A video of Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico calling Islam and Christianity “equal pathways to truth” resurfaced and has been making the rounds on social media, along with comments equating the God of the Bible with gods of other religions.
“I find that they’re all kind of equal pathways to truth,” Talarico, who is currently a member of the Texas House of Representatives, told the Vote Common Good podcast. “You know, that’s how I think, you know, I always think of all of the world’s faith traditions as like a circle with that divine mystery of the universe in the middle. And we all have different names for that mystery.”
Jesus says in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
But Talarico, who has been using his faith as a central part of his campaigning and was described by Politico as an “aspiring preacher,” seems to differ with Jesus.
“Whether it’s God or Yahweh or Allah or Nirvana, the Great Spirit, whatever you call it, this is all, you know, different pathways to the same kind of fundamental truth of reality,” Talarico said.
That teaching embodies religious pluralism—the belief that all religions, however contradictory they are to each other, lead to God.
Another clip from 2021 that’s circulating the internet shows Talarico delivering an invocation on the Texas state House floor and ending his prayer with “all your many names.”
“The Torah calls you Creator. The Koran calls you Peace. The Gita calls you Destroyer. The Dharma calls you Truth, and the First Epistle of John calls you perhaps the most beautiful name of all, Love,” he said in his prayer.
On a separate occasion, Talarico claimed that Islamic mystics shaped his faith.
“I know personally that I’ve learned as much about my faith from Salman’s tradition, from the Islamic mystics, from poets like Rumi, as much as I have from Christian authors and Christian writers,” Talarico said during a resurfaced 2024 podcast. “This kind of interfaith dialogue, it doesn’t water down your tradition, in fact it strengthens it, it brings out new flavors and new colors.”
Talarico also has called Christianity the “most violent religion,” claiming that it has done “more damage” than Islam compared to other religions.
Evangelical pastors have frequently challenged Talarico’s claims about the Bible’s teachings.
Al Mohler, in a recent podcast episode, said: “A statement from Turning Point USA I think is spot on when it said that Talarico uses ‘the language of an evangelical while completely undermining the central truth claims of the Scripture.’ I think that’s just absolutely true.”
The Bible refutes religious pluralism throughout the Scriptures:
- “I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me.” – Isaiah 45:5
- “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”- John 10:9
- “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” – 1 Timothy 2:5
- “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” – John 3:36
Josh Howerton, pastor of Lakepointe Church in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, has also spoken against Talarico’s claims about the Bible.
“[Talarico’s] whole platform is using the Bible to convince Christians to support godless things,” Howerton said, referring to claims Talarico has made about abortion and homosexuality never being condemned by Jesus.
