Censorship in Finland

I believe clashing worldviews, between the old traditional Biblical Christian worldview and the new worldview which I call “Critical Expressive Individualism” (CEI), has led to a 24 page 22 year old booklet being censored with all copies to be destroyed. The booklet, “Male and Female He Created Them” (English translation), promotes the Biblical worldview of heterosexual marriage and argues against some of the common reasons to support same-sex unions. The booklet was written in 2004 after Finnish legislation that allowed same-sex partnerships to register. I think it might be a little like the idea of civil unions that was kicked around in America. This booklet was written many years before same-sex marriage became legal in Finland. Although the Finnish Supreme Court did not find the booklet to incite hatred or violence, it did find that having the booklet “made available, to the public and kept available to the public, opinions that insult homosexuals as a group on the basis of their sexual orientation.” Therefore in a 3-2 vote the Finnish Supreme Court found the two accused guilty and ordered all copies of the booklet to be destroyed.

This was a 7 year battle in the courts. It started with a tweet in 2019, and the tweet and the booklet (and the two authors) went through the courts in Finland. All the lower courts (and the police) found the accused innocent and no laws were broken but the prosecutors kept appealing the rulings. The Finnish Supreme Court found the tweet did not break any laws, but they found that the booklet did insult homosexuals on the basis of their sexual orientation therefore the two accused and the foundation that published the booklet were fined, and the court ordered all copies of the booklet to be destroyed.

Reading the English translation of the booklet, I did not find any inciteful or insulting language. No one or any group was degraded or threatened. It did state we all are sinners, and the Bible declares homosexual behavior to be a sin and homosexuality was not best for society. Interestingly, I did find the booklet felt dated, because the arguments were about homosexual unions and homosexual families. That surprised me and it makes me wonder if American Christians have accepted the premise of homosexual marriage and moved the battle on to Transgenderism. If so, we all need to read this booklet and realize homosexual marriage is not neutral but it changes society and not for the better. I did not find any “hate speech” in my reading of the booklet.

This ruling brings up the question of hate speech and what is it? Unfortunately hate speech is hard to define. Hate speech is offensive and it targets a specific group or individual based on certain intrinsic characteristics. It can be used to intimidate, vilify, demean, and/or humiliate. Its purpose is to incite violence or hostility, to promote discrimination, and/or to create divisions in society.

I believe the CEI worldview is how Western Culture views the world today. CEI is very individualistic. It says that every individual gets to decide what is true and what is false. You look inside yourself at your feelings and desires and you then decide who you are and what you believe. And CEI also wants to remove any oppressive social structures so that all people can express themselves freely. CEI sees people as naturally good, and with proper training and the removal of oppressive social structures a better world can be created. I feel that it was from this perspective that the court made its decision to censor the booklet.

I believe the traditional Biblical Christian worldview is the best description of reality, not CEI. The Christian worldview recognizes that we all are broken self-centered people. It is God, the Creator of everything, who sets the standards of right and wrong, and true and false. We find our identity in him. He created us male and female, and he gave the two sexes characteristics that complement each other. He loves us and wants to have a relationship with each one of us. Following God’s example, as Christians we are called to love and not hate. We love even our enemies and we want the best for everyone. We want to unite people in Christ and not divide. We do not want to oppress anyone and we are against “hate speech”, but in love we want to share with others the better way of life that better matches reality. That is what I think this booklet was trying to do. The booklet was not about insulting the homosexual community, rather it was trying to point out a better way of life. I believe the booklet should not have been censored and copies destroyed.

More information on this ruling can be found with these two articles, “Finnish Lutherans Convicted of ‘Hate Speech’ by Finland Supreme Court” and “Finnish Supreme Court Convicts Päivi Räsänen of ‘Hate Speech’”.

Reconcile

To reconcile means to restore a friendly relationship between two persons. Because of our brokenness, we are at odds with each other and with God. Broken relationships are common. In fact, all our relationships contain elements of brokenness, because we are broken. Reconciliation requires love and forgiveness. People are reconciled when in love forgiveness is given and accepted. It is not easy to love and forgive but with the help of the Holy Spirit we are able.

