James Tallarico is a state representative from Texas who is a progressive and uses the Bible to support his progressivism. We are going to rebut the basic assumptions of progressive Christianity today and respond specifically to his arguments about these subjects. We ve got all of this and more on today s episode of Relatable.
00:00:00.680James Tallarico is a state representative from Texas who is a progressive and uses the Bible to support his progressivism.
00:00:10.580Recently, he went on the Joe Rogan podcast to make his case for homosexuality, for abortion, for every progressive political and cultural belief, all by using parts of scripture.
00:00:25.360We are going to rebut the basic assumptions of so-called progressive Christianity today and respond specifically to his arguments about these subjects.
00:00:37.220We've got all of this and more on today's episode of Relatable.
00:00:40.460It's brought to you by our friends at Good Ranchers.
00:01:04.900We will be responding to James Tallarico, that very progressive Christian Texas state representative who has been going viral for a long time now.
00:01:16.140He was just on Joe Rogan presenting the case for progressive Christianity, as I will explain later.
00:01:25.320That's really a misnomer, and I will explicate why.
00:01:30.220And we will be responding to his belief system, his worldview, and the specific biblical claims that were made on the show.
00:01:37.880You guys have been asking me for a very long time to respond to some of his clips.
00:01:43.440And I never want to do something like that flippantly or offhand without a lot of preparation, because there are theological claims being made, and they deserve a theological response, which takes time, effort, and thoughtfulness, which is what you will get today.
00:02:01.940Okay, before we actually get into that response, there's a couple things I want to say.
00:02:06.800Number one, wow, wow, wow, wow, that interview with Lindsay Snyder, who is the head of In-N-Out, I had no idea that would have the response that it did.
00:02:17.440Obviously, I know that In-N-Out is a huge deal.
00:02:20.360I love In-N-Out, and I know that people love their In-N-Out, and so any news about In-N-Out is going to spread far and wide.
00:02:29.480She shared for the first time in that conversation with me, she doesn't do a whole lot of interviews, so this was very special.
00:02:38.040I've been talking to her about coming on the show for several years now, and we were able to make it happen in California.
00:02:43.880And she shared something that she had never shared before, and that is that she and her family, in addition to many corporate employees, are moving to Tennessee.
00:02:54.620And this is a California company that has previously stayed west.
00:03:00.320They have stores in Texas, but they used to say they're never going to go east of that, and now, of course, they're in Tennessee, which shifts the center of gravity for the company, and that's a big deal.
00:03:14.400And Gavin Newsom and his press office didn't like that very much, so they responded.
00:03:20.260Fox News, the LA Times, many, many outlets covered this.
00:03:24.400The clip that I shared on social media went viral.
00:03:27.600Wow, I just didn't realize the reach that this was going to have.
00:03:32.660Lindsay did an amazing job, not just of explaining her position and her why behind her move, but also in sharing her testimony.
00:03:41.140So I hope, with the attention that that interview is getting, that someone, that many people out there hear the gospel for the first time, hear her vulnerability, her transparency, how God has redeemed her and worked through her life, hear about the commitment that In-N-Out has to Christian principles, and that their heart is changed.
00:04:04.980When He's doing one thing, He's doing a million things, and while one thing makes the headlines, there are so many things He's doing that don't make headlines, that don't go viral.
00:04:14.720And I trust that He is going to give Himself glory through her testimony.
00:04:22.480And man, so many of you have sent encouragement and love and support, and I just encourage you to continue to send that love and support and encouragement to Lindsay and just how much you appreciate her.
00:04:36.380Because as you can imagine, when anything gets a lot of attention, but especially when it's a conservative Christian podcast, there are going to be haters out there.
00:04:44.660And when California responds and people think that it's some kind of political moment, which it's really not, there's going to be some negativity.
00:04:53.500And so just make sure that you are sharing her arrows and that you are lifting her up as well.
00:05:09.820Y'all appreciate his commentary and his wisdom and his insight, and so do I.
00:05:15.200And one thing he talked about that I actually, I didn't know that that was a question that y'all had asked that that would be addressed on the episode on Monday.
00:05:23.500It was Epstein, and you have probably noticed that I haven't yet addressed that.
00:12:48.040You must be pro-LGBTQ because that's what Jesus would really do.
00:12:53.500However, as I will explain, the Jesus that they are talking about, the words that they are using that sound Christian are different than the meanings of the words that we use.
00:13:06.380So, Talarico, in his episode, in his interview with Joe Rogan, described Jesus as someone who is, yes, a great teacher, but he's more like a pattern.
00:13:42.780That's Good Friday, where Jesus, because he confronts the powerful, is executed on a cross, a humiliating death, along with other criminals.
00:13:52.940And then the last step is resurrection.
00:13:57.920That's something new and beautiful rises from those ashes.
00:14:04.160So, those three things, incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, that's the pattern of the universe.
00:14:09.340Again, just take religion out of it for a second.
00:14:11.480Let's just think like a physicist or a biologist.
00:14:33.860So, I know that was long, and I kind of got bored already.
