Theory 2 Action Podcast
Theory 2 Action Podcast
MM#435--Erika Kirk's Divine Act of Grace: Forgiving the Unforgivable
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The stunning power of forgiveness takes center stage as we explore three extraordinary stories that changed the course of history.
Through vivid storytelling, we journey back to other pivotal moments of forgiveness that transformed our world. We revisit Pope John Paul II's extraordinary meeting with his would-be assassin Mehmet Ali Ağca in 1983, where the Pope offered forgiveness to the very man who nearly took his life. The story continues with Robert F. Kennedy's impromptu speech on the night of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination in 1968, where his call for love rather than vengeance prevented riots in Indianapolis while violence erupted across 119 other American cities.
Then we end with a breathtaking account of Erika Kirk's remarkable act of grace—forgiving her husband Charlie Kirk's assassin before 80,000 people and millions watching worldwide, just eleven days after his murder. Her words, "That young man... I forgive him because it was what Christ did and what Charlie would do," showcase a profound spiritual strength that transcends human understanding.
These three powerful narratives reveal a common thread—the supernatural ability of forgiveness to break cycles of hatred and violence. Each story demonstrates how choosing love in moments of unimaginable pain can transform not just individual lives but entire communities. The raw emotional power of Erika Kirk's forgiveness, delivered in real-time before a global audience, stands as perhaps the most extraordinary example of Christian forgiveness many of us will witness in our lifetimes.
What would our divided world look like if we all possessed such courage to forgive?
Correction: RFK's gravemarker doesn't contain the words from the poet Aeschlysus. It contains two other inscriptions: click here for the official Arlington cemetery link of his grave marker.
Key Points from the Episode:
• Pope John Paul II visiting and forgiving his would-be assassin Mehmet Ali Ağca in prison
• Robert F. Kennedy's speech following Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination that prevented riots in Indianapolis
Erika Kirk's remarkable act of forgiveness toward her husband Charlie Kirk's assassin just eleven days after his murder
• The spiritual dimension of forgiveness as demonstrated through these powerful historical examples
• How these acts of forgiveness created lasting change beyond the immediate moment
• The contrast between worldly reactions to violence and the transformative power of Christian forgiveness
Other resources:
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Welcome to the Theory to Action podcast, where we examine the timeless treasures of wisdom from the great books in less time, to help you take action immediately and ultimately to create and lead a flourishing life. Now here's your host, david Kaiser.
Speaker 2:Hello, I am David and welcome back to another Mojo Minute. This past Sunday we witnessed something beyond remarkable, beyond anything of this world, something I've never seen in my lifetime I have heard examples of it, but I've never seen it with my own very eyes and that was the live, real-time memorial for Charlie Kirk, where Erica Kirk, the wife and now widowed of Charlie Kirk, gave a real-time act of forgiveness before a national, in fact, a really worldwide audience, a really worldwide audience. An act of forgiveness in real time before a worldwide audience. I mean, if you did not see this memorial service for Charlie Kirk, you need to go back and watch it. You need to find it on YouTube and watch it in its entirety. The power of Erica's act, this act of forgiveness, the poise, the articulation and, most importantly, the grace of Erica Kirk to do this was out of this world of Erica Kirk to do this was out of this world. For me, it was truly an act of the Holy Spirit happening in real time before my very eyes. Oh, it was certainly emotional. I mean, no man, no man could watch that and not have your eyes well up with tears. So, yes, it was emotional, but, more importantly, it was the truest, most sincere act of forgiveness and mercy I've ever witnessed. I've ever witnessed and again it happened in real time. So I would encourage you all to go back and watch the event. It's something you'll probably never see again in your lifetimes and it was, beyond this world powerful.
Speaker 2:So in today's episode I'm going to share two other stories about the power of forgiveness that certainly don't measure up to what Erica Kirk just did this past weekend, but do show the power of love overcoming hate, and we know we're in a spiritual battle. So I think sharing these stories gives the courage to Christians and Catholics and all people of goodwill that love can overcome hate. There will be no books today, because I don't think we need to talk about books today Now. We have shared these stories before, but I think we need to frame them in a little bit different way to allow us to understand what actually happened this past weekend. And for our first story we're going to go all the way back to mojo minute number four. Mojo minute number four is way back there. In that mojo minute we talked about the power of example, especially the power of example and forgiveness, and I shared with you at the time the power of john paul ii forgiving his attempted assassin. And if you don't know that story, we'll put a link in the show notes for that episode, but here's the shortened version.
