Monday, March 09, 2026

A Closer Look at America's Newest "Fake Christian"

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Democratic Texas state Rep. James Talarico has sparked a flurry of controversy and scorn in recent days as footage of his past sermons and social media posts has resurfaced since his decisive win in the U.S. Senate primary in Texas last Tuesday.

I talked about his anti-biblical worldview last week on our radio program.

Talarico, a lifelong member of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) who is working toward a Master of Divinity degree at the denomination's progressive Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, was first elected in 2018, at 29, to represent the liberal Austin area in the Texas House of Representatives.

Now, the Democratic Party is heralding him as their new political messiah, who will someday soon lead their party back to power.

Another, closer look at the Left's rising star.

Be informed, not misled.

The Christian Post has identified the "Top theological takes from Senate candidate James Talarico: 'Dumb and blasphemous'."

I wouldn't pay much attention to him if he were not both a rising star among the Left in America and a potential leader in the leaderless Democrat Party.

The Post says, "Now 36, Talarico has since become a rising star in the Democratic Party as he has railed against 'Christian nationalists' while positioning himself to 'flip the tables of injustice' in the halls of power like Jesus Christ.'"

"Despite making his Christian faith a key pillar of his political platform, some of Talarico's theological assertions have raised eyebrows and prompted widespread accusations of heresy. Some have suggested the worldview of the young lawmaker, who has attended a PCUSA church since he was a child, is symptomatic of a deeper, long-festering spiritual rot in the mainline Protestant churches and seminaries."

An overview of "The top six problems with Talarico," via the Christian Post:

1. 'Jesus was a feminist': Cites heretical Gospel of Thomas.

Talarico has taken particular flak in recent days for a resurfaced 2022 sermon in which he buttressed his claim that "Jesus was a feminist" by citing the Gospel of Thomas, despite its status as a discredited Gnostic text written at least a century after the apostles.

Typically dated to the mid-second century A.D. and sometimes even later, the so-called Gospel of Thomas is not a coherent narrative but rather contains 114 secret "sayings" attributed to the risen Jesus, which most scholars dismiss as fake, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.

"It's hard enough to write when you're alive; it's very difficult when you're dead," New Testament scholar Brant Pitre said of allegedly "lost gospels" like the Gospel of Thomas. "Even skeptical scholars recognize that these documents are too late to be authentic."

2. Abortion for 'our neighbors with a uterus.'

Talarico has used Scripture, including the story of the Annunciation in the Gospel of Luke, to defend his enthusiastically pro-abortion views, which he has extended to trans-identifying individuals.

During a viral interview with podcaster Joe Rogan last July, Talarico claimed the Virgin Mary consenting to the angel Gabriel's message suggests that the Bible is pro-choice, and that a woman's consent is an inextricable part of the creation process. He also said Genesis teaches life begins with breath, echoing an argument put forth in 2019 by former Secretary of Transportation and outspoken Episcopalian Pete Buttigieg to justify late-term abortion.

Talarico further noted to Rogan that some scholars believe the Torah even offers a recipe for an abortifacient potion, in an apparent reference to Numbers 5:11-31.

Known as "the ordeal of bitter water," the passage refers to a woman suspected of adultery drinking water mixed with tabernacle dust and ink from a written curse, which would invoke supernatural physical affliction and potentially render her infertile if she was lying. Pregnancy is not mentioned in the passage, and Jewish tradition restricted the ritual for pregnant women in some cases.

Collin Rugg posted: "NEW: Texas House Democrat and pastor James Talarico suggests the Bible supports abortion, says there is no Biblical basis for Christians to be anti-abortion. "

Jeremiah 1:5: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."



3. LGBT issues: 'God is non-binary.'

During a speech he delivered in 2021 on the floor of the Texas House in opposition to a bill requiring students to play on sports teams that align with their biology, Talarico warned the law would drive trans-identifying children to suicide and claimed God Himself is non-binary, which is a Gnostic idea.

