A Christian voter put Texas Democrat James Talarico on blast Wednesday night, shredding his claim that the “Bible is silent on the issue of abortion” and challenging the Senate hopeful to reconcile his pro-abortion stance with the commandment: “Thou shalt not kill.”
Jody Hunt, a Catholic theology professor, pushed back against Talarico’s theological defense of abortion during a live CNN town hall and challenged him to explain why he would not vote to protect the unborn.
In a rambling response, the leftist Presbyterian seminarian, who believes trans-identifying people should have access to abortion, praised Catholic popes for their consistent pro-life positions but acknowledged stark differences in their theological perspectives.
“We may come to different moral and ethical conclusions when it comes to the question of should abortion be legal or not. It sounds like you and I do come to a different conclusion. That’s okay,” he said.
He also called abortion a “public health problem” and repeatedly downplayed the moral questions involved in terminating a pregnancy.
“This is what drives me crazy about this debate … we use it to kind of beat each other over the head, right? We treat it as a philosophical debate or a theological debate, when actually it’s a public policy problem,” he said.
Then came the zinger.
“You know, we’re both Christians, and the Bible is silent on the issue of abortion. It means you and I both have to look at different scriptures to try to come to a conclusion,” Talarico argued.
Hunt fired back after Talarico’s response.
“I just want to add that the Bible is not silent on abortion. There is the Ten Commandments: ‘Thou shalt not kill,’” Hunt said, adding, “And as Catholics, we take great insult … when it’s described that way.”
It wasn’t the only moment the Senate hopeful was confronted over his unconventional views on Christianity, which many conservative critics consider blasphemous.
Sarah Gardner, a Christian small-business owner, directly challenged Talarico over “concerning things” he has said that she said calls into question the “authenticity” of his faith. Chief among them were his infamous declaration that “God is nonbinary” and his belief that there are six genders.
But Talarico doubled down.
“When I said that, I was being provocative, and I want to admit that and come clean about that, but I think what I was saying is actually not controversial theologically. The idea that we can’t define God using human categories,” he said.
Gardner jumped in, saying, “I think we have to be careful using modern cultural terms when talking about God.”
When pressed about why he never talks about the Gospel message, Talarico said he believes Jesus is the “way, the truth, and the life.” That statement marks a dramatic reversal for Talarico, who has previously said from the pulpit that Jesus is not the only way to God.
“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 in an unearthed 2023 sermon. “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.”
In the same message, he compared evangelism to forcing alcohol on young children
Wednesday’s town hall will likely only fuel concerns among evangelical and Catholic voters about the Democrat’s liberal views amid a tight race with Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton.
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