charlie Kirk represented this polemical style better than anyone I can recall in recent memory — taking the Gospel and free-market conservatism into the belly of the beast, reasoning with students in a respectful manner, and answering their questions head on. With him, there was no bluster, no spin, no nonsense. Eminently self-educated, he drew upon his vast storehouse of knowledge to win over his students and persuade minds who simply wanted a reason to believe.
In my college days, we had campus preachers come to our very liberal university and, standing in front of the library steps, engage in a Mars Hill–style debate with anyone who would listen. The best of them engaged in dialogue without thundering imprecations. They asked questions and posited alternative points of view, buttressed by facts, and occasionally, they would get through to a few malleable minds.
The model of Mars Hill and Socratic traditions like it will never die. It is effective at persuasion and enjoys a rich and storied history that spans from early Church Fathers like Justin Martyr and Augustine to Renaissance historians and philosophers and modern apologists like C.S. Lewis and Francis Schaeffer. Indeed, the history of the American Republic, soon to celebrate its 250th birthday, is one where ideas clashed in the most contentious manner in shaping our government institutions and policies.
Charlie Kirk was woven in this great tapestry of philosophical inquiry. His legacy will live on, as will the American openness to debate and freedom of speech, well beyond the country’s current pangs.
