Don Lemon calls ceremony a ‘political rally dressed as church’
Former CNN host Don Lemon says a memorial service held in honor of slain Turning Level USA founder Charlie Kirk was, the truth is, a thinly-veiled “political rally dressed as church.”
Lemon, 59, who’s greatest identified for internet hosting “Don Lemon Tonight” and later co-hosting “CNN This Morning” earlier than he was fired in 2023, made the feedback in a Sept. 22 livestream through which he took intention at Sunday’s memorial for Kirk held in Glendale, Arizona.
Kirk was assassinated Sept. 10 by the hands of an alleged 22-year-old shooter at Utah Valley College in Orem, Utah.
Audio system who had been available to acknowledge Kirk’s legacy included political leaders, White Home cupboard officers, Turning Level USA and TPUSA Religion workers and conservative media influencers, in addition to musical performances by outstanding Christian artists.
Lemon mentioned he started questioning the true intent of the service — which featured appearances by President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Kirk’s widow, Erika — after he was prompted by a pal’s textual content about Kirk being a “particular person of religion.”
“How does an individual of religion act? How does an individual who actually believes and what God and the scriptures say the true which means of it, not the distorted which means, how would they deal with the least of those?” he mentioned. “So what I say now’s that what occurred in Arizona this weekend was not only a memorial. It was one thing else solely. Folks will inform you that it’s about grief. It was about grief, about honoring a person’s life, about religion. And on the floor, you understand, possibly it appeared like that.”
Lemon, a self-identified Christian who’s married to a different man, mentioned the occasion “wasn’t nearly a person who died. This was a few motion claiming divine permission to rule.”
Pointing to his Southern Baptist and Catholic experiences, Lemon continued, “It was a revival assembly wrapped in a memorial, a political rally dressed as church. And by the tip of the night time, it was clear this was not solely about Charlie Kirk’s demise. It was about his afterlife in politics.”
He additionally known as out the president, whom he mentioned “stood on the stage like a person on the heart of a prophecy,” and took exception to the service’s pep rally-style ambiance. “The gang cheered as if the passing of the person had lit some type of sacred fireplace,” he mentioned. “To me, this was not mourning. This was a mobilization …
“What we noticed in that area was not merely religion discovering public expression. It was spiritual nationalism on full show,” added Lemon.
The host then attacked acquainted phrases used almost each Sunday in Evangelical church buildings throughout the nation.
“The language was unmistakable. ‘Take the nation again for God.’ ‘Restore America’s covenant.’ ‘This can be a holy calling,’” he mentioned. “That is what it seemed like. This isn’t the language of democracy. That is the language of domination.”
He warned that authorities officers talking so overtly about issues of the Christian religion might gas a brand new type of politics that “divides a rustic into the saved and the damned.”
“When religion fuses with energy, it begins to ask for one thing else. It asks for obedience. It divides a rustic into the saved and the damned, the chosen, and the condemned,” he mentioned. “The second faith turns into a software of politics, dissent begins to sound like blasphemy.”
Lemon reserved his most complimentary language for Erika Kirk’s declaration of forgiveness towards her husband’s killer, who advised the group, “Our Savior mentioned, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ That younger man … I forgive him. I forgive him as a result of it was what Christ did, and it is what Charlie would do.”
“There was one voice on that stage that didn’t observe that script not less than [that day], and that’s Charlie Kirk’s widow,” Lemon mentioned. “She spoke of forgiveness. She spoke of grace, of affection that transcends politics.”
Lemon, who as soon as credited megachurch pastor Bishop T.D. Jakes of The Potter’s Home in Dallas because the inspiration for his profession, was accused of blasphemy in 2020 after he mentioned Jesus Christ “was not good when he was right here on this Earth.”
Whereas claiming to be a Christian, Lemon wrote in a now-deleted 2011 CNN faith weblog that he doesn’t imagine “spiritual teachings occurred phrase for phrase as they had been written in Scripture,” a follow he known as “naive, even harmful.”
“That sort of considering — or non-thinking — retains many non secular folks enslaved to beliefs that they haven’t really stepped again from and examined,” he added.
