{"id":2651965,"date":"2026-08-30T12:51:57","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T16:51:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/james-talarico-says-god-is-not-a-christian\/"},"modified":"2026-08-30T13:04:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T17:04:28","slug":"james-talarico-says-god-is-not-a-christian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/james-talarico-says-god-is-not-a-christian\/","title":{"rendered":"James Talarico Says &#8216;God Is Not a Christian&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjames-talarico-says-god-is-not-a-christian%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2651965&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The content features a discussion centered on religious beliefs,notably Christianity,as highlighted by Texas Senate hopeful James Talarico. In a sermon, Talarico stated that &#8220;God is not a Christian,&#8221; emphasizing that God transcends human-made categories and religions. He advocates for a broader understanding of divine love that includes other faiths like Islam and poetry from mystics such as Rumi. critics counter that Christianity makes absolute truth claims about God&#8217;s nature,such as the Trinity and salvation through Jesus Christ,which are incompatible wiht relativistic views. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bring-back-the-ten-commandments\/\" title=\"Reinstate the Ten Commandments\">article references historical<\/a> and biblical perspectives, including Paul\u2019s teachings in Acts 17 and Christian doctrines about salvation. It also critiques Talarico&#8217;s view that religion, specifically Christianity, is subordinate to love and &#8220;ultimate reality,&#8221; citing Scripture to affirm the distinctiveness and truth of Christian doctrines. The piece concludes by warning against dismissing divine self-revelation and emphasizes the importance of faithful adherence to biblical teachings over relativistic interpretations of God\u2019s nature.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cGod is not a Christian,\u201d declared Texas Senate hopeful James Talarico (D), in a recently unearthed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ln7LQbd2xpI\">sermon<\/a> from October 22, 2023 at his home church, St. Andrew\u2019s Presbyterian. Talarico\u2019s self-assigned task was to condemn Christian nationalism, but he went about it by attacking Christianity in general.Especially when giving a critique, it\u2019s always best to take a speaker\u2019s comments in the fullest possible context. Talarico said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cDo we really think God would make all these beautiful people with all their beautiful traditions for no reason at all? There are so many pathways to the sacred. The Islamic mystic Rumi said, \u2018Every religion has love, but love has no religion.\u2019 God is so much bigger than our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-rejecting-god-leftism-renders-us-less-human\/\" title=\"In Rejecting ..., Leftism Renders Us Less Human\">human categories<\/a>. God is not a Presbyterian. God is not a Christian. God is not a noun at all. God is a verb. God is not <em>a<\/em> being. God is being itself. God is love, and that\u2019s why Jesus is against anything that gets in the way of that love between neighbors, including religion.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Talarico has said elsewhere that he has \u201clearned as much about my faith from Salman\u2019s [Bhojani] tradition, from the Islamic mystics, from poets like Rumi \u2026 as I have from Christian authors and Christian writers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In these remarks, Talarico\u2019s basic argument seems to be: other religions exist; therefore, Christianity cannot be the only right one.<\/p>\n<p>The logical objection to this argument is that various world religions disagree on many important doctrines at a fundamental level. For instance, Christianity affirms that God is a trinity, Judaism affirms that God is a unity. Both affirm that God is a personal being. Hinduism recognizes a whole pantheon of gods, and Buddhism recognizes none at all. Talarico extols love as the highest goal, whereas Buddhism values peace from suffering above all.<\/p>\n<p>The biblical objection to this argument comes from Paul\u2019s address to the Areopagus. God \u201cmade from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him,\u201d he began (Acts 17:26-27). \u201cThe times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent\u201d (Acts 17:30). Paul acknowledged the stunning diversity of world religions, but he dismissed them as ignorance, compared to the Christian gospel.<\/p>\n<p>Nor does Scripture support Talarico\u2019s conclusion, \u201cJesus is against anything that gets in the way of that love between neighbors, including religion.\u201d This places the second greatest commandment ahead of the first. According to Jesus, the greatest commandment is, \u201cYou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind\u201d (Matthew 22:37). If someone will not grant that this is religion, then their definition of religion is too man-centered and overlooks the weighty glory of God.<\/p>\n<p>Talarico\u2019s headline comment, \u201cGod is not a Christian,\u201d is interesting because there is a right way to argue it \u2014 one that comes from a fellow Presbyterian. In his 1923 manifesto against liberal Christianity, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/wrs.edu\/assets\/docs\/Christianity_&#038;_Liberalism_Machen.pdf\">Christianity and Liberalism<\/a>,\u201d J. Gresham Machen argued that \u201cJesus was not a Christian:\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cBut if Christianity is a way of getting rid of sin, then Jesus was not a Christian; for Jesus, so far as we can see, had no sin to get rid of. Why then did the early Christians call themselves disciples of Jesus? \u2026 They connected themselves with His name not because He was their example in their ridding themselves of sin, but because their method of ridding themselves of sin was by means of Him. It was what Jesus did for them, and not primarily the example of His own life, which made them Christians.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Likewise, Talarico could argue that God is not a Christian because he is the object of proper Christian worship, not a participant in that worship. Instead, he seems to argue that God is not a Christian because he (it?) is not the Christian God.