{"id":2668352,"date":"2026-09-23T10:58:59","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T14:58:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/talarico-pastors-easter-message-jesus-was-not-resurrected-plants-are-just-as-sacred-as-christ\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T11:03:33","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T15:03:33","slug":"talarico-pastors-easter-message-jesus-was-not-resurrected-plants-are-just-as-sacred-as-christ","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/talarico-pastors-easter-message-jesus-was-not-resurrected-plants-are-just-as-sacred-as-christ\/","title":{"rendered":"Talarico Pastor\u2019s Easter Message: Jesus Was Not Resurrected, Plants Are Just as \u2018Sacred\u2019 as Christ"},"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\">30<\/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%2Ftalarico-pastors-easter-message-jesus-was-not-resurrected-plants-are-just-as-sacred-as-christ%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=2668352&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 article discusses the unusual theological views of Jim Rigby, a pastor associated with James Talarico, a Texas Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate. rigby, who preaches at St. Andrew\u2019s Presbyterian Church in Austin,challenges customary Christian doctrines by denying the literal resurrection of Jesus,suggesting it is a symbol rather than a past event. he advocates for viewing religious symbols as representations of worldwide principles rather than literal truths, emphasizing the sacredness in all beings and rejecting literal interpretations of religious stories. talarico, known as a &#8220;Presbyterian seminarian,&#8221; publicly promotes progressive and controversial views, including that \u201cGod is not a Christian,\u201d and makes claims about multiple sexes and the problematic nature of Christianity&#8217;s history. Critics argue these beliefs reflect a broader trend of Christian apostasy promoted by the political left, complicating Talarico\u2019s campaign and raising concerns about the influence of such theological perspectives on public life and faith.  <\/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><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_1)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s amazing how much mileage the two-word construct \u201cPresbyterian seminarian\u201d has gotten in the Texas Senate race.<\/p>\n<p>That is invariably how James Talarico, the state representative who is the Democratic nominee and hoping to upset Republican nominee and state Attorney General Ken Paxton, is described when the left wants to burnish the man\u2019s religious bona fides.<\/p>\n<p>OK, they\u2019ll admit: He\u2019s said some strange things like \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/texas-dem-who-said-god-nonbinary-now-says-atheists-more-christ-like-than-christian-colleagues\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">God is nonbinary<\/a>,\u201d but for real \u2014 he\u2019s a man of faith, just like Texans want. A little kooky at times, but still such an ardent Christian that he studied the faith!<\/p>\n<p>And with each passing day, we learn precisely how he studied and \u2014 most importantly \u2014 who he studied it <em>with<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>If you haven\u2019t heard the name Jim Rigby, believe you me, I wish I hadn\u2019t either. Woke pastors are an irritant and every time I\u2019m exposed to the guy, my ears hurt like your eyes do when you walk into a smoke-filled room. But I get exposed to this guy on the regular, reader, so you\u2019ll have to suffer with me as I continue to expound on his heresies \u2014 and why it matters in the Texas Senate race.<\/p>\n<p>The latest heresy, which was unearthed by Christian outlet <a href=\"https:\/\/protestia.com\/2026\/09\/21\/james-talaricos-pastor-says-jesus-never-rose-from-the-dead-no-literal-resurrection\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Protestia<\/a> and publicized Monday, has Rigby, who is Talarico\u2019s pastor, saying that Jesus didn\u2019t rise from the dead. During an Easter sermon. Where they were supposed to be celebrating Jesus rising from the dead.<\/p>\n<p>Totally normal stuff. \u201cPresbyterian seminarian,\u201d remember!<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat lies underneath, what\u2019s too big, what\u2019s too deep, what\u2019s too mysterious. But we\u2019re human beings and we want to make it manageable. So we want to try to move the mystery into magic because you can control magic,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/apostasy-talarico-pastors-perverted-christianity-calling-god-violent-st-paul-creep-marys-myth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rigby<\/a> said during the 2023 sermon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s very possible that Jesus rose from the dead. It\u2019s also possible the body was stolen, right?\u201d he continued. \u201cI mean, that\u2019s possible. It\u2019s possible the disciples stole it to keep the Romans from getting a hold of it. It\u2019s possible the Romans took it because they\u2019re afraid of a resurrection on the third day.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe question I want to ask you is: do you want to live your life based on a maybe? Do you want to just bet your entire life on what somebody a long time ago told you because somebody told him that? Or is it possible that the symbols are calling you to a deeper understanding of the human condition?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re a Christian of any regular stripe, the answer is that yes, you want to bet your life on that resurrection, because that\u2019s literally the substitutional sacrifice and the victory over sin that almost every form of regular Christianity upholds.<\/p>\n<p>But no, according to Rigby \u2014 it\u2019s just enough to have a symbol, or something.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLight is not stronger than darkness. Darkness is essential to understanding your life. Maybe Jesus rose from the dead, but maybe not,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe the person I\u2019m sitting next to is as close as I need to get. Religious symbols \u2014 if they\u2019re healthy \u2014 are not symbols of something that happened. They\u2019re symbols of the principles by which everything happens, if that makes any sense.