Kirk Cameron Criticizes the Tolerance of Evil and Tyranny in America

Kirk Cameron at The Woodruff Arts Center & Symphony Hall in Atlanta, on Aug. 15, 2019. Paras Griffin/Getty Images for AFFIRM Films A Sony Company

Christian actor Kirk Cameron, best known for starring in the 1980s sitcom “Growing Pains,” has expressed his feelings about fellow Christians “tolerating evil” and tyranny in America, noting that he believes intolerance is “a very essential Christian virtue” instead.

The 53-year-old actor shared his views during a Feb. 21 episode of the “Timcast IRL” podcast. During the conversation, the podcast’s host, Tim Pool, lamented the widespread surge of tolerance throughout the country. He called it “a weakness of Christians,” adding that “they’re too good of people.”

“Christians are tolerant,” Mr. Pool continued. “They are tolerant of their neighbors, they turn the other cheek, and they allowed very, very bad people to come in and start plaguing and terrorizing the country and the younger generations.”

In regards to the Biblical command of turning the other cheek (as laid out in Matthew 5:38-39), Mr. Cameron shared a similar sentiment. “[I] see so many who are just tolerating evil, and that’s not loving your neighbor,” he remarked.

“I mean, at the end of the day, the two great commandments of Christianity are to love God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength,” he shared. “And the second is to love your neighbor like yourself. If you tolerate the kinds of things that bring misery to your neighbors and ultimately strip them of their liberties, you’re not loving them.”

Mr. Cameron noted that the Constitution of the United States set forth limits to government powers as a means to prevent overreach and inhibit tyranny in the country. “That is a very essential Christian virtue is to not tolerate that type of thing,” he said.

Tolerance in America

Earlier in the conversation, the podcast’s co-host, Ian Crossland, reflected on remarks made by Patrick Bet-David during a live taping of “Timcast IRL” in 2023. During the entrepreneur’s riveting speech, which garnered a standing ovation, he said he used to pray to God asking for courage, wisdom, tolerance, and understanding. “I have stopped praying for tolerance,” he declared. “I think tolerant Christians have ruined America.”

Mr. Pool credited Mr. Bet-David for his earlier statements, reiterating that he believed Christians were good—albeit tolerant—people who have allowed those with radical or harmful ideologies to “live the way they want to live” through acceptance.

He noted that a byproduct of tolerance is that people are now introducing “dangerous, bad ideas,” specifically targeting children. “And now we’re here where we are today,” he said.

Creating Faith-Based Content

Mr. Cameron elaborated on how children were being affected by the current climate of tolerance, specifically addressing the dissemination of woke ideologies on social media and in public classrooms.

“They wanna get to the children—they wanna get to the children through TikTok, Instagram, through Snapchat through public schools ... because whoever has the time to tell the stories and set the values in the hearts and minds of children gets to control the future,” he cautioned.

To help counter the spread of “evil” in America, Mr. Cameron has committed to generating traditional and Biblically-based content. He has authored several faith-based children’s books, including “As You Grow” (2022), “Pride Comes Before the Fall” (2023), and “The Fox, the Fair, and the Invention Scare” (2023).

More recently, the actor announced that he—in conjunction with his children’s book publisher, Brave Books—is set to make a live-action children’s television series entitled “Adventures with Iggy and Mr. Kirk.”

According to a crowdfunding website for the project, which has garnered $246,432 of its $1,250,000 goal for its first season, the show will entertain children while simultaneously building their character and teaching them “solid morals” at the same time.

However, Mr. Cameron’s efforts to spread faith-based messaging haven’t been well-received by everyone. During his recent podcast appearance, the author described how he was denied by over 50 “woke libraries” to read “As You Grow,” even though those very same institutions had previously held drag queen story hours.

During a November 2023 appearance on the “Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey” podcast, Mr. Cameron detailed his motivations for continuing to create content centered on faith despite any pushback he may have encountered along the way.

“I can’t stop the World Economic Forum from doing what they’re doing. I can’t stop big food, big pharma, big books, like Scholastic. I can’t. I’m a guy. I’m one man,” he said. Mr. Cameron had previously lambasted Scholastic’s promotion of books to youth that discuss gender transition, among other LGBT topics—some of which the actor had deemed as “pornography by any definition,” per Fox News.

“But I can do everything in my power while I have breath on this earth for the help of this generation and uproot some evil in the field I know through the media,” the actor continued. “I can plant some seeds of goodness and truth and beauty, that’s what we’re doing right now, so that those who live after us—that’s our kids and grandkids—will have cleaner earth to till and build on.”