A recurring theme throughout Scripture is that those who are not following the Lord, who are, in fact, in open rebellion against him, will nevertheless claim to be his standard bearers in the hopes of harnessing his power for their cause.
We see it in 1 Samuel 4-5 when disobedient Israel decides to carry the Ark of the Covenant into battle, believing its presence will guarantee their victory.
We see it in Jeremiah 7 when the Israelites are sure that the Lord is on their side, despite their idol worship, because they possess the temple.
We see it in Acts 19 when seven men who know nothing of Christ try to cast out demons in his name and are left naked, bloody, and fleeing for their lives.
And we see it today in the Senate candidacy of James Talarico, the Democrats’ great white hope for convincing Texas voters that they, too, are representing Jesus in the public square.
The significant electoral advantage Republicans enjoy with Christians — colloquially known as the “God Gap” — has been an acknowledged problem for the Left since the 1990s. But after years of being broadly antagonistic toward faith, including removing references to God from their party platform and from the Pledge of Allegiance during caucus meetings, Democrats are suddenly realizing they may find more success if they don’t alienate every voter who ever darkened the door of a church.
To some degree, the most successful Democrats have always done this. Bill Clinton regularly trotted out his born-again bona fides. Barack Obama, too, referenced his church membership to allay concerns that he was hostile toward religion. And, of course, black candidates like Raphael Warnock not only use the language of faith to win votes, they use actual pulpits in Sunday services.
But Talarico, a member of the liberal mainline Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), is doing something different. And it has the legacy media cheering.
Vox reports that he is “reclaim[ing] Christianity from the Right” by teaching Democrats a “better way to talk about faith.” MS NOW (formerly MSNBC) says that his “unapologetic embrace of his Christian faith sets him apart from other rising Democratic stars.” And the New York Times crows that he “poses a new kind of threat to Republicans” through his “matter-of-fact critique of how faith has come to be expressed in the American church.”
What they mean by all of this is that Talarico is doing more than the time-honored tactic of simply claiming Christian identity to woo faith-friendly voters. He’s out on the campaign trail teaching doctrine. False doctrine.
In one heavily political sermon, Talarico appealed to a heretical Gnostic text, the Gospel of Thomas, to claim that Jesus is a “radical feminist” and Christianity is a “feminist religion.” He has described God as “nonbinary” to explain his support for providing transgender surgeries and puberty blockers to children. On the Joe Rogan Experience, he cited Luke 1, in which the Angel Gabriel tells Mary that she will conceive the Messiah, to defend policy proposals like up-to-birth abortion, infanticide for babies who survive abortion, and opening abortion clinics in federal buildings.
“I say all this in the context of abortion,” Talarico told Rogan, “because before God comes over Mary, and we have the incarnation, God asks for Mary’s consent … so to me, that is an affirmation in one of our most central stories that creation has to be done with consent. You cannot force someone to create.”
He added that Genesis 2:7 (“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being”) — means that “life starts when you take your first breath.”
For someone who claims the mantle of Christ for his candidacy, Talarico shows remarkably little loyalty to him. On Ezra Klein, he endorsed universalism, saying, “I believe Christianity points to the truth. I also think other religions of love point to the same truth. I think of different religious traditions as different languages.” In fact, Talarico doesn’t seem to view Jesus as a savior at all. During his appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, he told the audience one need not even be a Christian to get into Heaven.
“Jesus in Matthew 25 tells us exactly how you and I are going to be saved,” he said. “By feeding the hungry, by healing the sick … Nothing about going to church … nothing about even being a Christian.”
Anyone with even a passing familiarity with Scripture will instantly spot how grossly Talarico distorts God’s word. The problem is, in a country where fewer than half of Americans can identify the four gospels, most don’t have that passing familiarity and can be easily duped.
Whether it be John Cornyn or Ken Paxton, Talarico’s Republican opponent in this race will certainly try to poke holes in his religious assertions, as will conservative pundits. But if it is only other politicos warning against him, the impression onlookers will very likely have is that these are simply political disagreements. That would be disastrous for the spiritual education of a public increasingly interested in Christianity. Because it is not political arguments he is making, but theological ones. And that is why the most public rebukes of Talarico must come from pastors.