Speaker 2:On May 13th 1981, pope John John Paul II was shot and critically wounded by Mehmet Ali Ajaka, a Turkish gunman, as he entered St Peter's Square to address the crowd. The assassination attempt left the Pope gravely injured, with bullets striking his abdomen, hand and arm. Despite the severity of his wounds, john Paul II survived that assassination attempt after emergency surgery. The event shocked the world and what followed became a profound testament to his faith and his commitment to forgiveness. Two years later, on Decembernd 1983, john Paul II visited Mamet in Rome's Rehiba prison. In a private meeting, the Pope sat across from his would-be assassin, speaking softly and offering forgiveness. The encounter lasted about 20 minutes and while the exact words exchanged remained in private, john Paul II later described it as a moment of spiritual connection, emphasizing the forgiveness as central to his Christian beliefs. The Pope's ring. As a gesture of respect, john Paul II gave him a small gift, a silver rosary, symbolizing peace and reconciliation. The Pope attributed his survival to divine intervention, specifically the protection of Our Lady of Fatima, whose feast day coincided with the assassination attempt, he believed the Virgin Mary guided the bullet to spare his life, a conviction that deepened his devotion. One of the bullets was later placed in the crown of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal as an offering of gratitude.
Speaker 2:John Paul II's act of forgiveness was not just personal but public. It was meant to inspire others. He spoke often of mercy and reconciliation, emphasizing that hatred and violence could not be, or could be, overcome through authentic love. Overcome through authentic love. Mehmet Adjika, sentenced to life in prison, was pardoned at John Paul II's request in 2000, and he was deported to Turkey, where he served an additional time in prison for prior crimes. Years later, in 2014, well after John Paul II had passed on, mehmet Adjika visited the Vatican and placed flowers on John Paul II's tomb, the gesture suggesting the lasting impact of the Pope's forgiveness.
Speaker 2:This act of grace became one of the defining moments of John Paul II's papacy, reflecting his belief that forgiveness could transform the deepest and darkest souls and their deepest and darkest acts. It certainly resonated globally. It illustrated the power of mercy in a world often marked by vengeance. So that was John Paul II's power of forgiveness. And that was our first story. We're going to share another story, another pivotal moment that was similar to our first story, as we are going through the supreme acts of forgiveness and grace that we have witnessed over the last several decades.
Speaker 2:Moving on to our second story, it was a crisp, windy evening in Indianapolis, Indiana, on April 4th 1968. Senator Robert F Kennedy, the fiery underdog in the Democratic presidential primary race, had been crisscrossing the state all day as part of a grueling campaign push. Just three weeks earlier, he announced his bid to challenge President Lyndon B Johnson, riding a wave of anti-war sentiment and calls for racial justice. That afternoon, rfk had rallied crowds at Indiana University in Bloomington and Ball State University in Muncie, indiana, drawing thousands eager for his message of hope amid a nation fracturing over Vietnam and civil rights. As he boarded a small plane for a short hop to Indianapolis, the day's energy shifted. En route, kennedy was handed a terse message Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr, the Nobel Prize winner and a man who RFK had come to deeply admire, had been shot in Memphis, tennessee, while standing on a balcony at the Lorraine Motel.
Speaker 2:The news hit like a gut punch. Robert Kennedy, whose own brother, president John F Kennedy, had been gunned down five years earlier, turned to a reporter on board the plane and murmured you know, it grieves me. I was just told that this kid then walked out and found that some white man had just shot their spiritual leader. And found that some white man had just shot their spiritual leader. Earlier at Ball State, a young black student had pressed him on his faith in white America to embrace change. Kennedy had affirmed it, urging mutual trust between black and white communities. Now the irony burned.
Speaker 2:The plane touched down in Indianapolis around 9 pm and those final moments of flight confirmation arrived that Martin Luther King had died at age 39, felled by a sniper's bullet. The city and the nation was on edge. Riots had already erupted in Memphis and word was spreading across the country that violence could ignite anywhere, especially in urban black neighborhoods. Indianapolis police, fearing the worst, warned Kennedy's team to cancel the planned rally at the corner of 17th and Broadway, in the heart of the city's African-American district. The mayor's office even pulled support, citing safety risks. But Robert Kennedy ever the fighter shaped by personal tragedy himself refused. If I don't go, he said, then they'll say I ran. Aides pleaded with him to stick to a safer indoor event or skip it altogether, but RFK insisted. He changed out of his suit into casual clothes, as if bracing for the rawness of the moment, and headed to the rally site.
