You can learn a lot about a person by what they’re willing to throw away.

Call me old-fashioned, but in Texas, where Sunday morning still means something and Scripture isn’t treated like a rough draft, most Texans would tell you the Bible isn’t yours to edit. It’s not a suggestion box. It’s the Word of God. But in one Austin church with deep ties to a man who wants to represent this state in the United States Senate, that Word has been quietly gutted – and there’s video to prove it.

A church in name only

Democrat James Talarico is running against Attorney General Ken Paxton in a U.S. Senate race that polls suggest is uncomfortably close – a thought that should keep every conservative in the state up at night. Talarico has leaned on his faith publicly, positioning himself as a thoughtful Christian voice in politics. But the church that shaped him tells a very different story.

St. Andrew’s Presbyterian in Austin is where Talarico was baptized. He’s attended since childhood. The head pastor, Rev. Jim Rigby, married Talarico’s parents and delivered the invocation at his Texas House swearing-in. The church describes itself as “Presbyterian & Progressive,” and in separate undercover footage, minister Babs Miller admitted that the “vast majority” of the congregation would identify as “agnostic or atheist.”

I’ll be honest – I had to sit with that one for a minute. The vast majority of a church, agnostic or atheist. So what exactly are they teaching in those pews?

Rewriting the Word

Undercover video captured by the Daily Caller shows what new members at St. Andrew’s actually receive when they join: a copy of something called the “Inclusive Bible,” a 2007 translation that strips Scripture of gendered language for God and removes foundational titles from Jesus Christ.

From the Daily Caller’s undercover report:

“It’s the Bible that we use at this church,” an unidentified woman told a new member. “It’s been rewritten so that there is only inclusive language and that it doesn’t use the gender-fueled language that the King James Version uses.” Rev. Jim Rigby added that the translation is “good on the gender stuff,” saying, “I think it’s really important to have a good translation so you can let go of the stupid stuff.”

The stupid stuff. A pastor – Talarico’s lifelong spiritual mentor – calling parts of the Bible “the stupid stuff.” What exactly qualifies as stupid, Reverend? The parts about salvation? The resurrection? The name of Christ Himself?

The translation replaces “Son of God” and “Son of Man” with phrases like “Only Begotten” and “God’s Own.” It swaps “the Lord” for “Most High” and “Sovereign One,” with the translators themselves calling “the Lord” a “sexist and classist form” of God’s name. This isn’t a translation. It’s an amputation.

And the man this church produced? He told the Texas House in 2021 that “God is non-binary” and once described himself as “a Christian who hates Christianity.” He later called the first remark “cringey” and “deliberately provocative.” Well, mission accomplished, I suppose.

What Texas deserves to know

Look, I don’t pretend to know what’s in James Talarico’s heart. That’s between him and the Almighty – whatever name his church has approved this week. But I do know that the place that formed his faith can’t bring itself to call Jesus the Son of God, and its pastor thinks sacred Scripture contains “stupid stuff” worth discarding.

There’s a difference between wrestling with your faith and rewriting it until it can’t offend anyone. Every believer struggles. That’s not what this is. This is a church where most members don’t even believe in God, handing out a Bible sanded down until there’s nothing left to believe in.

Texas has always known the difference between genuine faith and performance. When a man’s pastor calls Scripture stupid and the man himself says he hates Christianity, you don’t need a theologian to read between the lines.

You just need a ballot.

Key Takeaways

• Talarico’s church gives new members a Bible that removes “Son of God” from Jesus’s name.
• His pastor calls parts of Scripture “the stupid stuff” worth discarding.
• Most of the congregation reportedly identifies as agnostic or atheist.
• Texas Senate voters deserve to know what shaped their candidate’s worldview.

Source: Breitbart