00:14:36.920But it's important to understand where he is coming from there, because this is how someone who calls themselves a progressive Christian sees Jesus' life.
00:14:50.660Yes, they might say as a moral teacher, but really as a metaphor, really as a symbol for what he called the pattern of the universe, but really, as we will get into, it is more a symbol of the call to liberate people from political systems of oppression.
00:17:15.620I can get more bang for my buck outside of Austin.
00:17:18.860So, they move to the suburbs or they move to the more rural areas.
00:17:23.360And they do the same exact thing, not seeing that they are the problem.
00:17:28.160So, that is probably what happened here.
00:17:30.140The progressives, who really don't like the outcomes of the policies that they've been proposing in places like Austin, they move outward, where places are still nice.
00:17:50.080They cannot see it, which is also the definition of insanity.
00:17:52.980So, that's how we get someone like James Tolerico.
00:17:55.660So, he came into the spotlight as the result of viral videos of his speeches against the legislation that would require classrooms to display the Ten Commandments.
00:18:07.340I think I said it aloud earlier, and I think it actually is mandating.
00:18:11.960So, this becomes effective this year, September 1st.
00:18:15.820So, here he is on the House floor, citing Romans 13, as his defense for his position against the requirement to pose the Ten Commandments.
00:18:27.200The Hindu student who sits in a classroom is our neighbor.
00:18:32.720The Buddhist student who sits in a classroom is our neighbor.
00:18:38.600The Sikh student who sits in a classroom is our neighbor.
00:18:41.780The atheist student who sits in a classroom is our neighbor.
00:18:46.160And we are called to love them as ourselves.
00:18:49.840But if this bill passes, we're going to put a poster on the wall of that classroom that says,
00:18:58.140Thou shalt not worship any god before me.
00:19:02.580We're putting up a poster that says their religion is inferior.
00:19:06.840We're putting up a poster that says their faith is not welcome here.
00:19:11.660Okay, let's think about this as a Christian.
00:19:14.240If you are a Christian, then you believe in God, correct?
00:19:50.900So if God is creator, if he is authority, if he is good, if he is love, as the Christian faith posits, then everything he says and everything he does, everything he commands, he says and does and commands in love, including you shall have no other gods before me.
00:20:08.360Now, you might be able to make, maybe he believes he can make a constitutional argument against it.
00:20:14.500Maybe you think this policy-wise is a bad idea.
00:20:20.120But theologically, as a Christian, to say that it is not loving to tell a person who is of a different religion that you should have no other gods before Yahweh, that is not unloving.
00:20:36.120Yes, Christianity does believe that every other religion is not inferior to Christianity, but is wrong, is actually false, and actually leads to hell.
00:20:46.100So, again, politics aside, policy aside, even constitution aside, which, again, we can have a debate about that, but he's making a theological, biblical argument here.
00:20:58.080Theologically, we cannot say that it is hateful to encourage someone to abandon idolatry if we believe that God is who he says he is, which, by definition, as a Christian, you do.
00:21:10.940So, he says that it's important that we love our neighbor as ourselves.
00:21:17.200That's what Christians are called to do.
00:21:18.940Yes, but this is the second greatest command.
00:21:44.480You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
00:21:46.500You cannot love your neighbor as yourself if you don't obey the first greatest commandment, which is to love the Lord your God.
00:21:54.420Now, Jesus tells us exactly how we are to love him.
00:21:57.620John 14, 15, if you love me, you will keep my commandments.
00:22:04.620If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
00:22:09.720Also, if we just want to point something out, in the capital of the United States, above the house chamber, is a depiction of Moses.
00:22:20.880Now, why is there a depiction of Moses who presented the Ten Commandments and the law to ancient Israel?
00:22:27.840Because he is a lawgiver, a very notable lawgiver in our country's history.
00:22:35.200Because our country's founding is based upon specifically Christian biblical principles.
00:22:44.720That all men are created equal and are given by their creator certain inalienable rights, among them being life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness.
00:22:56.540This is based on the Christian premise, on the Judeo-Christian premise.
00:23:04.220Some people have a hard time with that word, but it's true.
00:23:06.400It was in the Jewish text before it was Christian.
00:23:10.940That we are made, first of all, and we are made by a God.
00:23:16.340And we are made by a God in God's image, and therefore we have certain inalienable rights that cannot be taken away from us by a lesser power, the government.
00:24:14.280So it's not enough not just to take your neighbor's stuff.
00:24:17.000You also shouldn't even want your neighbor's stuff.
00:24:19.480That's how much God cared about private property.
00:24:22.740Those ideas that are so embedded in Western civilization and the laws and the rights that we take for granted today are interwoven in, are found in the Ten Commandments.
00:24:34.460So, yes, this is a part of history, whether or not it offends someone of a different faith.
00:24:41.960And by the way, again, if you believe that God is who he says he is, you understand that he is the moral lawgiver.
00:24:49.840And outside of what he says is right and wrong, there is no truth.
00:24:56.760Now, why doesn't James Tallarico, who calls himself a Christian, have these fundamental theological beliefs that are so obvious in any reading of Scripture by a Christian?
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