Reconciliation starts with God. Out of his great love for us, while we were still enemies and ungodly sinners, Jesus died for us to reconcile us to God (Romans 5:6-11), not counting our sins against us (2 Corinthians 5:18–19). On the cross, Jesus made peace with God by reconciling us with God (Colossians 1:19-20). We are forgiven because of Jesus (Ephesians 1:7). It is all God’s doing. He wants to restore that broken relationship he has with us.

With that restored relationship, we are blessed, and since we are blessed we are called to be a blessing (Genesis 12:2-3). Being a new creation, a blessing, means we are part of the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:16-21), where we share that message of reconciliation to the world. We called to imitate God (Ephesians 5:1-2). That means showing love and forgiveness to those around us . Just as we have been forgiven so very much, so we forgive others (Matthew 18:21-35). In imitating God, we get to love our enemies, do good to those who hate and abuse us, and bless those who curse us (Luke 6:27-28). We do not repay evil for evil, instead we bless (1 Peter 6:9) because we are called to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21).

We are different from those of the world. We are truly countercultural. Today’s culture sees the world in terms of power. Many times it is expressed in terms of oppression. It divides the world into us versus them by pointing out that they have and we want, or they are in control and we are not. This view is very divisive. Christians on the other hand are in the business of reconciliation. We see the world through the lens of God’s love. We want to unite all people under Jesus Christ, because God desires for all people to come to know him (1 Timothy 2:3-6). So let us reach out in love and forgiveness and share that Gospel message of love and reconciliation.

Christian Collapse

Jesus Christ Statue Photo - Myriam Zilles

There is a video going around called “The Lutheran Collapse”. I believe the concerns expressed in this video are about 20 years late and what is happening today is a Christian collapse. Yes, Lutheran denominations have lost a lot of members. The video focuses on the two largest Lutheran denominations, the much larger theologically liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) and the smaller theologically conservative Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS). I am a member of the LCMS, so this video is of interest to me, and for a long time now, I have been interested in the reasons behind why there are fewer people from the younger generations attending church.

The mainline churches, like the ELCA, embraced the current cultural values and went theologically liberal. Many people left those churches and many of them went to more theologically conservative churches. Unfortunately, that only slowed the decline in the theologically conservative churches. The problem is the Christian faith is not being passed on to the younger generations. And this is not a new concern.

In 2003, Reggie McNeal wrote a provocative book, “The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church”. In the book he tried to wake up the American church to the decline that was happening. That was 23 years ago and since then I have also read other books addressing the decline in American Christianity. It is not just Lutheranism in decline, and it is not just liberal mainline churches in decline. American Christianity is in decline. American Christians are facing this crisis because the culture is no longer supportive of the Christian faith and its values, and in general the American churches have not successfully transitioned to operate in the new culture.

1517, a theologically conservative Lutheran nonprofit, wrote an article addressing the video (and other similar videos). The article, “The Future of Lutheranism Belongs to Builders”, was well written and I liked most of it. Pastors and lay leaders need to be architects and builders, and not curators or deconstructionists. Discipling and mentoring needs to happen, and we need to keep our Lutheran doctrine. What I disagreed with was the “traditioned innovation”, which I interpreted as we keep our Lutheran traditions and innovate only within the bounds of these traditions. That sounds like curation and not innovation to me. Yes, there is a lot of good theological richness in those Lutheran traditions (e.g. our hymnody) and many are worth keeping in some form, but the question we need to ask is “Do they speak to our young people today?”

I do not know what the best answer to this crisis is, but here are some ideas that I would suggest. We need to make our Christian faith, especially our worship services, accessible to those who have never been in a church. We need to reach out with the good news of Jesus to those who know nothing of our faith. We need to disciple and mentor our church members to inspire them to share the hope we have in Jesus. For the LCMS and other church bodies, we need to put more emphasis on encouraging and training their laity in actively living their faith, and less emphasis on the pastoral office and the institution.

And above all, we need to remember what is most important. It is all about Jesus. He is the one that is important – not our church buildings, not our institutions, not our traditions, and not anything else. The Good News is all about Jesus and what he did on that cross and his rising from the dead, so that we might have life in him. That needs to be our focus.