Speaker 2:At the Broadway Christian Center, a crowd of 2,500 had gathered in the open lot, undeterred by the chill and the late hour. Many black families, union workers, young supporters had been waiting for hours, their mood still buoyant from the day's campaign. Buzz News traveled slow in 1968, no smartphones, no instant alerts, and most in the throng had not yet heard about the death of Martin Luther King. As Kennedy arrived, flanked by a skeleton of security detail, he climbed on the back of a flatbed truck serving as a makeshift stage Off mic. He was asked, he asked an aide. If the crowd knew the response. They didn't. Came across Visibly shaken, robert Kennedy's face, pale under the floodlights. He gripped the edges of the truck and began speaking without notes, his voice steady but laced with sorrow. It was roughly about 9.30 pm, just hours after King's death.
Speaker 2:And here I'm actually going to quote from a book, the Last Campaign by Thurston Clark, very good book. Go on to the book. I'm only going to talk to you for a minute or so this evening because I have some very sad news for all of you, some of those standing near the truck, ignoring or misconstruing his somber words, continued to cheer and wave signs. He asked them to lower their signs and then said in a trembling voice I have some very sad news for all of you and, I think, some sad news for all of our fellow citizens and people who love peace all over the world, and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and killed tonight in Memphis, tennessee.
Speaker 2:The next moment reminded one witness of the instant before a lightning bolt strikes or after an artillery shell burst, when the air seems to have been sucked out of the place. The crowd gave up a huge moan, an oh so loud that a woman driving two blocks away wondered what Kennedy had said to produce such a reaction. Then men cursed and women screamed and fell to their knees in praying and weeping. There were shouts of oh Jesus and no. Some men on the fringes of the crowd stormed away. Others pumped their fists in the air and chanted Black Power.
Speaker 2:Kennedy had promised to talk for just a minute or so. He could have easily done that following his announcement of King's death with a brief eulogy and asking everyone to return home and pray. Delivering a longer speech was a gamble If he offended this audience, he could damage his reputation with his most loyal constituency. But even if his speech was pitch perfect, if there were riots in Indianapolis that evening, he would be blamed for inciting them. The speech he had prepared for this occasion contained lines such as the gulf between the races seems to be widening and we face rising crime and assassination of leaders, and riots and looting and burning. He could have easily adapted those to this occasion.
Speaker 2:Instead, he spoke extemporaneously for almost seven minutes. At first he spoke hauntingly, deliberately repeating phrases and words as if groping to find the most fitting words, pausing after one sentence to compose the next. His voice was hallow, close to breaking. Tears welled in his eyes, the wind tangled his hair and the spotlights made him look pallid and haunting. The crowd, noisy and fretful at first quieted and then drew closer to the platform he stood on, and then he said these words Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice between fellow human beings. He died in the cause of that effort.
Speaker 2:This is a difficult day. In this difficult time for the United States, it's perhaps well to ask what kind of nation we are and what direction we want to move in. For those of you who are black, considering the evidence evidently is that there were white people who were responsible, you can be filled with bitterness and with hatred and desire for revenge. We can move in that direction as a country in greater polarization, black people amongst blacks and white people amongst whites, filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend and to replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand and compassion and love. For those of you who are black and are tempted to be filled with hatred and mistrust of the injustice of such an act against all white people, I would only say that I can also feel in my own heart that same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man.
Speaker 2:But we have to make an effort in the United States. We have to make an effort to understand and to get beyond and go beyond these rather difficult times. My favorite poem, my favorite poem poet, was Aeschylus and he once wrote even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until in our own despair, against our own will comes wisdom through the awful grace of God. What we need in the United States is not division. What we need in the United States is not hatred. What we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but love and wisdom and compassion toward one another and a feeling of justice towards those who suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black. So I ask you tonight to return home to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King yeah, it's true but more importantly, to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love, a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke. We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times. We have had difficult times in the past and we will have difficult times in the future. It's not the end of violence, it's not the end of lawlessness and it's not the end of disorder, but the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together. Vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life and want justice for all human beings that abide in our land. Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world of man and make gentle the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that and say a prayer for our country and for our people.
