CHARLIE KIRK AND ST. STEPHEN

The comparison of these two martyrs is the purpose of this post. Both were devout Christians, both were ready to discuss their beliefs with others, both were serving God in their called vocations, both were taken to Glory much too soon.

We can readily read and view what Charlie had to say. He was gracious in his speaking, but also blunt when it came to discussing erroneous concepts raised by others. His intellect and knowledge were exceptional; his attitude was loving and patient.

Charlie was very much like Stephen, as recorded in the Book of Acts in the New Testament. The early Church was a sharing body. Food was distributed to the needy, but when the task became too time consuming for the apostles, it took away from their duties to pray, teach and evangelize. So they found a solution.

Acts 6:2-4 (NKJV) Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, "It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables; therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word."

Acts 6:5 (NKJV) And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit. This description certainly applies to Charlie Kirk.

Then critics of Stephen arose and accused him of wrongdoing, with many lies and false rumors. They went to the authorities and demanded that he be silenced. Stephen’s reply to his judges was an historical account of the Old Testament history from Abraham to the current events of his day, namely, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Their response to Stephen was vitriolic. Acts 7:54 (NKJV) When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.

But the final straw was when Stephen was given a vision of Heaven. Acts 7:55-56 (NKJV)  But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!"

Not waiting for a verdict from the authorities, Acts 7:57-58 (NKJV) Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him.

Whether death from and angry mob or death by a deranged shooter, a saint, at his or her time of passing, will be able to look into Heaven and see their Savior!

CREATION ACCORDING TO GOOGLE AI

 The Bible says in Genesis 1:1 (NKJV)”In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” This was done in six days, a little over 6,000 years ago.

 However, Google AI has a different, and fictional, account.

AI: While religious texts describe a divine act of creation, secular science presents the theory of the Big Bang, which explains the origin of the universe through natural processes over billions of years. These scientific and faith-based accounts offer different perspectives on the origin of the universe.

 Genesis 1:9 (NKJV) Then God said "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear"

AI: The Big Bang created the universe's initial abundance of hydrogen and helium, and subsequent stellar processes, known as nucleosynthesis, combined these light elements to form all the other elements found on Earth and in the cosmos. 

Genesis 1:11 (NKJV) Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so.

AI: The earliest undisputed fossil evidence of land plants dates to the Middle Ordovician period, around 470 million years ago. These fossils are in the form of microscopic spores that have decay-resistant walls.

Genesis 1:16 (NKJV) Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also.

AI: The Sun and the Moon were created at different times but from the same early solar system process, the solar nebula. The Sun formed first from the gravitational collapse of the nebula's center, eventually igniting nuclear fusion. The Moon formed much later when a Mars-sized object, Theia, collided with the proto-Earth, ejecting debris that coalesced into the Moon.  

Genesis 1:25 (NKJV) And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind.

 AI: Life on Earth formed when simple organic molecules combined into more complex ones, leading to self-replicating structures, likely in warm, mineral-rich environments like deep-sea hydrothermal vents or shallow ponds billions of years ago. 

 Genesis 1:27 (NKJV) So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

 Genesis 2:7 (NKJV) And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

 AI: The emergence of humans was a gradual process, not a sudden event. Species changed and evolved slowly from ancestral species over time. 

AI: Male and female evolved from a single type of hermaphroditic ancestor through the diversification of reproductive cells into two distinct sizes, a process called anisogamy.

Genesis 1:31 (NKJV) Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.