Don Lemon calls ceremony a ‘political rally dressed as church’
Former CNN host Don Lemon says a memorial service held in honor of slain Turning Level USA founder Charlie Kirk was, the truth is, a thinly-veiled “political rally dressed as church.”
Lemon, 59, who’s greatest identified for internet hosting “Don Lemon Tonight” and later co-hosting “CNN This Morning” earlier than he was fired in 2023, made the feedback in a Sept. 22 livestream through which he took intention at Sunday’s memorial for Kirk held in Glendale, Arizona.
Kirk was assassinated Sept. 10 by the hands of an alleged 22-year-old shooter at Utah Valley College in Orem, Utah.
Audio system who had been available to acknowledge Kirk’s legacy included political leaders, White Home cupboard officers, Turning Level USA and TPUSA Religion workers and conservative media influencers, in addition to musical performances by outstanding Christian artists.
Lemon mentioned he started questioning the true intent of the service — which featured appearances by President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Kirk’s widow, Erika — after he was prompted by a pal’s textual content about Kirk being a “particular person of religion.”
“How does an individual of religion act? How does an individual who actually believes and what God and the scriptures say the true which means of it, not the distorted which means, how would they deal with the least of those?” he mentioned. “So what I say now’s that what occurred in Arizona this weekend was not only a memorial. It was one thing else solely. Folks will inform you that it’s about grief. It was about grief, about honoring a person’s life, about religion. And on the floor, you understand, possibly it appeared like that.”
Lemon, a self-identified Christian who’s married to a different man, mentioned the occasion “wasn’t nearly a person who died. This was a few motion claiming divine permission to rule.”
Pointing to his Southern Baptist and Catholic experiences, Lemon continued, “It was a revival assembly wrapped in a memorial, a political rally dressed as church. And by the tip of the night time, it was clear this was not solely about Charlie Kirk’s demise. It was about his afterlife in politics.”
He additionally known as out the president, whom he mentioned “stood on the stage like a person on the heart of a prophecy,” and took exception to the service’s pep rally-style ambiance. “The gang cheered as if the passing of the person had lit some type of sacred fireplace,” he mentioned. “To me, this was not mourning. This was a mobilization …
“What we noticed in that area was not merely religion discovering public expression. It was spiritual nationalism on full show,” added Lemon.
The host then attacked acquainted phrases used almost each Sunday in Evangelical church buildings throughout the nation.
“The language was unmistakable. ‘Take the nation again for God.’ ‘Restore America’s covenant.’ ‘This can be a holy calling,’” he mentioned. “That is what it seemed like. This isn’t the language of democracy. That is the language of domination.”
He warned that authorities officers talking so overtly about issues of the Christian religion might gas a brand new type of politics that “divides a rustic into the saved and the damned.”
“When religion fuses with energy, it begins to ask for one thing else. It asks for obedience. It divides a rustic into the saved and the damned, the chosen, and the condemned,” he mentioned. “The second faith turns into a software of politics, dissent begins to sound like blasphemy.”
Lemon reserved his most complimentary language for Erika Kirk’s declaration of forgiveness towards her husband’s killer, who advised the group, “Our Savior mentioned, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ That younger man … I forgive him. I forgive him as a result of it was what Christ did, and it is what Charlie would do.”
“There was one voice on that stage that didn’t observe that script not less than [that day], and that’s Charlie Kirk’s widow,” Lemon mentioned. “She spoke of forgiveness. She spoke of grace, of affection that transcends politics.”
Lemon, who as soon as credited megachurch pastor Bishop T.D. Jakes of The Potter’s Home in Dallas because the inspiration for his profession, was accused of blasphemy in 2020 after he mentioned Jesus Christ “was not good when he was right here on this Earth.”
Whereas claiming to be a Christian, Lemon wrote in a now-deleted 2011 CNN faith weblog that he doesn’t imagine “spiritual teachings occurred phrase for phrase as they had been written in Scripture,” a follow he known as “naive, even harmful.”
“That sort of considering — or non-thinking — retains many non secular folks enslaved to beliefs that they haven’t really stepped again from and examined,” he added.
