We’ve all watched a certain type of politician operate. The kind who spends eleven months demanding religion stay out of public life, then discovers Scripture the moment it can sell a government program. Same crowd that bristles at a nativity scene on a courthouse lawn will quote chapter and verse like Sunday morning regulars — if it helps move the needle on a policy vote.

Most Americans of faith spot the performance instantly. The Bible isn’t a policy manual. The Gospels aren’t campaign literature. But none of that has stopped one ambitious Texas Democrat from conscripting Jesus Christ into service as a spokesman for government-run healthcare.

From The Post Millennial:

Texas Senate candidate James Talarico cited the Bible to argue that Christianity supports government-run healthcare.

Speaking to a church crowd in DeSoto on July 20 in a video posted by his campaign titled “James Talarico Unveils Plan For Black Voters,” Talarico said the US should “finish the work of President Obama” on healthcare.

A man running for the United States Senate walked into a house of worship and announced that Jesus’ healing miracles are essentially a divine rubber stamp for Medicare expansion. “If you read our scriptures, if you read the New Testament, what does Jesus spend most of his time doing?” Talarico told the congregation. “It’s not preaching, it’s not teaching, it is healing. Healing the sick.”

Sure, Jesus healed the sick. He did so through divine power and personal compassion — through the literal touch of His hand. He didn’t establish a federal agency. He didn’t hire bureaucrats. He didn’t levy taxes on Galilean fishermen to fund a public option. Suggesting that Christ’s miracles constitute a heavenly mandate for government insurance programs isn’t theology. It’s political fan fiction.

Talarico also invoked Matthew 25, claiming Scripture says we’ll be judged by “healing the sick, by feeding the hungry, by welcoming the stranger.” What he conveniently skips over is context. Jesus was addressing individuals about personal moral accountability before God. He wasn’t drafting a legislative agenda for Washington. Voluntary Christian charity, freely given from the heart, bears zero resemblance to government coercion funded by your paycheck. Conflating the two isn’t just wrong. It’s dishonest.

A pattern of theological lunacy

If this were a single awkward stretch of scriptural interpretation, you might write it off as campaign-trail overreach. Talarico’s track record, though, tells a much wilder story.

This is a man who has proudly described himself as a “Christian who hates Christianity.” Not exactly a ringing endorsement of sincerity. He’s declared that “God is nonbinary.” He’s claimed — with apparent seriousness — that “modern science recognizes” six biological sexes.

On the Joe Rogan Experience, he defended his pro-abortion stance by arguing that God requested Mary’s “consent” before the virgin birth. The Incarnation, reimagined as a talking point for reproductive politics. Meanwhile, at a church appearance, he cited the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas — a text mainstream Christianity rejected nearly two thousand years ago — praising it as something “omitted from the Bible by church officials.” On top of all that, he’s credited Islamic mystics with shaping his Christian faith.

This isn’t a man wrestling honestly with difficult theology. This is someone who treats Scripture like a build-your-own-sandwich counter — grab what’s useful, skip what’s inconvenient, invent the rest.

The left’s convenient rediscovery of religion

The hypocrisy here practically announces itself. The political left has spent decades insisting religious convictions have no seat at the policy table. Prayer in schools? Unconstitutional. Faith-based objections to redefining marriage? Bigotry. A pro-life argument rooted in belief? Theocracy.

But when a Democrat needs to pitch a healthcare plan to a church audience in Texas, suddenly the Sermon on the Mount becomes a policy brief. Talarico doesn’t actually want Christianity in public life. He wants a gutted, reimagined version of it — stripped of its real teachings — that conveniently validates the Democratic platform.

What’s really at stake in Texas

This matters beyond theology because Talarico isn’t some fringe figure ranting on a podcast. A recent Fox News poll puts him ahead of Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton 51 to 48 percent in the Texas Senate race — within the margin of error. He could actually win this thing.

Jesus’ ministry was about transforming hearts. Not expanding bureaucracies. The answer to America’s healthcare challenges lives in free-market competition and individual liberty, not in mangling the Gospels to justify another government spending bill. Texans — and Christians everywhere — deserve representatives who handle Scripture with reverence, not candidates who only crack open a Bible when there’s a camera pointed at their face.

Key Takeaways

• Talarico twisted Jesus’ healing miracles into a sales pitch for government-run healthcare.
• His long record of radical theological claims reveals a pattern, not a single gaffe.
• The left invokes Scripture selectively — only when it advances their policy agenda.
• Texas voters face real consequences: Talarico is polling competitively for US Senate.

Sources: The Post Millennial