We don’t have to pretend Sen. Lindsey Graham was a political hero simply because he has died. Death doesn’t negate a public record, absolve a politician of responsibility for the damage he did, or require those harmed by his actions to praise him.
But there is a world of moral difference between honestly judging Graham’s life and celebrating his death.
For those of us who consider ourselves Christian, that distinction should be fundamental.
From almost the moment Graham’s death went public Sunday morning, people on the political left began posting celebratory messages about his death on social media.
The basic post is some variation of: “Graham was a horrible person who supported horrible policies that caused many people to suffer and some to die. Therefore, it’s great that he’s dead.”
To those posters who might consider themselves Christian, I can only respond that you misunderstand the Christian faith, or pervert it beyond meaning, when you take such a position.
Under no reasonable interpretation of the Christian faith is it good that Graham died. And there is no way to twist the gospels to support any scenario in which Jesus would have celebrated the death of someone who opposed or hated him.
Jesus didn’t command his followers to love only admirable people. He said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” That teaching is difficult—sometimes seemingly impossible—precisely because it applies to people we believe have acted cruelly, dishonestly, or unjustly.
Loving an enemy does not mean approving of their conduct. It means refusing to surrender their humanity—or our own—to hatred.
When we rejoice in another person’s death, something inside us also dies.
Whether you are Christian, Jewish, agnostic, or atheist, it dies because we are treating human life as valuable only when it belongs to someone on our side.
It dies because we are adopting the same moral tribalism we condemn in MAGA evangelicals: compassion for our allies, contempt for our opponents, and religious principles that vanish when they are inconvenient.
Here I’m writing to those who consider themselves progressive Christians: We can’t credibly accuse conservative Christians of abandoning the teachings of Jesus while treating “love your enemies” as optional. We can’t insist that faith should shape our political conduct only when that demand is directed at someone else.
Many of those celebrating Graham’s death because he supported policies that caused suffering are people who also oppose capital punishment. They correctly contend that even those convicted of terrible crimes retain inherent human dignity. They argue that the state shouldn’t respond to killing with more killing or satisfy society’s anger through execution.
Yet what principle allows us to defend the humanity of a mass murderer while cheering the death of a politician we despise?
Is the position really that convicted killers deserve mercy, but Lindsey Graham deserved death because of his votes and alliances?
Opposing the death penalty means believing that human worth does not depend on innocence, usefulness, or ideological agreement.
And Christianity goes further: Every person bears the image of God. That includes victims, political allies, and criminals.
Even Lindsey Graham.
We may condemn Graham’s record. We may describe the harm we believe he caused. We may warn future generations against his choices. Christianity does not require dishonest eulogies.
But it does require us to resist hatred.
Graham’s death should remind us that political power is temporary and human judgment is imperfect. We are not obligated to mourn him as a friend. But neither should we celebrate as though an enemy’s death were a victory.
The test of our principles and our faith is not how we treat people we love. It is whether we still believe in their humanity when we have every reason to despise what they did.
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