What does it mean to be deeply religious? James Talarico is a Democrat state representative in the Texas legislature. He is an aspiring preacher and is currently studying for his Masters of Divinity degree at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
Currently, the Democrat Party is heavily over-represented by secularists and Marxists. Many of them are quite anti-religion, and, in particular, anti-Christian. That point of view has not been especially good for the party. People are increasingly leaving it because they don’t like the policy positions of the radical leftists who are now in control. A big part of that is due to alienation of people of faith.
Not everyone in the Democrat Party is excited about the strong leftward lurch of their party, and many are actually seeking out people who can represent the faith segment. Some are actually quite intrigued with Talarico – a person they think might resonate with Christians. You can read about this at https://www.newsmax.com/billdonohue/obama-talerico-texas/2025/07/24/id/1219940/
However, it is quite possible that their thinking does not correspond very well to reality. Here are some of the policy positions of Mr. Talarico.
- His pastor has a record of ordaining gay and lesbian clergy
- He is pro abortion
- He preaches that Jesus was a radical feminist
- He wants the federal government to lease federal property to abortion clinics
- He wants states to be prohibited from imposing restrictions on abortion medication
- He approves of allowing minors to undergo sex change surgery.
- He believes it is okay for men to compete in women’s sports
- He believes there are six sexes
- He wants to ban the display of the 10 Commandments on pubic property
- He opposed school choice
- He supports numerous socialist policies like medical debt forgiveness, baby bonds, subsidized marriage counseling, and Medicaid for all
So what we really have in Talarico is a secularist dressed in religious garb. He honestly believes he is a faithfully religious man, but his beliefs correspond to non-biblical liberal theology, not to what is taught in the Bible.
There has been another story in the news recently of a different politician touting his political actions as a part of his religious beliefs. Recently, president Trump stated that he hoped his attempts to bring peace between warring factions throughout the world would help him get into heaven. (See https://people.com/trump-says-he-wants-to-get-to-heaven-if-possible-11793929)
Sometimes you just have to wonder what it will take to help people understand exactly what is true when it comes to the Christian faith. Talarico believes his political policy positions correspond to what the Bible teaches, and that by promoting policies that correspond to his beliefs he is doing the work of God. Trump seems to be of the opinion that doing good deeds are his ticket to heaven. While both of these beliefs are fairly common, neither has any relation to what the Bible actually teaches. The truth of the matter is, a person’s political priorities and actions are not the key to finding favor with God.
There are really two different issues at play in these two cases. Both relate to the topic of salvation.
Many people think of Christian salvation as a single element. A person gets saved then gets to go to heaven. In actual fact, it is a process. It has a beginning point, called justification, which is the point in time when a person receives Christ and enters into a personal relationship with God. Following justification comes sanctification. This begins at the point of justification and continues for the rest of one’s mortal life. It involves the process of growing steadily in relationship to God as the individual’s life is transformed by Him. The final part of the process is glorification. It occurs at physical death when the person enters eternity in the presence of God.
Trump’s mistake is at the point of justification. Salvation is not accomplished by a person’s deeds in this world, no matter how good and honorable they may be. Salvation is accomplished solely through God’s grace by faith in Jesus Christ. Good deeds are a result of a person’s salvation, not the source of it.
Talarico’s mistake is at the point of sanctification. Doing good deeds in the name of Christ is meaningless if the deeds do not correspond to the teachings of the Bible. His don’t. Based on his liberal theology, he believes he is promoting the work of God, but that theology is not based on biblical teachings.
The point of doing good is to glorify God and accomplish His work in the world. It is not a source of salvation but a result of it. And what is “good” is defined by the teachings of the Bible, not by some non-biblical source. Understanding these truths is critical both for those who wish to enter into a personal relationship with God, and for Christians who wish to live faithfully for Him.