“Jesus, in Matthew 25, tells you and I and everyone of our fellow believers how we’re going to be judged and how we’re going to be saved,” he continued. “By feeding the hungry, by healing the sick, by welcoming the stranger. Nothing about going to church, nothing about voting Republican. It was all about how you treat other people.”
“Don’t tell me what you believe. Show me how you treat other people, and I will tell you what you believe,” Talarico added. Talarico said that Christianity is a “simple” religion even if not an “easy” one. He said, “Because Jesus gave us two commandments: Love God and love neighbor. And there was no exception to that second commandment.”
As clips of Talarico’s interview began circulating online, some conservative Christian leaders argued that Talarico’s statements about abortion and same-sex marriage were misleading.
“Jesus said nothing about bestiality, incest, or pederasty either,” said Florida Pastor Tom Ascol. “This kind of damning moralism (or antinomianism—take your pick, they are twin errors) leads people to hell. Failure to know God’s law inevitably leads to compromise of God’s gospel.”
Daniel Darling, a Christian author and director of the Land Center for Cultural Engagement, quipped, “Looks like this seminarian needs to take some more classes.”
As a Texas state representative, Talarico advocated against a law requiring the 10 Commandments to be displayed in classrooms, he said, “because we are called to love all of our neighbors, including our Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, agnostic, atheist neighbors. And forcing our religion down their throats is not love.”
“And I think we need someone in the U.S. Senate who is going to confront Christian nationalism and tell the truth, which is that there is nothing Christian about Christian nationalism,” said Talarico. “It is the worship of power in the name of Christ. And it is a betrayal of Jesus of Nazareth.”