Don Lemon calls ceremony a ‘political rally dressed as church’
Former CNN host Don Lemon says a memorial service held in honor of slain Turning Level USA founder Charlie Kirk was, the truth is, a thinly-veiled “political rally dressed as church.”
Lemon, 59, who’s greatest identified for internet hosting “Don Lemon Tonight” and later co-hosting “CNN This Morning” earlier than he was fired in 2023, made the feedback in a Sept. 22 livestream through which he took intention at Sunday’s memorial for Kirk held in Glendale, Arizona.
Kirk was assassinated Sept. 10 by the hands of an alleged 22-year-old shooter at Utah Valley College in Orem, Utah.
Audio system who had been available to acknowledge Kirk’s legacy included political leaders, White Home cupboard officers, Turning Level USA and TPUSA Religion workers and conservative media influencers, in addition to musical performances by outstanding Christian artists.
Lemon mentioned he started questioning the true intent of the service — which featured appearances by President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Kirk’s widow, Erika — after he was prompted by a pal’s textual content about Kirk being a “particular person of religion.”
“How does an individual of religion act? How does an individual who actually believes and what God and the scriptures say the true which means of it, not the distorted which means, how would they deal with the least of those?” he mentioned. “So what I say now’s that what occurred in Arizona this weekend was not only a memorial. It was one thing else solely. Folks will inform you that it’s about grief. It was about grief, about honoring a person’s life, about religion. And on the floor, you understand, possibly it appeared like that.”
Lemon, a self-identified Christian who’s married to a different man, mentioned the occasion “wasn’t nearly a person who died. This was a few motion claiming divine permission to rule.”
Pointing to his Southern Baptist and Catholic experiences, Lemon continued, “It was a revival assembly wrapped in a memorial, a political rally dressed as church. And by the tip of the night time, it was clear this was not solely about Charlie Kirk’s demise. It was about his afterlife in politics.”
He additionally known as out the president, whom he mentioned “stood on the stage like a person on the heart of a prophecy,” and took exception to the service’s pep rally-style ambiance. “The gang cheered as if the passing of the person had lit some type of sacred fireplace,” he mentioned. “To me, this was not mourning. This was a mobilization …
“What we noticed in that area was not merely religion discovering public expression. It was spiritual nationalism on full show,” added Lemon.
The host then attacked acquainted phrases used almost each Sunday in Evangelical church buildings throughout the nation.
“The language was unmistakable. ‘Take the nation again for God.’ ‘Restore America’s covenant.’ ‘This can be a holy calling,’” he mentioned. “That is what it seemed like. This isn’t the language of democracy. That is the language of domination.”
He warned that authorities officers talking so overtly about issues of the Christian religion might gas a brand new type of politics that “divides a rustic into the saved and the damned.”
“When religion fuses with energy, it begins to ask for one thing else. It asks for obedience. It divides a rustic into the saved and the damned, the chosen, and the condemned,” he mentioned. “The second faith turns into a software of politics, dissent begins to sound like blasphemy.”
Lemon reserved his most complimentary language for Erika Kirk’s declaration of forgiveness towards her husband’s killer, who advised the group, “Our Savior mentioned, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ That younger man … I forgive him. I forgive him as a result of it was what Christ did, and it is what Charlie would do.”
“There was one voice on that stage that didn’t observe that script not less than [that day], and that’s Charlie Kirk’s widow,” Lemon mentioned. “She spoke of forgiveness. She spoke of grace, of affection that transcends politics.”
Lemon, who as soon as credited megachurch pastor Bishop T.D. Jakes of The Potter’s Home in Dallas because the inspiration for his profession, was accused of blasphemy in 2020 after he mentioned Jesus Christ “was not good when he was right here on this Earth.”
Whereas claiming to be a Christian, Lemon wrote in a now-deleted 2011 CNN faith weblog that he doesn’t imagine “spiritual teachings occurred phrase for phrase as they had been written in Scripture,” a follow he known as “naive, even harmful.”
“That sort of considering — or non-thinking — retains many non secular folks enslaved to beliefs that they haven’t really stepped again from and examined,” he added.