Love, Intimacy, and Commitment

I believe marriage is all about love, intimacy and commitment. I think these three attributes help determine the success of a marriage relationship. All the different types of love need to be found in marriage. Intimacy includes all the different forms of intimacy. And it is an all out commitment that both share to make the marriage work.

When we think of marriage we always think of the romantic type of love. That is an important part of marriage but more important is friendship love and sacrificial love. It is good and important to share our lives with each other. And it is good and important to give ourselves to the spouse by putting their needs ahead of our own. Romantic love by itself devolves into nothing more than feelings, but true love that includes friendship and sacrifice along with the romance is so much more.

Intimacy is physical, emotional, and mental. We open ourselves up to each other and make ourselves vulnerable. We trust each other so that we can share our fears, our emotions, our successes, and our failures. We know each other physically, emotionally, and mentally. We understand. We know the ups and downs of each other and in that spirit of trust we can be a support for each other.

Commitment is the third attribute of a successful marriage. Because we are broken people in a broken world, it takes work to make a marriage successful. That honeymoon period is not forever. We have to deal with our own brokenness and our spouse’s brokenness to keep the relationship strong. We need to be willing to reconcile and forgive each other. We need to maintain and restore our marriage. We cannot just coast. And because of that commitment we can trust each other.

While a successful marriage relationship requires both the husband and the wife to actively pursue these attributes of love, intimacy, and commitment, I believe the most important part of a marriage is to put God first in your marriage and in your life. That gives you a firm foundation to build on. The blessings of the Father who created marriage, of the Son who shows us true love, and of the Holy Spirit who empowers us to love each other are immeasurable. Let God’s love reign in your hearts and rain down on you and your marriage. It makes a difference.

If you want to improve your marriage or think your marriage can use a tuneup, check out the Marriage in Christ seminar website. I think it is a great series of 5 lessons (with homework). It strengthened our marriage and I think it can strengthen your marriage too.

Science

Science was the authority in the modern world. People would try to prove their points by referring to science, even when there is no supporting evidence. Unfortunately, many people really do not understand what science is, and others use the word to deceive. Today in the postmodern world, science does not have the same authority, because each person is his own authority. Today, each person decides what facts they want to believe, and what facts they do not want to believe. Reason and rational critical thinking have taken a back seat to one’s own feelings.

Science is a discipline that builds and organizes knowledge about the universe. Modern science has two major branches: the natural sciences, which study the physical world, and the social sciences, which study individuals and societies. Some include a third branch called “formal sciences” which includes mathematics and logic, but this branch does not use the scientific method, so I would not include it. I would say the “formal sciences” are part of the foundation of science.

Science uses the scientific method. It can vary a little but scientists tend to follow these steps.

Make observations;
Research the topic and develop questions;
Formulate hypothesis for determining the cause;
Test the hypothesis by making testable predictions;
Collect and analyze the observations;
Develop conclusions based on the evidence;
If the data support the hypothesis then consider refining the hypothesis and returning to step 4.
If the data do not support the hypothesis then reject the hypothesis and return to step 1.
Publish the hypothesis and the results so that others can learn and replicate the results.

Note the scientific method does not prove anything to be true. Instead the scientific method is about proving things false. That said, there are hypotheses that have stood the test of time over and over again that are considered to be true. Newton’s Laws, which are used everyday and have been used for centuries, can be considered facts, but even Newton’s Laws needed to be refined after some observations were found in some special cases. Newton’s Laws were refined by Einstein with his Theory of Relativity. (The refinement does not affect our everyday use of Newton’s Laws.)

Science works because we have a God who is consistent and rational in his actions. On rare occasions, God may do something out of the ordinary and those occasions are known as supernatural events. Science needs to ignore the existence of God, because if I drop a pencil the pencil will go wherever God wants it to go, but the fact that God is consistent and rational means we can assume the pencil will fall to the ground. This means science is not at odds with God. It also means that science has a limited view of reality. Science cannot see the supernatural.

And it needs to be noted that science describes the how and not the why something happens. We usually equate the how to the why and that is useful but it is not totally accurate. On earth a falling apple may be increasing its downward speed at 9.8 meters per second for every second (due to gravity), but that is describing how the apple is falling and not why the apple is falling. (John was mad and threw the apple over the cliff.)