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cReligious Supremacy is antithetical to the Gospel of Jesus Christ,\u201d Talarico continued. \u201cJesus didn\u2019t come to establish a Christian Nation. He came to reveal ultimate reality.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s an interesting phrase to use because, at least once during Jesus\u2019s earthly ministry, \u201cultimate reality\u201d broke through. The incarnate Son of God took his three closest followers up onto a mountain in private, \u201cand he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light\u201d (Matthew 17:2). A heavenly voice declared, \u201cThis is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him\u201d (Matthew 17:5).<\/p>\n<p>Here is ultimate reality! God\u2019s eternal Son robed in glory, commended by the Father, and revealed to mankind. Yet Jesus warned his followers, \u201cTell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead\u201d (Matthew 17:9). Why such secrecy, unless this glimpse of glory is full of significance? Jesus was the Son of God, but he had to die to take away the sins of the world. If Jesus did this \u2014 if Jesus is the Son of God \u2014 then Christianity is the only correct religion, and all the other religions are wrong.<\/p>\n<p>Talarico is right that Jesus did not come to establish a Christian nation. Jesus established a worldwide church, which will one day give way to his absolute reign.<\/p>\n<p>Yet Talarico seems uncomfortable with the splendid and absolute claims Christianity makes. In a March 2021 podcast, Talarico confessed, \u201cI always think of myself as a Christian who hates Christianity.\u201d He confessed to the same self-loathing in the 2023 sermon, \u201cIf I\u2019m being very honest, sometimes I hesitate before telling someone I\u2019m a Christian. 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>By \u201csix-pack of Lone Star,\u201d Talarico was referring to a text message he received from the senior pastor, away on sabbatical, on \u201cThe top reasons beer is better than religion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNumber one, when you have beer, you don\u2019t knock on people\u2019s doors trying to give it away,\u201d Talarico read to the congregation. \u201cNumber two, there are laws against forcing beer on minors who can\u2019t think for themselves. Number three, nobody\u2019s ever been burned at the stake because of their favorite brand of beer. Number four, you don\u2019t have to wait more than 2,000 years for a second beer. And last, if you\u2019ve devoted your life to beer, there are groups to help you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a few short words, Talarico disparaged evangelism, discipling children, perseverance unto death, Jesus\u2019s second coming, and total devotion to God.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus did indeed come to show us \u201cultimate reality,\u201d but Jesus taught many of these same practices that Talarico criticized. \u201cGo therefore and make disciples of all nations\u201d (Matthew 28:19). \u201cLet the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven\u201d (Matthew 19:14). \u201cBrother will deliver brother over to death \u2026 and you will be hated by all for my name\u2019s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved\u201d (Matthew 10:21-22). \u201cStay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming\u201d (Matthew 24:42). \u201cWhoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me\u201d (Matthew 10:38).<\/p>\n<p>Christianity endures plenty of mockery from the enemies of Christ. It needs no mockery from its self-identified teachers.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus\u2019s relative James warned would-be preachers, \u201cNot many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness\u201d (James 3:1). As a seminary student serving as a substitute preacher, perhaps less could be expected of Talarico than a full-time pastor called to a church. But preaching God\u2019s word to God\u2019s people is always a sobering responsibility, and every preacher must give an account to God for his words.<\/p>\n<p>Talarico taught that \u201cGod is so much bigger than our human categories.\u201d That is true, but that does not mean humans have the freedom to dismiss God\u2019s own self-revelation through Scripture and the Divine word. As Paul warned, \u201cIf anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed\u201d (Galatians 1:9).<\/p>\n<div><em>Joshua Arnold is a senior writer at The Washington Stand.<\/em><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #171717; display: flex;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;line-height: 1.5;margin: 24px 0;padding: 18px 20px 18px 30px;text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"align-self: stretch;border-left: 3px solid #171717;flex-shrink: 0;padding-left: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<p><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/\">Choose The Western Journal as your preferred source on Google and never miss reporting that defends truth, protects freedom, and advances Western civilization<\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey == typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts = { \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs = [ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i = 0; i < inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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His goal was to criticize Christian nationalism but ended up criticizing Christianity overall<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2651966,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_1954.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[6672,5250,59577,5894,10248],"class_list":["post-2651965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-commentary","tag-faith","tag-james-talarico","tag-politics","tag-religion"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_1954.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2651965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2651965"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2651965\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2651970,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2651965\/revisions\/2651970"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2651966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2651965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2651965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2651965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}