Speaker 2:When Kennedy finished speaking, some in the crowd behaved as if he had just delivered a campaign speech. They rushed the platform cheering and reaching for him. Jim Tolan campaign aide, thought they were trying to tell him you are our last hope. But most in the crowd stood still, weeping, stunned, into silence. They dispersed quietly and within minutes the park had emptied. A month later one of the militant 10 percenters told researchers Carl Atolla and John Bittner of Purdue University. Quote we went there for trouble After Kennedy spoke. We couldn't get nowhere. Another militant told him after he spoke we realized the sensible way was not to kill him the way they killed his brother.
Speaker 2:Another claimed that Kennedy's speech had saved Indianapolis from violence, saying the black power guys didn't get no place. After that man spoke had Kennedy skipped the rally or delivered a less successful speech, there certainly would have been a riot at 17th and Broadway that evening. Anatola and Bittner speculated that a racially mixed, congested crowd would have erupted into physical conflict between black and white, with lives being lost and women and children caught in the melee. Furthermore, if a riot had taken place, a national televised audience would have been witnessed to its commencement. The prospect of chain reactions in other areas could not be overruled. During the next 24 hours, riots did break out in 119 American cities, leaving 46 dead, 2,500 injured and destruction unmatched since the Civil War. 46 dead, 2,500 injured and destruction unmatched since the Civil War. But in Indianapolis, where race relations were notoriously tense, no guns were fired or Molotov cocktails thrown. It was the only major American city to escape violence. Three decades later, former mayor and now, at the time of this writing, us Senator Richard Lugar, would call Kennedy's appearance at the rally a quote turning point for his city. I thought it was quite compelling that the author, certainly not knowing anything of Charlie Kirk or Turning Point USA, chose those words as a turning point in this book.
Speaker 2:The Last Campaign. On June 5th, just 68 days later after giving that speech, after winning the California primary, kennedy himself was assassinated in Los Angeles by Sirhan Sirhan. He died the next morning at age 42. Next morning, at age 42. His words from that Indianapolis night etched forever on his grave at Arlington National Cemetery, where they say to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world. On his tombstone, in the shadow of two assassinations, rfk's response to Martin Luther King stands as a testament to grace under fire, a fleeting moment when one man's words held back the tide of hate in a major American city.
Speaker 2:Now let's return to the reason for this episode. It was an ordinary Thursday morning on September 10th 2025 in Phoenix, arizona. The city baked under the relentless heat of the desert sun. A city baked under the relentless heat of the desert sun. Erica Kirk, 36, sat vigil at her mother's hospital room, her phone clutched like a lifeline amid the beeps of the monitors and the sterile scent of antiseptic. At 11.43, the phone rang Mikey McCoy, her husband, charlie's longtime assistant. His voice cracking with panic. He said he's been shot. The words landed like a thunderclap.
Speaker 2:Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old conservative activist and founder of Turning, turning point, usa, had been gunned down in mid-debate at utah valley university in your oram, utah. A single bullet had struck his neck, fired from the shadows of a rooftop by a young man seething with rage what he called Charlie's quote hatred. Erica's world shattered in that instant. Her partner of the last four years, father to their two young children, a spirited three-year-old daughter and a baby boy not yet toddling, was gone before noon. Rushed to the Utah hospital on a chartered flight, erica arrived to the unthinkable, identifying the man she loved, his body pale under the fluorescent lights. In her speech she said I looked directly at my husband's murdered body, her voice breaking in the memory. The wound was stark, a cruel punctuation to a life spent rallying youth against what Charlie saw as cultural decay. Every emotion coursed through her body Shock, horror, a heartache so profound it felt like the body was drowning.
Speaker 2:Charlie Everett, the romantic, had slipped out early that morning after a late night talk in their Phoenix home, leaving behind a Saturday love note ritual that they kept secret to stoke their marriage flames. Each love note ended with a quiet plea how can I serve you better as your husband? Now there was silence. The suspect, a 22-year-old who will remain nameless, was a Utah local who was radicalized online and with his transgender romantic partner. He was arrested 33 hours later After texting with his partner. I had had enough. Prosecutors charged him with first-degree aggravated murder, a crime that could carry the death penalty. Whispers of political motive swirled.
Speaker 2:Charlie's telling of the truth of the radical left had made enemies, but Erica Kirk, cradling her children through the blur of grief, turned inward. Faith had always been their anchor. Charlie, a devout Christian, had built Turning Point USA not just as an ideology but on a mission to save young man lost to despair. Erica, a devout Catholic herself, leaned heavily on her faith. That was Charlie's true goal to save these lost men he saw on campuses. To save the lost men of the West, she would say. Erica pointed this out in the heartbreaking talk this past Sunday.