Some people say they believe in science and not in God. They are not understanding what science is. They may be believing the philosophies of scientism or methodological naturalism, but it is more likely they have created their own philosophy of life and have pulled in the parts of science they like into their worldview. This is more true today in our postmodern society than it was in the modern era. People today are less likely to acknowledge the findings of science they disagree with, because they are their own authority.

We are not rational people, not anymore (if we were ever all that rational). A Barna survey showed that most Americans base truth on their feelings. A Gallup survey says 70% of our decisions are based on emotions and only 30% of decisions are rational. (Think of the automobile ads on TV. They play to your emotions without giving you any specs.) Science belongs to the modern era, so in the postmodern era science will have a smaller role in society. Today the modern “Rational Human” is being replaced by the postmodern “Self-Determined Human”.

Practical AI

In 2025, Artificial Intelligence (AI) became more practical. AI tools have appeared and the hype about it being “intelligent” has lessened. I believe that it is because the limitations of AI became apparent. AI is not intelligent. It is simply a sophisticated statistical pattern matching model with an enormous database that allows it to mimic human intelligence. And that is why it does not always get things right. What these AI models can do is very impressive but I believe they are not intelligent. The model works to give the most probable answer from its vast database and sophisticated model. It does not reason like humans do.

Apple researchers showed that there is an inability of the AI models to solve logic problems like the Tower of Hanoi. Their conclusion was that the models were pattern matching and not reasoning. Note there are some who disagree with the conclusion, but it does show that there are some significant reasoning issues with the current AI models.

People realize that there needs to be “theory of mind” reasoning, and there are some small “theory of the mind” reason circuits in the latest AI models, but I feel the pattern matching needs to take a back seat to a much more developed “theory of mind” reasoning, and make it a model of the mind. Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, said, ‘We need to … develop a new equilibrium in terms of our “theory of the mind” that accounts for humans being equipped with these new cognitive amplifier tools as we relate to each other.’ Now, in CEO speak, I think he is talking about making AI tools that interact in a more human-like manner. Note the emphasis is on using the AI tools, not on a future superintelligence. I think this is because we have a long way to go to real superintelligent AI and Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). Actually I do not think we can do it.

Besides developing the right model, there are a few other obstacles that have given problems to the AI companies. First, AI companies need large data centers with lots of computers to do the work. Computer prices, especially RAM prices, have risen a lot as these companies build new and bigger data centers to train the AI models. And those data centers require tremendous amounts of electricity to run the computers to develop these AI models, and the newer and better versions will require even more power. That raises the electricity rates and many times there will not be enough power available. Another obstacle is that these AI models require a tremendous amount of data to be able to properly train these models. The problem is much of the data is copyrighted and legally they can not just use the data. These are some significant obstacles for them to navigate.

I see the ultimate goal of AI as an attempt to create our own creature in our own image, just like how God created us in his image. Some see superintelligent AGI as creating a god that will fix our problems. However, because of our sin our image is no longer pure as God meant it to be. Our image is broken and I cannot see AI being intelligent without major flaws. And I think we are a long way off from anything close to being intelligent and able to reason. Again, I do not think we can actually create an intelligent AI. Why? Because we are not God, and if we could make a superintelligent AGI in our own image, it would be flawed. It is my hope that everyone will recognize that AI will always be flawed, because we are flawed. Fortunately in 2025 many people have moved from the AI hype to creating practical AI tools.

This post was inspired by “From Prophet to Product: How AI Came Back Down to Earth in 2025”.

Secular Christmas

Christmas is celebrated all round the world. Christmas is not a religious holiday for most people. This secular version of Christmas promotes values of love, compassion, generosity, giving, family, hope, peace, and joy. These good values originated with the Christian celebrations of Christmas, but the main point of Christmas, from which these values derive their meaning, is Jesus Christ coming to Earth and being born so that we might have life in him.

I find it interesting that people of other faiths have their version of Christmas. Many Buddhists, Jewish people, Muslims and even atheists celebrate Christmas in some form. They have some of their own traditions but for many of these celebrations what binds them to the secular Christmas is Santa Claus, because many of these celebrations have Santa Claus.

