Dallas Jenkins sees the tragic murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk as an opportunity for himself and Christians in general to reflect on whether our words are perpetuating hatred or are following Jesus’ teaching to love our enemies.
“I think that we can say safely ourselves, ‘Well, we’re not capable of firing a gun and killing somebody,’” said Jenkins, who is creator and director of “The Chosen,” as well as one of the show’s co-writers.
“But there are enough crazy people out there, enough damaged people out there who could take our words,” Jenkins said, “if we say them enough, and say them publicly enough, and casually throw them out on social media and stoke flames of hatred…when we demonize and exaggerate, it can lead to things like this.”
Dallas Jenkins Reflects on Inflammatory Rhetoric: ‘Am I Ever Guilty of That?’
Dallas Jenkins joined the Christian Broadcasting Network’s (CBN) Billy Hallowell to reflect on the assassination of Charlie Kirk, who was co-founder and executive director of Turning Point USA (TPUSA).
“I wasn’t a good friend of Charlie’s,” said Jenkins, who shared he had met Kirk a couple of times, had some mutual friends with him, and had been talking with Hallowell about doing a panel discussion at one of Kirk’s events.
Jenkins said that he wasn’t shocked when he first heard the news that Kirk had been shot, “and the fact that I wasn’t shocked was disturbing to me.”
However, Jenkins was shocked when he heard a short while later that Kirk had died, partly because Kirk was only 31 years old and partly because Kirk “was killed for his beliefs.” Jenkins noted that, while he did not agree with Kirk on everything, he respected the TPUSA executive director for his knowledge of the Bible, his love for Jesus, and his knowledge of conservative issues.
Jenkins pointed out that through his work on “The Chosen,” he is surrounded by people who have diverse beliefs. Some of the cast and crew are Christians, and some are not. Some have become Christians through working on “The Chosen,” but some have not.
“I’m always in this world of discussion and debate and surrounded by people who certainly wouldn’t be fans of Charlie Kirk‘s,” Jenkins said.
I just hope that we take a look at ourselves, said Jenkins, and say, Look, the No. 1 thing that we are called to is to love God and love others, and even in the midst of pain, even in the midst of hatred, even in the midst of violence, we are to love God and love others.Click to Post
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