Speaker 2:In the raw days that followed the assassination, erica prayed fiercely, echoing the words of her Lord and Savior. Thy will be done with Second Lady Usha Vance the very next day, who confessed her own fears of her widowhood, the Vances flying Charlie's casket home to Phoenix on Air Force Two. But the pain gnawed on Erica's heart. How to explain daddy's absence to their toddler? Perhaps she said to those kids who would not understand, he went to heaven to be with Jesus. We may never know what she said to those kids, know what she said to those kids, but this past weekend, september 21st, was just an unbelievable 11 days after the shot that echoed across the nation, the world converged on State Farm Stadium in Glendale, arizona, for Charlie's Memorial, his celebration of life. Over 80,000 packed into the arena, millions more tuned in online. There was a sea of red hats and tear-streaked faces honoring the man who had mobilized the generation of young people and, frankly, all people.
Speaker 2:I watched the whole thing. All the speakers were great, but then the unthinkable happened. Erica Kirk was announced as the next speaker. I couldn't believe it. My jaw dropped. I thought oh my, she's going to speak. How can she do this? She just spoke some 48 hours after her husband was gunned down. Holy smokes, a silent prayer went up for her. Oh, please, god, bless her and give her strength.
Speaker 2:Erica walked calmly out for the crowd to see her and stopped Her handkerchief, her tissues trembling in her grip. At 36, she looked both fragile and unbreakable, her voice steady amid sobs. As she addressed the throng of crowd, her voice would break but then regain power and clarity. She spoke of their little secret, those love notes and Charlie's faint smile on death, his regret-free life of 100% effort. Every day she vowed to carry his torch, announcing herself as turning point, usa's new CEO. His passion was my passion she said and now his mission is my mission.
Speaker 2:But it was her final words that hushed the stadium into reverence my husband Charlie. She said he wanted to save young man just like the one who took his life. Her gaze was distant, yet fierce. She went on. That young man On the cross, our Savior said Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. That man, that young man, I forgive him. I forgive him because it was what Christ did and what Charlie would do, would do. Tears streamed down her face as applause erupted and then thundered A standing ovation that shook the rafters, not for vengeance but for grace and for love of what she had just done. She continued that forgiveness wasn't an erasure of pain. It was a deliberate choice forged in prayer, in the gospel's unending call to mercy.
Speaker 2:Erica Kirk displayed the Holy Spirit working through her as never been seen in the world of 24-hour communications at least not in my lifetime and I'm pretty close to those 24-hour communications I haven't seen anything like this. Erica's act will ripple outward as a counterpoint, as a light in a very, very dark world. It will be the counterpoint to this era's bitterness and the hate that has been so readily seen over the last several decades, erica, with her children by her side side, will be their moral compass. And just days before she had explained to the New York Times not sure how she even spoke to those folks, but she did Credit to her. She never sought the death penalty. Her heart was fixed on redemption. She never sought the death penalty. Her heart was fixed on redemption. Even for the very, very lost soul who pulled the trigger and ended her husband's life. She was quoted as saying I don't want his life taken, not even for what he did. Charlie believed in redemption and saved a young man lost to anger, and I believe in that too. Eleven days From bullet to bomb, from rage to release Erica Kirk's forgiveness of her husband's murder has gone around the world like a sleeping wind, like a prairie fire or, dare we say, like that of the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 2:Charlie Kirk started a revolution in the conservative political movement, confronting liberals and radicals on their own turf, their own campuses, telling them the truth in a reasonable and respectful dialogue. Erica Kirk has started her own revolution from the battle cry of a widow combined with the forgiveness of Christ. Erica Kirk has been the example for millions and millions of others of that greatness of being a follower of Jesus Christ. She has proven that even in America's divided heart, love can still disarm hate. Love will overcome hate and evil and love of truth will always win out. Erica Kirk, you are a deeply remarkable woman and a testament to your faith. We stand with you. We will certainly be praying for you in the words that your husband loves so deeply and you love too, from 2 Timothy 4.7. I have fought the good fight. I have finished 4.7. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith, erica, for you and Charlie and the kids. As he always said, we do have a country to save and we will all keep fighting the good fight with you.
Speaker 1:Thank you for joining us. We hope you enjoyed this Theory to Action podcast. Be sure to check out our show page at teammojoacademycom, where we have everything we discussed in this podcast, as well as other great resources. Until next time, keep getting your mojo on.