Santa Claus is the icon of the secular Christmas. Folklore of his story has been developed over the last 200 years to what it is today. First, there was a historical person called Saint Nicholas who really did exist and was born about 280 A.D. He was a generous Christian Bishop. Today’s Santa Claus story is very different from the historical story of Saint Nicholas but Saint Nicholas provided the origins from which Santa Claus developed. The Dutch with their Sinterklaas tradition and the English with their Father Christmas tradition were blended together to create the Santa Claus tradition. In 1823, an anonymous author (likely Clement Clarke Moore) penned a poem called “A Visit from St. Nicholas”, which is also known as “Twas the Night before Christmas”. I believe that poem created the foundation for the Santa Claus tradition. From that poem, the story of Santa Claus developed into what it is today.

Secular Christmas is fun and promotes some good values, however it is missing the historical importance of the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas is meant to be a celebration of the birth of Jesus. God, the Father, gave his only begotten Son, Jesus, to us to restore us back to himself and to give us life in him (John 3:16). God in Jesus humbled himself and was born human (Philippians 2:5-8) so that he could live the perfect life we could not (Hebrews 4:15) and to pay the price for our sins by dying on a cross (Colossians 2:13-14) and then rising again 3 days later. Jesus gave himself so that we might have life in him. By the power of the Holy Spirit we have real life. That is the real story of why we celebrate Christmas.

The Christmas story can be found in Luke 2:1-20 and in Matthew 1:18-2:12. This Christmas let us remember the birth of Jesus who is our Lord and Savior.

PS This year I discovered the ancient “O Antiphons” which are short chants that cover 7 days (December 17-23) of Advent, right before Christmas. The hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” incorporates the 7 antiphons into its verses. I am using a devotional based on the antiphons this year from 1517.org.

Saints Past

Photo of crepuscular rays by Peter Hostermann

There are several definitions of the word “saint”, however the biblical definition is simply one who trusts in Jesus as Lord and Savior, so we who believe in Jesus Christ are saints. November 1st is known as All Saints Day, among other names. On this day we remember those saints who have gone before us. I think of the many Christians that have influenced me over the years. Many of them have passed on, though many are still here today providing encouragement and support. I am thankful for all they have taught me.

I think especially of my parents, Erwin and Irene. Their Christian example made a huge difference in my life. I owe so much to them. They were not perfect, so there are a couple things that I am having to unlearn, but they ended up shaping my life for the good. I am very appreciative of their influence in my life. I see a lot of their influence in how I act and behave. I thank God for their good influence.

It is not just those who over the years I have had some contact with but it is also those saints from days long gone who influenced others who then influenced a later generation who then influenced the next generation. There is a chain of saints from centuries past that have had an influence on me. I am thankful for them also.

It is somewhat mysterious the way saints from the past, saints today, and saints in the future are all interconnected to form the Body of Christ, the Church. We are not all the same and yet we each bring something needed to the Body. And saints from the past encourage us to live lives of faith. The writer of Hebrews in chapter 11 encourages us with a list of saints of faith that had looked forward to the coming Messiah and a future where everything would be made right. He ends the list with this encouragement.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

So let us be encouraged to live that good life of faith for Jesus because we are surrounded by a great cloud of saints who have lived a life of faith before us. And let us encourage others in the Faith to also stand firm for Jesus. I am thankful for all the saints past, present and in the future who make up the Body of Christ.

As we remember those who had gone on before us, I am reminded of the hymn “For All the Saints”. Here is a version you can sing along with.

Meaning of Words

Today, we live in a pluralistic society. People view the world in different ways and they may interpret words differently than you do. Many people today want you to believe that if you say one word it also means that you must believe or do another word. One example is the word love. They say you cannot love a person unless you also affirm that person. That is not true!

Love does not equal affirmation. People want you to believe that you cannot love a person unless you also affirm the person and their actions. Affirmation means you validate and approve the person, their lifestyle, and their actions. People say that as Christians if we love unconditionally we must approve everything about the person. That is not true. Look at our parents. You can say that almost all parents love their children wholeheartedly, and yet they disciplined us and did not approve of everything we did. They did so for our own good. We too can love people, and yet not affirm them if their lifestyles are harmful. To love means to seek the good of the other person. We can not approve or validate harmful behavior because that would not be the loving thing to do. One way we can sort of affirm them is to say “God loves you”.

