Texas Senate Democratic candidate James Talarico declared that God is “not a Christian” in a rediscovered sermon. He further compared forcing alcohol on children to Christian evangelism.
“There are so many pathways to the sacred. The Islamic mystic Rumi said, ‘Every religion has love, but love has no religion. God is so much bigger than our human categories,’” Talarico said. “God is not a Presbyterian. God is not a Christian. God is not a noun at all. God is a verb. God is not a being. God is being self. God is love, and that’s why Jesus is against anything that gets in the way of that love between neighbors, including religion.”
Talarico’s comments on Islamic mysticism mirror those he said during a recent interview. “I know personally that I’ve learned as much about my faith from Salman’s tradition, from the Islamic mystics, from poets like Rumi, as much as I have from Christian authors and Christian writers,” he said.
The sermon was delivered in 2023 at his Presbyterian church in Austin, Texas. Talarico went on to share messages he received from Pastor Jim Rigby, who mocked Christianity.
“It’s the top reasons beer is better than religion,” Talarico said, going on to read Rigby’s message. “Number one, when you have beer, you don’t knock on people’s doors trying to give it away.”
“Number two, there are laws against forcing beer on minors who can’t think for themselves. Number three, nobody’s ever been burned at the stake because of their favorite brand of beer. Number four, you don’t have to wait more than 2,000 years for a second beer,” he added.
The Senate candidate went on to call “Christian nationalism” a “cancer” to churches. “If I’m being very honest, sometimes I hesitate before telling someone I’m a Christian,” Talarico said. “There is a cancer on our religion. Until we confess the sin that is Christian nationalism and exorcize it from our churches, our religion can do a lot more damage than a six-pack of Lone Star.”
“There is nothing Christian about Christian nationalism,” he added. “A religion of sharing became a religion of greed. A religion of peace became a religion of violence. A religion of forgiveness became a religion of judgment. A religion of ego transformation became a religion of ego affirmation. Today, Christian nationalists obsess over people’s private parts while the planet burns.”
