Defending Charlie Kirk—SOUL#28

Last updated on: September 30, 2025 at 9:23 am by John Gravino

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Defending Charlie Kirk—SOUL#28 2025-09-30T09:23:30-04:00 John Gravino

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SOUL SCIENCE—Episode 28

America’s Turning Point

Many people have called the brutal assassination of Charlie Kirk a “turning point” for America. Our nation has been witness to heinous public executions before. But what made this one different was that so many people spontaneously cheered for the murder of an innocent young man. This was a new low for the soul and spirit of America. But the public nature of this monstrous revelation has awakened many people to the reality of evil. Social media has been filled with stories of conversion—so much so that commentators see a spiritual revival taking place across the country.

Still there is resistance. Too many people refuse to tone down the rhetoric that got Charlie Kirk killed. In today’s episode of SOUL SCIENCE, I call out people for their defamations against Charlie Kirk. Specifically, I call out Catholic blogger Mary Pezzulo whose Patheos article promotes several libels, which I refute in the show. Here’s the offending excerpt:

Mary Pezzulo at Patheos

The second thing you must know is that Charlie Kirk was not some kind of peacemaker and proponent of free speech who just wanted a lively debate. He simply wasn’t.

He was a racist, which our Church says is a sin. He was bigoted in all kinds of ways. He said hateful, reprehensible things about Black people, Muslims, Jews, and LGBTQ people. He said disgusting things about Haitian immigrants (many of whom are Catholic like us, for the record, though they ought to be treated with dignity no matter what). And yes, although the quote that’s circulating right now was garbled, he did believe in public executions.

Stephen King’s Apology

At the end of the show, I talk about Dave Rubin’s defense of Charlie Kirk. The openly gay podcaster condemned Stephen King for falsely accusing Kirk of promoting the death penalty for homosexuality:

“He advocated stoning gays to death. Just sayin’.”

After the massive public outcry against King, he took down the offending post and issued an apology. Mary Pezzulo should follow Stephen King’s good example and do the same.

Show Notes

Mary Pezzulo: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/steelmagnificat/2025/09/on-the-murder-of-charlie-kirk-and-an-anti-trans-moral-panic/

John Gravino: “Secular Humanism Poisons Everything”: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/soulscience/2025/04/secular-humanism-poisons-everything/

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About John Gravino

John Gravino is the author of The Immoral Landscape of the New Atheism, which was the topic of a health and spirituality seminar at Duke Medical School. He continues to explore the intersection of health and religion and the other big questions of life right here at Patheos. You can read more about the author here.

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