Disagreement does not equal hate. People will say that you must hate them because you disagree with them and/or their lifestyle. People assume if you are their opponent then you must hate them and you must be out to get them. And yet we may only disagree on a topic. That does not mean that there is hatred. As Christians we try to live life peacefully with all people as much as it is possible (Romans 12:18). We do need to speak the truth but we speak the truth in love and not out of hatred.

People do not equal their ideas, opinions, or beliefs. People today are tribal. Their identities are reduced to a label, but reality is people are complex. We cannot label a person who has this opinion and assume they must also have this belief. God treats everyone with equity. There is no partiality with God. He loves everyone. We too need to treat everyone with equity and love, and avoid labeling them. We can build relationships by listening to others.

Association does not equal advocacy. “Guilt by association” is a common phrase, and unfortunately it describes a common judgment. Jesus was found guilty of associating with “sinners”. He was not advocating their lifestyle, rather he was reaching out to them to try to bring them back to a better life found in him. Many times we Christians refuse to associate with those whose life makes us uncomfortable, yet God calls us to reach out to them with the life giving message of the Gospel. We should not be afraid to reach out.

Engagement does not equal endorsement. It is okay to engage with people of different ideas. It is okay to work long aside others with different beliefs for the common good. In doing so we are not endorsing their beliefs, but we are building relationships that may allow us to share the message of Jesus to them. We need to listen to them to find out what they believe and how to respond to them.

Words and their meanings do matter. We need to listen and learn what people mean when they speak to us, and not assume they view the world the same way we do. In America, today’s emerging culture wants to define words differently than in the past. We need to be aware of this change and understand what is behind the new definitions.

This blog post was inspired by Chapter 9 of “How the Light Shines Through” by Chad Lakies.

Is Forgiveness Counter-Cultural?

Recently, Charlie Kirk was assassinated by a shooter, and at the Charlie Kirk Memorial Service, Charlie’s wife Erika Kirk said,

“I forgive him because it was what Christ did and is what Charlie would do.” And she said, “The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the Gospel is love and always love.”

After Erika, President Trump spoke and said,

“[Charlie Kirk] did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them. That’s where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponent and I don’t want the best for them, I’m sorry,”

Now I think President Trump’s attitude is not that uncommon today. Forgiveness is an unnatural act. We want vengeance. We may want to call it justice, but many times what we really want is vengeance. We want to hate those who hate us or even those who just oppose us. Jesus has a better way of love and forgiveness.

Hatred and vengeance divides people. Love and forgiveness brings people together. People are reconciled when forgiveness is given and accepted. It is not easy to love and forgive but with the help of the Holy Spirit we are able. Jesus says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:43-48), and he also says “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you” (Luke 6:27-28). He does not say to hate them. Rather we are to “overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21), and “Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless” (1 Peter 6:9). It is not easy, but Christians are called to be different, to be counter-cultural.

The culture today sees the world in terms of power. Many times it is expressed in terms of oppression. This view is also divisive. It divides the world into us versus them. They have and we want. They are in control and we are not. This view feeds the hatred and vengeance that was expressed by President Trump. Christians see the world differently. We view the world through the lens of God’s amazing love. Christians are counter-cultural and one way we show our difference and our love is by forgiving people.

So why do we forgive? Because God has forgiven us so very much, and so out of gratitude we forgive others (Matthew 18:21-35). God did not wait until we got our act together. No, he loved us while we were still broken ungodly sinners (Romans 5:6-8). We all are broken sinners (Romans 3:23) from the worst of us to the best. There is no difference. There is no us versus them. We are all in need of the Savior. In response to God’s saving love, we love and forgive others as we imitate God (Ephesians 5:1-2). That is why we forgive and in doing so we are counter-cultural.

So instead of being divisive, we Christians need work to reconcile and unite. Let us love those we disagree with. Let us be kind to those who hate us. And let us forgive those who attack us. Let us work to reconcile people to God and to each other. This is what we have been called to do. We have been given the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:16-21). And from the little I know about Charlie Kirk, this appears to have been his goal too. Let us reach out in love and forgiveness and share that Gospel message of love.