Texas state lawmaker James Talarico (D) accused Christian nationalists of betraying Jesus.
Talarico declared in a speech that “Christian nationalism is on the rise.”
“Three years ago, Christian nationalists stormed the U.S. Capitol, killing police officers while carrying crosses and signs reading, ‘Jesus saves,'” he said. “Two years ago, Christian nationalists on the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, allowing states like ours to outlaw abortion even in cases of rape and incest. And as we speak, Christian nationalist billionaires are attempting to dismantle public education in the state of Texas and therefore dismantle democracy.”
“Let me be clear, there is nothing Christian about Christian nationalism,” Talarico stated. “It is the worship of power — political power, social power, economic power in the name of Christ, and it is a betrayal of Jesus of Nazareth,” he said. “Jesus never asked us to kill police officers. Jesus never asked us to ban books, silence teachers or defund schools. Jesus never asked us to control women’s bodies. Jesus never asked us to establish a Christian theocracy.”
“All he asked was that we love thy neighbor. Not just our Christian neighbors, not just our straight neighbors, not just our male neighbors, not just our white neighbors, not just our rich neighbors,” the Democrat noted. “We are called to love all of our neighbors, and that is exactly the opposite of what Christian nationalism does in the world.”
“There is nothing Christian about Christian Nationalism.” pic.twitter.com/9Xt3ZUD3cX
— James Talarico (@jamestalarico) March 5, 2024
Talarico’s assertion that January 6 protesters killed police officers is false, as no officers were killed in the line of duty because of the alleged insurrection. Instead, one officer who was believed to be deceased was seen alive and well.
Tucker Carlson revealed last year that Officer Brian Sicknick was not killed by January 6 protestors, contrary to the mainstream narrative pushed by Democrats.
“To prove the insurrection was deadly, propagandists pointed to the death of an officer called Brian Sicknick…At first, they told the country that Officer Sicknick was murdered with a fire extinguisher,” continued the former Fox News reporter.
Carlson’s video depicted Officer Sicknick “walking in the Capitol after he was supposedly murdered outside,” the host continued.
The lawmaker’s condemnation of Christian nationalism comes as other left-wing individuals have criticized Christians who love their country.
Following California pastor Jack Hibbs’ speech at the House of Representatives, Representatives Jared Huffman (D-CA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), and Mark Pocan (D-WI) led a letter calling Hibbs a “radical Christian Nationalist who helped fuel the January 6th insurrection and has a long record of spewing hateful vitriol toward non-Christians, immigrants, and members of the LGBTQ community.”
“He should never have been granted the right to deliver the House’s opening prayer on January 30, 2024,” the letter read.
“When his opening prayer invoked ‘holy fear’ and ‘repentance’ for ‘national sins,’ these were allusions to the militant and fanatical agenda he preaches about the LGBTQ+ community, Jews, Muslims, and anyone who conflicts with his ‘biblical worldview,’” the Democrats added.
Mainstream media has also attempted to normalize disapproval of Christian nationalism, with Politico reporter Heidi Przybyla sharing with MSNBC that “the one thing that unites all of them … as Christian nationalists – not Christians by the way, because Christian nationalist is very different – is that they believe that our rights as Americans, as all human beings, don’t come from any earthly authority.”
“They don’t come from Congress. They don’t come to the Supreme Court. They come from God,” Przybyla said, expressing what she considers to be foolish beliefs of Christian nationalists.
Christian organizations then sent a letter to Politico demanding an apology for Przybyla’s statement, explaining that the reporter “demonstrated a disqualifying lack of knowledge of the United States of America’s founding documents and a profoundly prejudicial view toward American religious groups.”
“Equally concerning is Ms. Przybyla’s smearing of the Christian faith reflected in her comments,” the letter added. “Her statements constituted an attempt to spread misinformation about Christians by creating the perception that they hold unique beliefs that pose a distinct and, in her words ‘extremist,’ threat to our country.”
