Famed Texas Pastor Sounds a Warning About James Talarico: 'Prostituting Name of Jesus'

SMG News Wire : Aug 24, 2026
ToddStarnes.com

"He's posing as an evangelical Christian ... He says there's a spectrum of genders, even though Jesus said there are only two genders: 'God made them male and female.' He supports transgenderism in every way. He says that there is more than one way to Heaven, Christianity is just one path to Heaven..." -Dr. Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of First Baptist Church Dallas

[ToddStarnes.com] Dr. Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of First Baptist Church Dallas, delivered a blistering assessment of Texas politician James Talarico's theology, accusing him of presenting a version of Christianity that is fundamentally at odds with the Bible. (Screengrab image: via The Todd Starnes Show)

Jeffress, appearing on The Todd Starnes Radio Show, said Talarico represents a growing strain of progressive Christianity that rejects foundational evangelical teachings while continuing to invoke the name of Jesus Christ. Watch the full interview above or click here to get Todd's free podcast.

"He is a real threat," Jeffress said, noting that Talarico signs can be spotted throughout some of Dallas' most affluent neighborhoods.

"He's posing as an evangelical Christian," Jeffress said. "He went to a Presbyterian seminary. His most influential person in his life, other than his grandfather, was his pastor in Austin, who said, 'I have trouble using the word God.' Now that gives you a view where this guy is."

Jeffress took particular issue with Talarico's views on gender and salvation.

"He says there's a spectrum of genders, even though Jesus said there are only two genders. God made them male and female," Jeffress said. "He supports transgenderism in every way. He says that there is more than one way to Heaven, Christianity is just one path to Heaven." (Screengrab image: via MS NOW)

Jeffress said those positions amount to a rejection of the basic tenets of evangelical Christianity.

"He denies the very basics of evangelical Christianity, but because he has a pleasant voice and a pleasant demeanor, some people are being tricked or led astray by him," the pastor said.

Jeffress argued that Christianity's claim that salvation comes exclusively through Jesus Christ is not a peripheral doctrine.

"If there's another way to Heaven except for faith in Jesus Christ, then Jesus wasted His time by dying on the cross for our sins," he said. "The reason the Son of God was willing to do such a thing is because there was no other way to God."

Jeffress then delivered his strongest rebuke of Talarico.

"What I'm speaking out against is allowing woke evangelicals like James Tallarico to prostitute the name of Jesus Christ, to turn the Jesus of the Bible into some woke Messiah that is contrary to what the Bible teaches," he said.

"The Jesus Christ that James Tallarico says he follows is not the Jesus of the Bible, it's the Jesus of his own woke imagination, and that is called blasphemy."

Jeffress Warns About Islam—But Defends Religious Liberty

Jeffress also weighed in on concerns about the growth of Islam in Texas, making clear that while he considers Islam theologically false, Muslims retain constitutional religious-liberty protections.

"Islam is a false religion," Jeffress said. "You can't say Islam is just another path to God. It's not a path to God."

But Jeffress cautioned conservatives against attempting to prohibit Muslims from building houses of worship, warning such restrictions could eventually be turned against Christians.

"Tolerance means giving people the right to be wrong," he said.

Jeffress said Muslims must obey American law and cannot impose a Sharia legal code that conflicts with US law. But he argued the ultimate Christian response to Islam should be evangelism rather than government suppression.

"The most potent power against Islam is the Gospel of Jesus Christ," Jeffress said. "It's not laws, it's the Gospel of Christ."

"The quickest way to extinguish the power of Islam is to share the power of the Cross of Jesus Christ." Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here