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s this: We need to see the sacred in every being on the face of the planet. I think animals, too, plants. But if we just love each other, wouldn\u2019t that be good? But when we make the resurrection about Jesus, that doesn\u2019t happen when it\u2019s just about Jesus. The symbols were never meant to be taken literally. The resurrection is a symbol of trying to tell us that the sacred is everywhere. When it\u2019s literal, you lose something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This is the kind of patter you usually hear from someone in the throes of an episode where they mixed psilocybin mushrooms and cough syrup, but apparently it passes for an Easter sermon at St. Andrew\u2019s Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Texas U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico\u2019s pastor (PCUSA) preaches during his Easter sermon that Jesus NEVER rose bodily from the dead and that he does NOT believe in a literal resurrection. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Z6ZH7hMJXg\">pic.twitter.com\/Z6ZH7hMJXg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Protestia (@Protestia) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Protestia\/status\/2101967935195508917?\">September 21, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Well, at least it definitely wasn\u2019t a \u201ctraditional message.\u201d He got that much right. And as he pointed out at the top, he\u2019s been spreading this message for years \u2014 so much so that in 2015 and 2018, at the very least, he made lengthy posts defending the position that just because Jesus rose from the dead doesn\u2019t mean he\u2019s divine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI asked my accusers if they would also follow Hitler if he were to rise for from the dead,\u201d he wrote in one post from 2015, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jim.rigby.12\/posts\/pfbid0r9u1mmUs2gZSffKxVy95rL38HKDuW4S7Xo8YimoeRh6yDEpnuKMZu4W2L9md85SZl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">published Christmas Day<\/a> no less. This accurately sums up why the resurrection matters to the whole framework of Christianity: <em>Hitler didn\u2019t rise from the dead, Jesus did.<\/em> You idiot, you proved your accusers\u2019 own point for them.<\/p>\n<p>Now, look, I understand that trying to warn voters that what a candidate\u2019s pastor says is a bad augury about them is a fool\u2019s errand. We\u2019re almost 20 years on from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/larry-elder-media-strategy-rescue-bidens-campaign-isnt-new-remember-saved-obama\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jeremiah Wright<\/a>\/Barack Obama red flag and nobody seems to have learned from <em>that<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>The thing is, the two-word construct used to pitch Obama\u2019s experience before seeking a seat in the Senate was \u201ccommunity organizer.\u201d With Talarico, this matters quite a bit more because we hear the constant patter about him being a \u201cPresbyterian seminarian,\u201d presumably to woo faith voters. Yet here\u2019s what Talarico <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/james-talarico-says-god-not-christian\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">himself<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/unearthed-interview-james-talarico-called-christianity-violent-religion-saw-atheists-christlike\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">has<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-another-talarico-clip-comes-back-bite-characterizes-christians-causing-trouble\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> about the faith he says he represents:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cGod is not a Christian.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201c[My campaign manager] and I talk about how Judaism is Season 1 of the show, Christianity is Season 2, and Islam is Season 3. I\u2019m Season 2 \u2014 the most violent season. My religion has done more damage to both of those religions than they\u2019ve done to each other.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cModern science recognizes that there are many more than two biological sexes \u2014 in fact, there are six.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cWe caught some attention by letting an atheist join our church in the 2000s, and then in the 2010s, again stirred some controversy by housing an undocumented family \u2014 a mother and son who were close to being deported by ICE. And so again, the idea that Christianity is just another word for causing trouble.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Hindus and atheists are prone to being \u201cmore Christlike than some Christians.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Talarico himself says that he doesn\u2019t agree with everything that Rigby says, although would you attend a church like this? From a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/06\/01\/us\/politics\/james-talarico-christian.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New York Times<\/a> piece on Rigby in June, titled, \u201cAre Texans Ready for Talarico\u2019s Kind of Christianity?\u201d In short, this guy makes Jeremiah Wright sound like Billy Graham:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><em>Mr. Rigby does not use male pronouns for God, for example, because it is a kind of \u201cviolence\u201d to imply to a girl that her brother is more like God than she is, he said in an interview after the service. He does not use the word \u201cLord,\u201d because it conjures a wealthy, European, male God, he said. For that matter, he added, he does not much care for the word \u201cGod.\u201d He uses it on occasion, he said, but he tries to use synonyms, because \u201cit\u2019s going to mean something different to everybody.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>In his sermon that morning, he had referred to \u201cthe creative impulse of the universe,\u201d which \u201ccan be called God, but it doesn\u2019t have to be called God.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Gosh, you\u2019d think a \u201cPresbyterian seminarian\u201d would know enough to walk right out of a church like that, especially given that it seems to be made up of atheists and universalists.<\/p>\n<p>This is all part of the package, people. The American left isn\u2019t only trying to sell James Talarico, they\u2019re trying to sell the rest of us on the morality of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mainline-denomination-fully-capitulates-alters-logo-support-lgbt-pride\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Christian apostasy<\/a>. We shouldn\u2019t buy either.<\/p>\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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