By The Daily Wire (World News) | Created at 2026-09-25 15:50:52 | Updated at 2026-09-25 16:41:08
6 hours ago
James Talarico’s longtime pastor and trusted mentor expressed discomfort with the Texas Democrat’s religious beliefs, describing him as more of a mystic than a Christian, according to undercover footage obtained by The Daily Wire.
Rev. Jim Rigby, who has served as lead pastor of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Austin for more than 35 years, was speaking with an undercover journalist about the Democratic Senate nominee and his theological views. The footage shows Rigby admitting that Talarico’s beliefs make him “uncomfortable” and suggesting the Democrat’s approach to Christianity is more connected to mysticism.
“Well, he’s much more — it makes me uncomfortable. Now, don’t ever say that to him,” Rigby told the undercover journalist, who asked whether Talarico was a fundamentalist.
“No, he’s basically said God is not any being but being. I mean, that’s like mysticism,” Rigby said. “So, it’s like at that point, I just think he’s caught trying to cross the river. And whatever he said comes back as a hand grenade.”
Rigby was referencing a line from an October 2023 sermon Talarico delivered at St. Andrew’s titled “God is not a Christian: Confronting Christian Nationalism.”
“God is not a noun at all. God is a verb,” Talarico told the congregation. “God is not a being. God is being itself.” In the same sermon, Talarico praised the Islamic mystic Rumi and rejected the traditional Christian teaching that Jesus is the only way to God, insisting there are “so many pathways to the sacred.” He also said that the “trans community needs abortion care too.”
As Talarico races to win over Texas voters, 67% of whom identify as Christian, Rigby says Talarico’s campaign wants nothing to do with him.
“His campaign has distanced from me completely,” Rigby said. “The reason he does it is he wants to be a counterbalance to Christian nationalism. It’s sad running in Texas, I think, and he’s got advisors and stuff. And I think the closer he gets to success, the more DNC people are going to come down.”
The candid comments offer a glimpse into the religious figures influencing Talarico, who has attended St. Andrew’s since childhood and told the New York Times that Rigby and the church, along wth his grandfather, were “the biggest influences on me as a Christian, as a human being.” The Times reported that Rigby baptized Talarico as a toddler and officiated his parents’ wedding.
“I think it’s a problem for him … he’s gonna have, I think, disavow and separate himself from this church if he wants to have a chance at winning this race,” Tom Bevan, co-founder and president of Real Clear Politics, said. “This is the kind of thing that could shave a couple points off.”
Critics argue the doctrine Talarico’s church pushes represents more blasphemy than biblical Christianity. Responding to The Daily Wire’s reporting, Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Dallas, said “no true Christian could ever be a member” of Talarico’s church.
In a Facebook post from Christmas Day 2015, Rigby suggested that Jesus’ resurrection could actually be understood as “a poem about the whole life process.”
“Apparently, because I don’t believe in a literal resurrection, I’m not really Christian. This unfortunately also means I won’t be going to heaven with many of you,” he wrote. “And it’s particularly embarrassing to be a Presbyterian minister bound for hell.”
Rigby’s official biography on his church’s website says his ministry helps people explore “the deeper aspects” of their lives. It mentions nothing about Jesus or preaching the Gospel. The spotlight on Talarico’s home church comes amid increasing scrutiny of his leftist approach to faith in a state where evangelicals, who polls show strongly oppose Talarico, make up the largest religious group.
Earlier this week, The Daily Wire revealed undercover footage of Rev. Babs Miller, another minister at St. Andrew’s, rejecting core Christian teachings, including the virgin birth and the belief that Jesus died on the cross for humanity’s sins. Miller also doubted whether Jesus actually existed, a view rejected by virtually all historians and scholars.
Miller claimed the virgin birth was rooted in pagan mythology and told the undercover journalist, “We have no way of knowing if Jesus really existed any more than we have of knowing that the original Buddha ever existed.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) jumped on The Daily Wire’s viral clip.
“I try never to judge another’s faith — that’s for God to do — but if James Talarico’s pastor says she doesn’t believe that Jesus existed or that Jesus died for our sins, then that ‘pastor’ is not a Christian,” Cruz said on X. “She’s just a left-wing activist.”
Miller also rejected the Christian understanding of Jesus’ crucifixion as atonement for sins, instead depicting Him as a political social justice warrior rather than what the Bible calls the “Savior of the world.”
“Jesus was put on that cross because Rome hated him and they thought he was a threat to their domination of that area,” Miller argued. “He didn’t die to save our sins.”
The video racked up millions of views on social media, with one rising Texas Republican tying Miller’s worldview to what Talarico’s political agenda could look like in the Senate.
“James Talarico will take your most deeply held Christian beliefs and wear them like a skin suit to justify raising your taxes, abortion until birth, and putting a welcome mat on the border,” Congressman Brandon Gill said.
Neither Talarico’s campaign nor St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church responded to requests for comment.
