Mary Rooke Commentary and Analysis Writer
Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico presents himself as a Christian who prays, quotes Jesus Christ extensively, and grounds his politics in faith. However, on several defining moral issues, he does not submit his political ideology to scripture; instead, he reinterprets or ignores scripture to genuflect to his true “god”: far-left orthodoxy.
Talarico, a Texas state representative and self-proclaimed Presbyterian, discussed his supposed Christian faith in a New York Times interview with Ezra Klein released on Tuesday. During which he spoke reverently about God, scripture, and his prayer life. Overall, he defined his faith as trust and acts of love. But there’s an argument to be made that Talarico is not truly Christian but rather a devout practitioner of radical left ideology wrapped in Christian symbolism.
Christianity, at its core, is not merely a cultural identity, a set of aesthetic practices (like prayer or quoting scripture), or a vague commitment to love and justice, as Talarico’s soothing voice would have listeners believe. At its core, Christianity is defined by adherence to the belief that Jesus Christ is Lord, God incarnate. The Trinity is three persons but one God. You must submit to the moral order established by God, which includes both charity toward the poor and clear sexual ethics and protection of innocent life.
Talarico’s interview makes it clear that he doesn’t believe that Christianity is a faith that transforms ideology, but rather that an ideology can selectively reinterpret or override scripture and Christian dogma to remain unchanged. This suggests that his operative authority is not Christ, scripture, or doctrine, but leftist ideology, which is then clothed in Christian language. In this way, he becomes the wolf in sheep’s clothing, leading others to follow down this treacherous path. (Sign up for Mary Rooke’s weekly newsletter here!)
Probably the most insidious example of this is when Talarico explains his political views on abortion using the Blessed Mary. In the interview, Klein plays a clip from Talarico’s appearance on the “Joe Rogan Experience.”
Talarico cites Mary’s consent at the Annunciation, when she exclaims, “Let it be done to me according to your word,” as a biblical foundation for so-called reproductive freedom and a woman’s absolute autonomy over her body.
This is a direct inversion of the Blessed Mother’s intent. Mary’s fiat is her free yes to bringing the incarnate God into the world and is the ultimate affirmation of life. To repurpose this sacred moment to defend the deliberate ending of innocent human life (which scripture nowhere permits and which the entire Christian tradition has regarded as grave sin) is not faithful interpretation. Instead, he is, very obviously, reading far-left commitments into scripture while overriding its plain meaning. A faithful Christian submits to scripture and dogma as a witness that human life is sacred from conception. Talarico sees these verses as a chance to claim that unrestricted abortion access is supported in his supposed Christian faith.
Again, it’s his allegiance to a far-left ideological framework that is treated as the final arbiter of truth. Scripture is then mined for verses or stories that can be made to serve that framework, while passages that conflict with it are dismissed, reinterpreted beyond recognition, or declared irrelevant. The prayers, Jesus quotes, and biblical allusions function as a Christian veneer over an essentially secular progressive worldview.
Talarico’s public presentation of Christianity exposes that his true faith is in human autonomy, sexual liberation, and state-mediated economic equality, with Jesus recast as a mascot for those causes rather than the Lord who demands repentance and transformation.
His calm voice and boyish face aid in this endeavor. They are powerful rhetorical assets that make his presentation of far-left positions feel disarming, sincere, and authentically Christian rather than ideological or confrontational. This makes listeners less likely to categorize him as a partisan activist and more likely to see him as a sincere young believer simply sharing his faith. A video of a serene young man praying or quoting Jesus while advocating far-left causes spreads easily among moderates, nominal Christians, and the religiously unaffiliated who want faith to align with left-leaning values without cognitive dissonance. (ROOKE: Country Mostly Made Of Catholics Shows Rest Of World How It’s Done)
Talarico may sincerely consider himself religious and may experience genuine devotion when he prays, but that doesn’t make him a Christian. Christianity is not whatever one feels while using Christian symbols. And when a person consistently reinterprets or overrides clear scriptural moral teaching to preserve prior ideological commitments, the authority has shifted: Christ is no longer Lord; the ideology is. Talarico is free to hold and promote his views, but fairness to historic faith requires acknowledging that what he offers is not Christianity as scripture and the Church has taught it. It is something else wearing Christianity’s clothes.
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