God is both masculine and feminine and everything in between; God is non-binary," Talarico said, noting the Hebrew word "ruach," used to describe God's "spirit" in Genesis 1:2, is feminine in its grammatical gender. Every Hebrew noun has a masculine or feminine grammatical gender, though such is not always reflective of sex. The same Hebrew word Talarico cited is also used to describe the spirit of Pharaoh in Genesis 41:8 and the spirit of Jacob in Genesis 45:27.

Talarico further claimed the plural self-reference of God in Genesis 1:26, generally considered by Hebrew scholars to be an example of the grammatical "royal we" majestic plural, suggests that "trans children are God's children, made in God's own image."

Talarico has repeatedly defended homosexuality and abortion by noting there is no record of Jesus addressing such topics in the Bible, which Robert Gagnon, who serves as Visiting Scholar at Wesley Biblical Seminary in Ridgeland, Mississippi, dismissed as "juvenile hermeneutics" in a lengthy X post this week.

Talarico's pastor, Jim Rigby, was at the forefront of pushing the PCUSA into accepting LGBT ordination and marriage, going so far as to refuse the Lord's Supper at presbytery meetings in protest of their prohibition during the 1990s.

4. 'Never-ending process' of reckoning with whiteness.

Talarico has drawn particular scorn for some of his X posts during the COVID-19 era, including one that used the virus as an analogy for alleged systemic racism rooted in white supremacy.

In a post on May 8, 2020, months after the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery and weeks before the death of George Floyd, Talarico claimed Arbery was "killed by the virus of racism."

  • "The virus kills our black neighbors if they're jogging, playing music, sitting in church, selling CDs, or carrying a bag of Skittles..." he continued.
  • "White skin gives me and every white American immunity from the virus. But we spread it wherever we go — through our words, our actions, and our systems. We don't have to be showing symptoms — like a white hood or a Confederate flag — to be contagious."

5. Claimed atheists are more Christ-like than Christians.

In February, Talarico claimed on a podcast with journalist Al Hunt and Democratic strategist James Carville that some of his atheist and other non-Christian colleagues in the Texas Legislature are more "Christ-like" than some of his fellow legislators who claim to be Christian.

"Instead of putting the 10 Commandments in every classroom, instead of forcing school children to read the Bible against their wills, why don't we, all of us, look inward and figure out how we can be more Christ-like, even when it's uncomfortable?" asked Talarico, who spearheaded an abortive legislative effort in 2023 against a bill to display the Ten Commandments in Texas public schools, which he called "idolatrous" at the time.

When Hunt noted that Muslims and Hindus can also "learn a lot from Jesus," Talarico said, "I have met so many Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jews, Muslims, atheists, agnostics who are more Christ-like than some of the Christians I serve with in the Texas Legislature. It is about how you treat other people."

6. 'Cloak and cover of iniquity.'

During his victory speech after winning the Senate primary on Tuesday, Talarico appeared to frame the Gospel in Marxist economic terms while likening his role and that of his supporters to Jesus Christ cleansing the temple.

After anticipating he would be fielding accusations of being "a fake Christian" in the coming months, Talarico characterized his campaign as an attack against "the broken system and the powerful people who broke it."

Takeaway

This is an overview of the beliefs of a man who, in my view, will soon be running for president. There is more in the complete article in The Christian Post.

Whether or not he wins his US Senate race in the general election, he will continue his run for higher office.

The Democrats have adopted him as the answer to their political woes. He easily weaves Scripture into his blasphemous narrative, twisting biblical Christianity into a secular world vision---just what the Left has been looking for.

Joe Biden claimed to be a "devout" Catholic. Nobody, including his own church, believed him.

Kamala Harris claimed to be a committed Protestant Christian. Nobody believed her either.

Obama also had his religious tale to tell.

This guy is believable to those who are spiritually blind, walk in darkness, are uninformed, and /or want a religion that conforms to the secular culture. And he misuses Scripture to convince the deceived.

He recently said, "Two thousand years ago, when the powerful few at the top hurt those at the bottom, that barefoot rabbi didn't stay in His room and pray. He walked into the seat of power and flipped over the tables of injustice," Talarico said, repeating a speech he had delivered almost verbatim before.

Talarico's audience erupted in cheers when he said, "It's time to start flipping tables!"

Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Engaged. Be Mindful. Be Prayerful.

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