Welcome to Breakpoint, a daily look at an ever-changing culture through the lens of unchanging truth. For the Colson Center, I'm Johnstone Street. Included in the blue tsunami of the 2026 midterm elections is a budding movement that does not hesitate to explain just how Christian this nation ought to be. Most famous in this group is James Talerico, the newly minted senator-elect from newly turned blue Texas. Talerico will take a seat held for over 20 years by John Cornyn, who lost his primary bid to a candidate plagued by moral scandal.
Taking advantage of this unpopular candidate, Talerico cast. Himself as the truly Christian option, while pursuing his political career, Talarico took classes at a seminary in Austin, committed to theological liberalism and progressive social justice causes. His stump speeches were peppered with scriptural allusions and policy positions based on his understanding of Christian ethics. For example, in one speech, he defended universal health care and food programs for children by pointing to Christ, who, as he said it, never. Charged a deductible or tried to price gouge.
He made bizarre claims about the birth of Christ and then used them to support abortion on demand. And he defended extreme views on gender and sexuality, even once saying that God has six genders, though. He later downplayed that statement, and in every case, Talarico claimed that his policies are the ones with biblical grounds. On the Ezra Klein show, he cited examples of heroes from history who, as he put it, infuse their politics with a moral foundation, oftentimes explicitly rooted in faith. And I feel like what we're suffering from now, people start with politics and then try to figure out their morality on top of that, when it should be reversed.
Who are we as human beings? Where do we come from? Why are we here? How should we live? The politics should grow out of that.
I really do feel like this is a way I can love my neighbor at scale through good public policy. All the things I've worked for in the state legislature—it was to love my neighbor. "End quote." And while Tallerico embodies theological progressivism, newly elected Kansas pastor Adam Hamilton resembles more of a traditional theological liberal. He described himself as pro-choice with a heavy heart. In his campaign, he rejected the idea of males competing against females in sports.
And so-called gender-affirming surgery for minors, but he did not, however, reject the social transitioning of minors or other forms of harmful experimentation on children. In one of his books, Hamilton described his theological method as rejecting passages of scripture that, and I quote, "never ever reflect the heart and character of God." It's a common way that biblical authority is undermined within theological liberalism. Evaluating the biblical text based on One's moral views, rather than vice versa. In the end, this amounts to separating the teaching and way of Jesus from the very source material about his life and his teaching.
Now, neither Hamilton nor Talarico has received much criticism from mainstream media outlets for bringing their faith into the public square, especially from those who, for so many years, breathlessly warned of a looming theocratic takeover of America. As Caitlin Well Shelton posted in response to a particularly loaded New York Times article, "If you're a Christian Democrat, according to the New York Times, you're a Matthew 25 Christian. If you're a Christian Republican, you're a Christian nationalist." Make it make sense. End quote. Of course, actual Christian nationalists must also be criticized not only for misusing Scripture as they often do, but especially when appropriate for ethno-nationalism and absolutely for their anti-Semitism.
I say actual because some are Christian nationalists, and many others are just accused of it unjustly. And that's the point here. As our former colleague here at the Coulson Center, Joseph Backholm, recently put it, and I quote: "Sec." Regularists don't care if you call yourself a Christian, talk publicly about Jesus, and regularly attend church, as long as you worship their rainbow gods of autonomy too. If you do, they'll hold you up as an example of one of the good Christians. Jesus will be horrified, but they will love it.
End quote. Jesus is the Lord of heaven and earth. He's never someone that should be appropriated for our political causes. Faith belongs in the public square, especially the Christian faith oriented around Christ and the biblical description of reality. It belongs in the public square because it's true.
We have to serve that vision rather than claim it in the name of ours. For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street with Breakpoint. Today's Breakpoint was co-authored with Dr. Timothy Paget. If you're a fan of Breakpoint, please leave us a review wherever you download your podcast and find more resources to live.
A Christian in this cultural moment, and a version of this commentary that you can share with others by going to breakpoint.org. Hey, John Stone Street here. I want to say thanks for listening to Breakpoint, and I want to invite you to the 2027 Colson Center National Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, June 4th to the 6th, 2027. This year, we're going to talk all about what it means to pursue wisdom. We live in an age of information overload, and it's easy to confuse information or the access to information with wisdom.
But as the church, God calls us to pursue wisdom. With urgency, and even better, he promises to always provide wisdom when we ask for it. At the Colson Center National Conference 2027, we're going to be joined by speakers like Dr. Robbie George, Malcolm Gaite, Amy Orr Ewing, Henry Kaisner, and more. These folks can equip us on how to apply God's wisdom across our lives and our various spheres of influence, and across the cultural challenges that.
Face us in this moment. You don't want to miss it. Please register before November 30th so you can receive up to 50 off ticket prices. We sold out last year. I'm expecting we will sell out again.
So don't miss this special deal before November 30th. For more details, go to colsonconference.org. That's colsonconference.org.
