James Talarico talks about Jesus. He quotes Scripture. He attends seminary. He speaks openly about his Christian faith and says that faith shapes his politics. That should not trouble Christians. What should concern us is what happens when Christianity is often spoken about, but Scripture is no longer allowed to define what Christianity means.

This is not about whether Talarico is a Democrat, nor is it an endorsement of his Republican opponent. Christians should not excuse bad theology because we like someone’s politics, nor should we suddenly become careful theologians only when the person belongs to the other party. The question is simple: when someone speaks in the name of Christianity, is what he says true?

Scripture tells us to “test everything” and “hold on to what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). John tells believers to test the spirits to see whether they are from God (1 John 4:1). In Acts 17:11, the Bereans were praised because they received Paul’s message eagerly but still examined the Scriptures every day to see whether what he taught was true.

That is the standard. Not personality. Not compassion. Not political usefulness. Not seminary training. The standard is the Word of God.

That standard matters when Talarico says, as he did during the October 14 CNN/Jubilee town hall, “We’re both Christians, and the Bible is silent on the issue of abortion.” He therefore argued that Christians have to look at different Scriptures and come to their own conclusions.

But Talarico has also referred to interpretations of the Torah that see something like abortion in passages involving a woman drinking a substance. On The Joe Rogan Experience, he described these as possible “subtle instructions,” while also saying he had not studied the issue enough to speak with certainty. The passage commonly raised in that argument is Numbers 5.

There is an obvious disconnect. If Numbers 5 teaches abortion, then the Bible is not silent about abortion. If the Bible is silent, Numbers 5 cannot also be used as biblical support for abortion. Both claims cannot be true at the same time.

There is a larger problem. The Bible does not have to use the modern word “abortion” to speak about unborn life. Psalm 139 describes God forming a person in the womb. God tells Jeremiah that He knew him before birth. In Luke 1, the unborn John the Baptist responds to the presence of the unborn Jesus. Scripture repeatedly speaks of life in the womb as life known and formed by God.

The Bible is not silent simply because it does not use the modern word “abortion.”

The abortion argument is not the only concern. In 2021, while speaking against Texas legislation involving transgender athletes, Talarico said, “God is nonbinary.” His stated point was that God cannot be limited by human categories.

There is truth in saying that God is greater than human limits. God is spirit. He is not biologically male. But “nonbinary” is a modern human gender category, and Scripture does not describe God that way. God reveals Himself as Father, consistently uses masculine personal language for Himself, and the Son came into the world as a man, Jesus Christ. We do not honor God by replacing the words He chose to use about Himself with words our culture prefers.

Talarico has also said “God is not a Christian” in a sermon arguing that God is bigger than human religious categories, and he has described Jesus as a “radical feminist.” Those statements should be heard in context, not clipped into something he did not mean. But even with the context included, the deeper question remains: who gets to define God?

Christianity begins with revelation. God has spoken. We do not stand over Scripture and decide which parts of God’s self-revelation still fit our age and remove the parts that do not fit. We receive what He has said. Once culture starts defining Scripture rather than Scripture defining culture, the direction has changed.

Talarico has spoken openly about the influence of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Austin and its longtime pastor, Jim Rigby. Rigby baptized him, married Talarico’s parents, and gave the invocation when Talarico was sworn into the Texas House. Talarico has called Rigby “my pastor” and has described the church’s countercultural faith as formative to his worldview.

That relationship matters because Talarico himself says it matters. But fairness matters too. Being raised in a church does not mean a person agrees with every statement made by every pastor there. In fact, Talarico has said he believes in a historical resurrection, unlike Rigby. We should criticize Talarico for what Talarico actually teaches, not simply assign every belief of his pastor to him.

At the same time, the theology of a church someone identifies as deeply formative is relevant background. Rigby has publicly rejected a literal bodily resurrection of Jesus and has treated the resurrection as a truth that need not depend on a historical event. Another St. Andrew’s minister, Babs Miller, was recorded saying Jesus did not die to save people from their sins, questioning the virgin birth, and questioning whether Jesus historically existed.

Those are not small disagreements about worship style or church government. They concern the heart of the Christian faith.

Paul does not treat the resurrection as a symbol that remains useful even if the tomb was never empty. Christianity rests on the claim that Jesus died, was buried, rose again, and appeared to witnesses. If that did not happen, Paul says Christian faith is worthless.

The same is true of Christ’s death for sin. Paul says that “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3). Peter says Christ suffered “the righteous for the unrighteous” to bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18). Jesus was crucified by Rome, but the cross was more than a political execution. Scripture says Christ was bearing sin.

If you remove the bodily resurrection and the saving meaning of the cross, you are not simply giving Christianity a new interpretation. You are destroying the Gospel.

Deception usually does not begin by throwing away every Christian word. It keeps the words and changes their meaning: Jesus, love, justice, grace, faith, truth. Scripture is no longer treated as the final authority, the culture becomes the lens through which Scripture is read, and biblical words are slowly given new meanings. In time, doctrines once considered basic are questioned or denied.

