Podcast Summary: "Attacks On Christian Churches EXPLAINED In 5 Mins"

The Michael Knowles Show – January 24, 2026

Overview

In this focused episode, Michael Knowles examines why leftist movements throughout history have repeatedly targeted Christian churches. Using a recent incident in Minneapolis—where protestors disrupted a church service—as a starting point, Knowles provides a historical survey of anti-Christian violence tied to the political left, tracing events from the French Revolution to twentieth-century communist regimes. The episode's main theme is the persistent and ideologically motivated attacks on Christianity by left-wing groups, both past and present.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Recent Attack in Minneapolis

• Incident Recap:
  A leftist group invaded a church in Minneapolis, disrupted the service, and harassed congregants in protest against the deportation of criminals and federal immigration law enforcement.
• Public Reaction:
  Knowles notes widespread shock at the direct targeting of a religious service for political protest.

“Recently a leftist mob in Minneapolis invaded a church, stopped the service and harassed the Christian congregants until they were forced to leave.” (01:22)

2. Historical Precedent: The Left and the Church

• Pattern of Anti-Church Actions:
  Knowles asserts that targeting Christianity is a recurring feature of leftist movements, stretching back to the origins of the political left.

• French Revolution Origins:

  • 1789 National Assembly Split:
    Political factions were divided into 'left' (opposed to king and church) and 'right' (loyal to religion and monarchy).
  • Baron de Goville Quoted:
    Those loyal to religion and the king kept to the right to avoid the left’s “shouts and oaths and indecencies.” (Referencing French historian Baron de Goville)

  “The term first appeared in 1789, when members of the French national assembly divided themselves between the left and the right of the Hall... Those who were loyal to religion and the king took up position to the right of the chair so as to avoid the shouts and oaths and indecencies that enjoyed free reign in the opposing camp.” (01:53)

  • De-Christianization and Violence:
    The revolution saw destruction of churches, looting, forced renunciations by clergy, and mass executions.

3. Anti-Christian Violence by Leftist Regimes

• Paris Commune (1871), France:
  Closure of churches, desecration of religious sites, execution of clergy.

• Russian Revolution:
  Bolsheviks implemented state atheism, destroyed 40,000+ religious sites, and executed thousands of priests with “particularly sacrilegious methods.”

  “...executed thousands of priests through particularly sacrilegious methods, such as boiling in tar, the consumption of melted lead in mock Holy Communion, and crucifixion.” (03:03)

• Mexico (Early 20th Century):
  Government attacks included bombings of sacred Christian artifacts, church closures, and execution of clergy.

  “In 1921, an employee of the president... placed a bomb beneath the tilma of Our Lady of Guadalupe... The bomb exploded, but the tilma... managed to survive intact, even as the bomb destroyed the altar steps and bent brass candlesticks.” (03:35)

• Spain (Spanish Civil War):
  Systematic destruction of churches, rape and murder of nuns and priests, and staged executions of Christian symbols.

• Soviet Bloc (Post WWII):
  Mass imprisonment and execution of clergy, imposition of atheism.

• China (20th Century):
  Up to 700,000 Christians killed, including thousands of clergy, public executions of missionaries.

  “...Chinese Communists of the era, who imprisoned and killed an estimated 700,000 Christians, including tens of thousands of priests and pastors, and publicly executed missionaries.” (05:06)

• North Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia (Khmer Rouge):

  • Labor camps, torture, forced famine, and attempts to erase Christianity entirely (e.g., Cambodia’s ‘Year Zero’ policy, inspired by the French Revolution’s calendar reset).

4. Intellectual and Philosophical Roots

• Key Radical Thinkers Quoted:

  • Diderot: “Man will only be free when the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.”
  • Voltaire: “Crush the infamous thing.” (Referring to the Church)
  • Jacques Hébert: Called priests “your enemies” and advocated for their persecution.

  “For years the French had been reading Diderot, who proclaimed, ‘man will only be free when the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.’ And Voltaire, who said of the church, ‘crush the infamous thing.’ And later Jacques Hebert, who demanded that the national assembly, ‘declare openly that the priests are your enemies.’” (05:40)

5. Conclusion: Recurring Pattern and Warning

• Knowles argues that leftist revolutions consistently begin by targeting the church and that unchecked, these movements escalate into broader violence and repression.

• Cites the execution of Jacques Hébert—who helped spur anti-clerical violence—during the very reign of terror he helped inspire as a cautionary tale about revolutionary excess.

  “That's how leftist revolutions end. If they're not stopped where they begin, which always seems to be with a mob taking aim at a church.” (06:23)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Historical Origin of 'Left' and 'Right':
  “[The] term first appeared in 1789... those who were loyal to religion and the king took up position to the right... to avoid the shouts and oaths and indecencies that enjoyed free reign in the opposing camp.” (01:53)
• Graphic Historical Descriptions:
  “Executed thousands of priests through particularly sacrilegious methods, such as boiling in tar, the consumption of melted lead in mock Holy Communion, and crucifixion.” (03:03)
• Enduring Pattern:
  “If they’re not stopped where they begin, which always seems to be with a mob taking aim at a church.” (06:23)

Timeline of Key Segments

• [01:22] – Introduction of Minneapolis incident
• [01:53] – Origin of left/right political terms during French Revolution
• [02:30–05:10] – Survey of anti-Christian violence from 18th-20th centuries (France, Russia, Mexico, Spain, Central/Eastern Europe, China, North Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia)
• [05:40] – Philosophical drivers behind anti-Christian sentiment
• [06:23] – Conclusion: Revolutionary attacks often begin with the church

Overall Tone

Knowles’ tone is brisk, urgent, and polemical, employing vivid historical examples and direct quotations to argue that attacks on Christian churches are not isolated incidents but deeply rooted in the ideological history of the political left.