Over the last year I have made a handful of comments about various individuals in the Trump administration (and in the past Mr. Trump) in relation to their statements related to Christianity. The most frequent comment I receive is do I also comment on Democrats when they make claims about Christianity. Recently, Rep. James Talarico of Texas has been making noise for his Senate run because he is openly talking about his Christian faith. So in fairness I feel I must address Mr. Talarico in the same way I do Republicans who speak about their faith.
How do I generally speak on political leaders when it comes to faith? There are two categories, first with comments like JD Vance’s last January where he blatantly misrepresented the doctrine of Ordo Amoris (order of loves) I call them out and point out that they are wrong. Or second, I take them at their word and challenge them to live up to the standard they have set themselves. So this past week when Secretary of War Hegseth made comments about his Christian faith, I believe him, but I challenge him to live up to that even when it means reversing course on issues. The trouble is that I find with so many politicians that their Christian statements simply become a smokescreen to defend policies that do not align with Christian ideals.They are effectively trying to use their Christian faith to evade criticism and this is wrong. Like Mr. Vance trying to use his misconception of Ordo Amoris to justify a policy that led to the deportation of Christians who were in this country as legal refugees.
Now as to Mr. Talarico, admittedly I do not know much about him, he is not someone I have followed closely and really only heard about him recently. Now, unlike others, I have mentioned Mr. Talarico does have theological education and the comments I have heard him make reflect that and deserve some careful consideration. I agree with him that it is not simply about what we say we believe, we must demonstrate our commitment to Jesus in how we treat others. And I certainly agree with him that there is nothing Christian about CHristian Nationalism and have said that numerous times. Just like Mr Hegseth and Mr. Vance there are points that I disagree with Mr Talarico but do not criticize because he is not misrepresenting Christianity simply adhering to ideas I do not agree with.
The Biggest criticism he is going to face and that I must address are his comments that abortion and same-sex marriage are not mentioned in the Bible. Now, he is clearly doing this for political reasons and I do not appreciate bringing up such a comment simply for political points. But he is correct, neither is discussed in the Bible. On the issue of same-sex marriage I simply will not address it because that is purely a political issue. I know many Christians who believe same-sex marriage is inconsistent with a Christians lifestyle and yet support it politically because the church does not have the right to tell non-believers what to do. And I can understand and agree with that. So I leave that topic alone as one where there can be a large range of Christian opinions. As to the question of abortion, yes the Bible does not talk about it. And yes there are a range of opinions (including legitimate Christian opinions) but I sincerely hope that Mr. Talarico will not allow this to completely silence him of issues surrounding the sancitity of life, because that is a topic the Bible speaks on. Yes, we can have disagreements at some level about abortion within the Christian intellectual tradition, but there is a universal commitment to speaking up for the sanctity of life at some level. In his interview with Stephen Colbert he mentions Matthew 25 and I think this should inform him at some level when it comes to these issues. This is the reverse of what I often say to Pro-life individuals when I remind them that if we are Pro-life then we must also care for the child after birth. Here I would say that if you are going to follow Matthew 25 at some level it must also inform your stance on how we treat the issue of abortion. He no more than any other Christian can allow this to simply be a hot- button issue that creates a partisan divide and so silences us in our ability to care for people.
Overall, I found him to be able to clearly articulate his theology better than most politicians and he did not fall into the first category of obvious error. This means he falls into my second category of, “I’m going to hold him to this position”. If I find out he is not holding to the standard that he set in the Colbert interview I will call him out on it. And I definitely hope that the claim about his opponent is false as he claims.
But my overall critique is this and it directed more at the Christians who want to say I only call out one side. Politicians too often use Christianity to provide leverage for their own partisan ideas instead of allowing their ideals to be changed by their Christian commitments. There have been exceptions but not as many as I would hope. And too often politicians make false statements about the Bible or Christian theology in an attempt to give credence to policies that are anything but Christian. This needs to stop. Christians need to recognize that if politicians are going identify with Christianity that raises the standard of behavior. So in regard to Mr. Talarico, I did not hear him make any claim that is false but certainly he did set a standard for us to hold him to. And so like many in both parties who make similar statements, my prayer is he holds to this standard and does not deviate from it.
Squinting in the Light 
Leave a comment