周神耀 | Philip Chou
塔拉理克何許人也?
周神耀牧師心靈小菜園系列-215
37歲的塔氏（James Talarico) 在今年十一月三日大勝共和黨的帕克斯頓。55-43。成為參議員。
美國南部的德克撒斯州（Texas) 是共和黨的「紅州」。而且也是保守的福音派大型教堂僅次于加州的州。美南浸信會的財政部門位於達拉斯。州長自從1995年都由共和黨出任。但這次選舉竟然被一位拉丁裔的女民主黨員翻盤。兩位參議員自從1988年也全是由共和黨員坦任直到今年。應該說是明年開始。
我不是要討論大翻盤的原因細節。我要聚焦於塔氏在競選期間引用聖經及對基督教信仰方面的問題。
他是美國長老教會的信徒。並且在德州首都奧斯丁(Austin) 念過長老教會的神學院。現今長老教會的信仰比較屬於自由主義神學。即對聖經的解釋比較不按照字面也不拘泥於教義的字句。而是從「處境」去了解經文的現代意義。簡單來說就是為了和世俗文化交流, 把神愛的大原則放在至上。以耶穌的「最大誠命」愛神愛人為首要。在社會上注重社會公義, 關懷弱勢。
這些都合乎聖經的教導。但對耶穌的「大使命」即全世界歸主有不同的解讀。自由主義者可以在神大愛的大原則下容許諸宗教殊途同歸。同歸在創造主上帝或阿拉。只要有對社會正面的終極關懷就好。
這樣的了解就是把主張多元平權參與的包容思想應用在美國當下文化上紛爭的議題：如墮胎與同性變性, 塔氏主張應支持女權及性分歧族群的權益。他說童女馬利亞向加百列天使說「情願照你的話成就在我身上」意指女人有選擇生產與否的權利。他早前也說「上帝不是男的也不是女」。（God is non binary)。因此人不一定是只有男或女兩種選項。兩個引經的解釋是過份牽強附會了！
如果為了大愛至上而忽視罪的存在的可悲。我想這不是一個整體聖經的立場。這樣推論下去耶穌釘十字架的道理不是代罪羔羊。只是愛的極致表現。這是不合乎聖經新舊約一貫的啟示。
我們不反對塔氏的主張落實人民的權利, 抵抗大財團控制政府的文宣是合乎聖經某方面的真理。即個々人在上帝面前的尊嚴。但是在引用聖經絕對不能以偏概全, 失去福音的全貌。不熟悉聖經的年輕人很容易認爲塔氏是基督徒的政治救星,一窩蜂向他擁抱。
<2026-11-11>
Who is James Talarico?
Pastor Philip Chou Spiritual Garden Series – 215
James Talarico, 37, won a landslide victory over Republican candidate John Paxton on November 3rd of this year, 55-43, becoming a senator-elect.
Texas has been a Republican “red state” and has the second-highest number of conservative evangelical mega churches after California. The Southern Baptist Convention’s finance section is located in Dallas. The governor has been a Republican since 1995. However, this election was surprisingly won by a Latina female Democrat, Gina Hinojosa. Both senators had been Republicans since 1988 until James Talarico.
I’m not going to discuss the details of the dramatic turnaround or the blue tsunami. Conservative Republican Christians in Texas do have things to reflect upon. I want to focus on Talarico’s quoting of the Bible and his Christian faith during the campaign. His influence upon the young Christians in this land could be enormous.
He is a Presbyterian Christian and attended a Presbyterian seminary in Austin, Texas. The theology of the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) used to be in line with the traditional Reformed faith which is still preserved in American Presbyterian Church such as the Redeemer in NYC. But today PCUSA is considered more liberal. They interpret the Bible by focusing on understanding its modern meaning within its contextual life situation. Simply put, it prioritizes the fundamental principle of God’s love for communication with secular culture, placing it above all else. It upholds the supremacy of Jesus’ “Great Commandment” of loving God and your neighbors. In society, it emphasizes social justice and care for the vulnerable.
These aspects of faith align well with some of the biblical teachings. However, when it comes to Jesus’ “Great Commission”, namely, the conversion of the whole world to Christ, they have different interpretation. Liberals can tolerate different religions converging on the principle of God’s great love, ultimately converging on the Creator God or Allah or whatever concerned ultimately in other religions.
This theological stance applies to the inclusive philosophy of advocating for pluralism and equal participation to contemporary culturally contentious issues such as abortion and same-sex and transgender issues.
Talarico advocates for women’s rights and the rights of sexually divergent groups. He points out that the Virgin Mary’s words to the angel Gabriel, “May it be done to me according to your word,” imply that women have the right to choose whether or not to give birth. He has also previously stated that “God is non-binary”. Therefore, people are not necessarily limited to just male or female. These two biblical interpretations and applications cited by him are far-fetched to say the least!
Here is the crux of the matter concerning our Faith. If we ignore the tragic existence of sin in the name of supreme love, I think this is not a holistic view of the Bible. Following this logic, the death of Jesus by crucifixion is not about a vicarious death, being a lamb of God that takes away sins of the world, but simply the ultimate expression of supreme divine love. This contradicts the consistent theme of biblical revelation that was made throughout the Old and New Testaments.
We do not oppose Talarico’s advocacy for upholding people’s rights against the encroaching power of large corporations, which aligns with certain biblical truth, namely, the dignity of the individual before God. However, when citing the Bible, we must never generalize from a single instance and lose sight of the full picture of the Gospel. Young people unfamiliar with the Bible might easily mistake Talarico for a new Christian political rising star and flock to him in droves.
<2026-11-11>