Don Lemon calls ceremony a ‘political rally dressed as church’
Former CNN host Don Lemon says a memorial service held in honor of slain Turning Level USA founder Charlie Kirk was, the truth is, a thinly-veiled “political rally dressed as church.”
Lemon, 59, who’s greatest identified for internet hosting “Don Lemon Tonight” and later co-hosting “CNN This Morning” earlier than he was fired in 2023, made the feedback in a Sept. 22 livestream through which he took intention at Sunday’s memorial for Kirk held in Glendale, Arizona.
Kirk was assassinated Sept. 10 by the hands of an alleged 22-year-old shooter at Utah Valley College in Orem, Utah.
Audio system who had been available to acknowledge Kirk’s legacy included political leaders, White Home cupboard officers, Turning Level USA and TPUSA Religion workers and conservative media influencers, in addition to musical performances by outstanding Christian artists.
Lemon mentioned he started questioning the true intent of the service — which featured appearances by President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Kirk’s widow, Erika — after he was prompted by a pal’s textual content about Kirk being a “particular person of religion.”
“How does an individual of religion act? How does an individual who actually believes and what God and the scriptures say the true which means of it, not the distorted which means, how would they deal with the least of those?” he mentioned. “So what I say now’s that what occurred in Arizona this weekend was not only a memorial. It was one thing else solely. Folks will inform you that it’s about grief. It was about grief, about honoring a person’s life, about religion. And on the floor, you understand, possibly it appeared like that.”
Lemon, a self-identified Christian who’s married to a different man, mentioned the occasion “wasn’t nearly a person who died. This was a few motion claiming divine permission to rule.”
Pointing to his Southern Baptist and Catholic experiences, Lemon continued, “It was a revival assembly wrapped in a memorial, a political rally dressed as church. And by the tip of the night time, it was clear this was not solely about Charlie Kirk’s demise. It was about his afterlife in politics.”
He additionally known as out the president, whom he mentioned “stood on the stage like a person on the heart of a prophecy,” and took exception to the service’s pep rally-style ambiance. “The gang cheered as if the passing of the person had lit some type of sacred fireplace,” he mentioned. “To me, this was not mourning. This was a mobilization …
“What we noticed in that area was not merely religion discovering public expression. It was spiritual nationalism on full show,” added Lemon.
The host then attacked acquainted phrases used almost each Sunday in Evangelical church buildings throughout the nation.
“The language was unmistakable. ‘Take the nation again for God.’ ‘Restore America’s covenant.’ ‘This can be a holy calling,’” he mentioned. “That is what it seemed like. This isn’t the language of democracy. That is the language of domination.”
He warned that authorities officers talking so overtly about issues of the Christian religion might gas a brand new type of politics that “divides a rustic into the saved and the damned.”
“When religion fuses with energy, it begins to ask for one thing else. It asks for obedience. It divides a rustic into the saved and the damned, the chosen, and the condemned,” he mentioned. “The second faith turns into a software of politics, dissent begins to sound like blasphemy.”
Lemon reserved his most complimentary language for Erika Kirk’s declaration of forgiveness towards her husband’s killer, who advised the group, “Our Savior mentioned, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ That younger man … I forgive him. I forgive him as a result of it was what Christ did, and it is what Charlie would do.”
“There was one voice on that stage that didn’t observe that script not less than [that day], and that’s Charlie Kirk’s widow,” Lemon mentioned. “She spoke of forgiveness. She spoke of grace, of affection that transcends politics.”
Lemon, who as soon as credited megachurch pastor Bishop T.D. Jakes of The Potter’s Home in Dallas because the inspiration for his profession, was accused of blasphemy in 2020 after he mentioned Jesus Christ “was not good when he was right here on this Earth.”
Whereas claiming to be a Christian, Lemon wrote in a now-deleted 2011 CNN faith weblog that he doesn’t imagine “spiritual teachings occurred phrase for phrase as they had been written in Scripture,” a follow he known as “naive, even harmful.”
“That sort of considering — or non-thinking — retains many non secular folks enslaved to beliefs that they haven’t really stepped again from and examined,” he added.
