Famed Texas Pastor Accuses Talarico of Heresy, ‘He’s a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing’
Dr. Robert Jeffress is sounding the alarm over what he calls “radical theology” being promoted by James Talarico, the Democrat nominee for the U.S. Senate in Texas — warning voters that smooth rhetoric and religious language can mask deeply unbiblical ideas.
Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas and author of the forthcoming book Divine Invasions, joined the Todd Starnes Show Podcast to respond to Talarico’s recent comments about Christianity, gender and other hot-button issues.
Starnes pressed Jeffress about Talarico’s theological claims, including comments suggesting God is non-binary and arguments tying the Virgin Birth to abortion rhetoric.
“The fact is, this guy is a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” Jeffress said.
Jeffress warned that Talarico’s demeanor and credentials could mislead casual observers.
“He is so appealing, he’s very eloquent, he’s pleasant-natured, and the discerning voter might say, well, that’s a nice guy, and he’s gone to the seminary, he must know the Bible, and he is talking about Jesus and things we believe in,” Jeffress said. “But you have to listen very carefully to what he’s saying.”
According to Jeffress, progressive theologians often redefine traditional Christian terms.
“Here’s the thing about progressive theologians, Todd. They use our same vocabulary, but they don’t use the same dictionary. Their words mean something different,” he explained.
“For example, when they talk about salvation, they’re not talking about salvation from hell, they’re talking about salvation from the Hell of the Inequality. When they talk about Jesus, they’re not talking about the Jesus of the Bible, they’re talking about the Jesus of their imagination. They are talking about what they wish Jesus had said, not what he actually said.”
Jeffress took particular issue with Talarico’s comments about religious pluralism.
“When they talk about the value of Christianity, they say Christianity is a path to God, but they don’t say it’s the only path to God. They say it is one of many paths to God,” Jeffress said. “I mean, this guy, he said Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, these are different paths to God, and he said he’s on the Christian path, but all paths lead to the same God. That is heresy, and He needs to be rejected outrightly for what He’s saying.”
The pastor also addressed Talarico’s remarks on gender identity and transgenderism.
“He’s really hung up on this, and you know, he says they’re not two genders. There may be six genders, well, the Jesus whom he says he loves and follows, I beg to differ,” Jeffress said.
“You know, in Matthew 19, Jesus said to the Pharisees, God made them male and female, two genders. And when he says God is not binary, well it’s true, God’s neither male nor female, but his son Jesus came in the form of a male, and Jesus taught us that God has made mankind binary, male or female. So again, all we have to do is test what this heretic is saying against the truth of Scripture.”
Looking ahead to the midterm elections, Jeffress cautioned Texas voters about the political stakes.
“One thing I’m hearing, and I don’t label myself as a Republican. I’m an independent. I vote for the candidate I think best represents biblical values,” he said. “But what I hear from people like me in our congregation is, whomever is the Republican nominee, we’ve got to get somebody who can defeat James Tallarico.”
“I mean, I think there’s a very real possibility of losing the state of Texas, turning it purple, turning it blue, if the wrong person is elected,” Jeffress continued. “And so there are no perfect candidates, but we need to look for one yes that votes like we do and upholds our values, but one that can win.”
The conversation also turned to religious liberty and calls from some lawmakers to deport all Muslims following recent terror attacks.
“I’d say be careful of asking for that, because the day may come somebody wants to deport all Christians,” Jeffress warned. “As we further fall into a minority status, I think we need to be real careful.”
“Islam is a false religion,” he said. “It’s a false book built on the premise that Muslims ought to kill the infidels, which would be you and me and Jews. It is a religion of violence. Now, most Muslims are not violent people. Very few of them are violent.”
“But Todd tolerance means giving people the right to be wrong,” Jeffress added. “I do believe that if we infringe on people’s right to believe the wrong thing, to embrace a heresy like Islam, if we try to outlaw that, it will boomerang on us.”
Jeffress concluded by urging prayer for national leaders and encouraging believers to remain engaged both spiritually and politically.
“This is a war between good and evil,” he said. “And I think this is the case and why we all need to be in prayer for our great president and for our troops around the world.”
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