Eventually the church can begin blessing what Scripture forbids while doubting what Scripture teaches. The language still sounds Christian. That is what makes deception dangerous. The first great deception in Scripture did not begin with, “There is no God.” It began with the question, “Did God really say...?” (Genesis 3:1).

Discernment is not only personal. When error is being taught publicly, Christians should warn others publicly and carefully. That does not mean exaggerating, mocking, or attacking the person. It means identifying the error, showing what Scripture says, and helping others recognize the difference. If deception is left unchallenged, it can spread like leaven through dough—quietly, steadily, until it affects the whole (Galatians 5:9).

Christians can easily fall into this trap when politics is involved. If someone from our party misuses Scripture, we often overlook it. If someone from the other party does the same thing, we suddenly notice every error. That is not biblical discernment. That is partisanship.

If a Republican twists Scripture, Christians should say so. If a Democrat twists Scripture, Christians should say so. Our loyalty to Christ must come before our loyalty to any party.

This article is also not about whether James Talarico is sincere. He may be sincere. Sincerity is not the test of truth. Nor am I claiming to know his heart or the condition of his soul. God knows that. But public teaching can be tested publicly, especially when a public official repeatedly uses Christianity to explain and defend his political positions.

The issue is much bigger than James Talarico. The larger question is whether Christianity will continue to be shaped by Scripture or whether Scripture will be reshaped to fit the beliefs of our age. It is easy to create a Jesus who agrees with us—a progressive Jesus, a conservative Jesus, a nationalist Jesus, or a revolutionary Jesus. But the real Jesus is not ours to remake. He is Lord.

So when Talarico says the Bible is silent on abortion, test it. When he says God is nonbinary, test it. When anyone uses modern political labels to define Jesus, test it. And when I write something at The Issachar Watch, test that too. No pastor, politician, denomination, theologian, writer, or watchman stands above the Word of God.

On these issues, James Talarico is not merely offering a different Christian perspective. He is in theological error because his conclusions conflict with Scripture.

That does not mean I am judging his salvation or claiming that every statement he makes is false. It means that where his teaching contradicts Scripture, Christians should say so plainly.

In Acts 17:11, the Bereans were praised because they welcomed Paul’s message yet examined the Scriptures daily to see whether what he taught was true. Think about that: they checked even an apostle’s preaching against the Word of God.

Christians should do the same with pastors, politicians, teachers, authors, and social media voices—and with me. Do not accept a claim simply because someone quotes a Bible verse or speaks the language of faith. Open the Bible. Read the passage in context. Ask whether the conclusion actually follows from the text.

Be a Berean. Test what you hear against Scripture.

Discernment does not give Christians permission to become bitter, mocking, or hateful. Scripture tells us to pray. In 1 Timothy 2:1-2, Paul urges believers to offer prayers and intercessions for everyone, including kings and all those who are in authority.

That includes leaders we voted for and leaders we did not. It includes people whose policies we support and people whose beliefs concern us. So Christians should pray for James Talarico. Pray that God gives him wisdom. Pray that he reads Scripture with a heart willing to be corrected by it. Pray that he seeks truth rather than simply finding biblical language for conclusions already reached. Pray for the people who teach and influence him.

We should pray the same way for every leader. Prayer does not mean we stop testing what they say, and testing what they say does not mean we stop praying for them. Christians are called to do both.

James Talarico speaks the language of Christianity. That is exactly why Christians should listen carefully. This is not a call to hate him, a judgment about his salvation, or an endorsement of another candidate. It is a call to discernment, warning, and prayer.

Jesus warned about deception because falsehood does not always look false at first. Sometimes it uses familiar words, trusted titles, religious language, and appeals to compassion. So listen carefully. Open the Bible. Compare what is said with what God has said. Warn others when necessary, but do it truthfully and without contempt. Pray for those who lead us, and do not surrender biblical truth in the process.

James Talarico speaks the language of Christianity, but on these issues his teaching does not hold up under the authority of Scripture.

The church does not need politicians to redefine Christianity for a new generation. We need the courage to believe what God has already spoken, the wisdom to warn when truth is being changed, and the grace to pray for those with whom we disagree.

• CNN Transcript — Talarico town hall abortion exchange (Oct. 14-15, 2026)

• CNN Transcript — discussion of Talarico’s earlier Joe Rogan abortion comments

• FactCheck.org — context for “God is nonbinary” and “God is not a Christian”

• The Texas Tribune — Christianity infuses Texas’ Senate Democratic primary

• Christian Post — Jim Rigby questions the historicity of the Resurrection

• IBTimes UK — Babs Miller statements at St. Andrew’s

• Daily Wire — underlying Babs Miller undercover footage/reporting (partisan source)

• CNN Press Room — CNN & Jubilee Town Hall announcement