Ex-CIA officer recalls struggling to live out his faith, losing ‘moral compass’

January 8, 2025

A former agent for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is speaking out about his journey and the moral dilemmas he faced as a follower of Christ in an environment of deception.

The Christian Post reports that former CIA officer Kevin Shipp sat recently with Candace Owens on her podcast and discussed the morally complex situations he encountered in his 17 years with the agency.

Shipp recalled how he advanced through the ranks after joining the CIA and how his work in counterterrorism included “drinking with the enemy” while collecting human intelligence in the field.

In their interview, Shipp told Owens, “My job was to steal, to lie, to drink with the foreigners, and I would take mental notes as I was extracting information,” adding that, as a Christian, “What that does to your moral compass is just not good.”

According to the Christian Post, a pivotal moment in Shipp’s career came when he was stationed on the border of the Soviet Union and was approached by a woman who asked him, “Would you like to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ?”

That question caused Shipp to re-evaluate his role in the CIA and eventually to his decision to leave the agency.

Even when offered a lucrative opportunity to continue his work with the CIA, Shipp found the fortitude to tell his employer, “Sir, thank you so much for the offer, but I’m not interested. I’m going to have to turn it down.”

Shipp later became and author and penned the book Twilight of the Shadow Government: How Transparency Will Kill the Deep State. 

Photo: top, Credit: Screenshot/YouTube/Candace Owens