Cal Thomas: Scripture for progressives

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MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. 

I’m Myrna Brown.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

Texas Democrats have their nominee for the U.S. Senate seat up for grabs this fall.

State representative James Talarico won his party primary last week.

He’ll face either Senator John Cornyn or Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who still have to settle the Republican race in a runoff.

BROWN: Talarico frequently touts his Christian faith and uses it as a frame for his progressive political vision—though many of his interpretations of Scripture have drawn scrutiny.

Here’s WORLD commentator Cal Thomas.

CAL THOMAS: Democrats have struggled for decades to win conservative evangelical voters. Most evangelicals vote Republican. And attempts to speak the language of faith have often backfired.

In the 2000 presidential campaign, for example, Al Gore tried to draw his environmental policy from the Bible. He pointed to the time Abel’s blood cried out from the ground after his brother Cain murdered him. Gore said this was the first example of pollution in Scripture.

Now another Democrat is trying a different approach.

Texas state representative James Talarico is running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican John Cornyn. Talarico often talks about his Christian faith. He studied at Austin Seminary, affiliated with the mainline Presbyterian Church USA.

Some of his interpretations of Scripture are unusual, to say the least.

In one speech opposing a bill that would keep boys and men out of girls’ and women’s sports, Talarico argued that the opening lines of Genesis point to a modern view of God.

TALARICO: …the first two lines in Genesis use two different Hebrew words to describe God. One is the masculine Hebrew noun for divinity. The second is the feminine Hebrew noun for Spirit. God is both masculine and feminine—and everything in between. God is non-binary.

In another discussion, he calls modern gender theory scientific.

TALARICO: Modern science obviously recognizes that there are many more than two biological sexes. In fact, there are six.

Talarico has also attempted to ground abortion rights in biblical themes.

TALARICO: Before God comes over Mary and and we have the Incarnation, God asks for Mary's consent, which is remarkable. I mean, go back and read this, and in Luke, I mean, the angel comes down and asks Mary if this is something she wants to do. And she says, if it is God's will, let it be done, let it be, let it happen. 

So to me, that is an affirmation in one of our most central stories, that creation has to be done with consent. You cannot force someone to create. Creation is one of the most sacred acts that we engage in as human beings, but that has to be done with consent, has to be done with freedom. And to me, that is absolutely consistent with the ministry and life and death of Jesus. 

Jesus did warn that teachers should be evaluated by the fruit of their teaching, which raises a practical question for voters: What difference does a candidate’s professed faith make in his political views?

On policy, Talarico’s positions largely mirror those of the progressive left. He opposes school choice programs that allow parents—especially low-income parents—to send their children to private schools.

Teachers’ unions strongly oppose those programs and contribute heavily to Democratic candidates who share their position.

Talarico also supports government action to address economic inequality and backs many of the Democratic Party’s priorities on climate and social issues.

None of those positions requires a theological explanation. A secular progressive who never attended seminary could hold them all.

For two thousand years, Christian doctrine has centered on claims about sin, redemption, and salvation through Jesus Christ.

Political platforms are something different.

That distinction may matter, as Texas voters consider a candidate who frequently speaks the language of faith while asking voters to accept his unorthodox interpretation of it.

Texas voters should not be fooled because “not everyone who calls me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of Heaven.”

Or perhaps the U.S. Senate.

For WORLD, I’m Cal Thomas.

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