The Bible gives clear commands in passages like Titus 1:9-11, Ephesians 5:11, and Jude 3 that shepherds must oppose false teachers and expose their errors to protect the flock. It also offers plenty of examples to follow.
From Jeremiah publicly condemning the false prophet Hananiah in the temple courtyard for making the people “trust in a lie,” to the Apostle Paul sarcastically calling out the Judaizers, to Jesus himself ferociously reproving the Pharisees, Scripture gives us picture after picture of watchmen on the walls sounding the alarm against false teaching. The need for that alarm is no less just because the false teaching happens to occur in the context of an election.
Many high-profile conservative pastors have shown little reticence in calling out President Donald Trump for misusing Scripture on occasion, and they are right to do so. They are often less eager to “punch left” for fear of being seen as too political.
Yet the Left’s most sacredly held social positions — abortion on demand, sexual perversion as a protected identity — are in direct conflict with a text that tells us God knew us in the womb and calls it an abomination for a man to pretend to be a woman. It is not that the American church is becoming too political; it is that our policies have become so immoral that the church cannot stay silent.
Left-wing actors twisting Scripture out of all recognition to give spiritual legitimacy to their positions is a growing problem that shepherds will have to contend with in order to faithfully discharge their duties, no matter how Talarico’s race turns out.
Just last month, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said that he vetoed a bill to protect children from transgender procedures because he’s a Christian and he’s following Christ’s command to love his neighbor. In July, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) invoked Matthew 25 in a floor speech opposing the budget bill.
Even the agitators who invaded Cities Church in St. Paul, profanely screaming in the faces of crying children about their white privilege, claimed they were following the model of Christ in turning over tables in the temple.
Before his death last year, John MacArthur, one of the foremost preachers of our era, did not hesitate to confront California Governor Gavin Newsom when he misused Scripture to defend his policies. In 2022, when Newsom began rolling out billboards that cited Matthew 25 to promote abortion, MacArthur issued an open letter:
Almighty God says in His Word, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). Scripture also teaches that it is the chief duty of any civic leader to reward those who do well and to punish evildoers (Romans 13:1–7). You have not only failed in that responsibility; you routinely turn it on its head, rewarding evildoers and punishing the righteous…
In mid-September, you revealed to the entire nation how thoroughly rebellious against God you are when you sponsored billboards across America promoting the slaughter of children, whom He creates in the womb (Psalm 139:13–16; Isaiah 45:9–12). You further compounded the wickedness of that murderous campaign with a reprehensible act of gross blasphemy, quoting the very words of Jesus from Mark 12:31 as if you could somehow twist His meaning and arrogate His name in favor of butchering unborn infants. You used the name and the words of Christ to promote the credo of Molech (Leviticus 20:1–5). It would be hard to imagine a greater sacrilege.
Charles Spurgeon didn’t hesitate either.
In the 19th century, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels were making inroads by selling the British working class on their theories. Though these were in the political realm, they crossed over into the religious. Thus Spurgeon, the most famous preacher of that era, felt duty-bound to address them, warning that embracing socialism would leave “all society shattered, and men wandering like monster icebergs on the sea, dashing against each other, and being at last utterly destroyed.” He then added a point, highlighting that the religious and the political often overlap: “Those who love the Church of God feel heavy at heart because the teachers of the people cause them to err. Even from a national point of view, men of foresight see cause for grave concern.”
Much more than any other Western nation, America is still broadly Christian, if not always in individual devotion, at least in cultural allegiance. The silver lining of moments like this, when false doctrine is being spread from such high places, is that it offers preachers of the truth an opportunity to gain new hearers.
I cannot remember a time when Christianity was being discussed and debated so broadly. The problem is, too much of that talk is not profitable and requires a sound teacher to offer a rebuttal. And pastors should be jealous of their territory, over which Caesar holds no authority or intimidation. If the wolf is a senator rather than a seminarian, you still confront and expel the wolf.
If you don’t, don’t be surprised when it devours a few of your sheep.
