While serving in the Texas House, Talarico frequently invoked Scripture from a liberal perspective to push a wide range of left-wing causes.

Talarico’s longtime religious adviser, Rev. Jim Rigby, has spoken at several massive anti-Israel protests over the years in and around Austin, where he made similarly theologically questionable statements that intertwined theological discourse with leftward activism.

In one pro-Palestinian protest in 2009, Rigby called for “true jihad” and questioned what it means to be denounced as antisemitic, according to a video clip unearthed by the Washington Examiner.

In that 2009 speech, Rigby told rallygoers, “If there is to be hope for humankind, then we must all realize that the true jihad is the struggle for peace and justice.”

While jihad is sometimes considered a spiritual struggle within oneself, in political contexts, the concept is viewed as a violent campaign waged against the enemies of Islam.

Counterterrorism communities in the West treat jihad as an instrument of war, a holy war aimed at destabilizing Christian-majority countries as well as Muslim governments that jihadists see as improper followers of Islam or following rival Islamic sects. Historically, denominational conversions of entire populations, such as in the Levant, Persia, North Africa, Spain, and parts of central Asia, have come about as the direct result of violent jihads.

In a separate part of the 2009 speech, Rigby seemingly downplayed antisemitism by questioning its meaning.

“If it’s antisemitic to question the policies of Israel, then the prophets of Israel were antisemitic,” Rigby said on the steps of the Texas state Capitol building.

Rigby quoted a passage from Kings 18:17-18 in which Ahab, the king of Israel, called the prophet Elijah “the troubler of Israel,” blaming him for a severe drought, but Elijah said Ahab caused the nation’s troubles by abandoning God’s commandments and worshiping Baal instead.

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The prophets of Israel were Israelites, and they consistently identified themselves with the ancient kingdom’s populace whose actions they nonetheless rebuked as unfaithful. Their criticism of Israel’s leadership was characterized, by their written accounts, as internal critiques holding their own people accountable to covenantal commands.

“I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you,” Nehemiah said in Nehemiah 1:6 on behalf of himself, his kin, and the people of Israel.

Rigby spoke at another solidarity-styled march in 2014, which coincided with that year’s “Global Day of Rage” for Gaza. As the activists marched on Austin City Hall, they chanted, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

Jewish advocacy groups consider the phrase to be an antisemitic rallying cry and an incitement to genocide against the Jewish people.

The American Jewish Committee says the slogan is fundamentally a call for the elimination of the Israeli state, as well as the ethnic cleansing of the Jews living there, replacing it with Palestinian control over the entire territory extending from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.

Rigby has also touched on the territorial dispute, appearing to suggest that the Israeli people are undeserving of the land.

“We must realize that the only promised land that matters is that place where peace and justice reign,” Rigby urged at the 2009 pro-Palestine rally. “We finally must realize that the only chosen people who deserve that title are the ones who stand for peace and justice for all of God’s children.”

The Washington Examiner reached out to Rigby for clarification on his 2009 commentary, whether his usage of the word “jihad” referred to an ideological struggle, and if he is still in support of those arguments.

“I am not an advisor to James’ campaign and am referring all questions to his team,” Rigby told the Washington Examiner. “I’m focused on my role as a minister and keeping our congregation safe.”

Talarico’s campaign declined to comment.

Rigby, the lead pastor of Talarico’s home parish, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, reportedly encouraged Talarico to pursue the pastoral profession and even invited him to deliver his first sermon at their congregation.

Talarico, per Politico, chose the subject of abortion, telling parishioners that day, “Did they teach you in Sunday school that Jesus Christ himself was a radical feminist?”

Rigby told Texas Monthly that he had plans for Talarico, “his protégé,” to one day take over as head pastor.

Talarico eventually enrolled at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, a liberal-leaning school that offers many ministry courses structured around social justice advocacy.

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Rigby also attended Austin Seminary and received a degree in ministry in 1979, according to the school’s newsletter, Faces of Austin Seminary.

Talarico has known Rigby since he was a child, taking to him at a young age. “When I would preach, even as a little kid James would lean forward, so you could see he was taking it in,” Rigby recalled of Talarico’s preschool days.

Rigby reportedly remained a close confidant, counseling Talarico later in life on his career path, including political aspirations.

Around the time that Talarico debated becoming a state legislator, he had reservations and sought Rigby’s counsel. Rigby didn’t tell Talarico outright what to do, but he did say that choosing the path of a politician would not be the prophetic one.

“The prophets, [Rigby] said,” as paraphrased by Texas Monthly, “were not fortune tellers but rather interpreters of the political situation of their time.”

Talarico went on to spend seven years in the Texas legislature after winning four consecutive terms.

He is currently taking a sabbatical from seminary school, putting his ordination on hold to focus on the highly competitive Senate race. “This is where I’m being called,” Talarico told supporters.

With a year of studies left, Talarico is in good standing to complete the required coursework for a Master of Divinity “at his convenience,” an Austin Seminary spokesman confirmed to the Washington Examiner.

Talarico, however, has made clear that he still intends to lead a church once he is through with politics.