James Talarico is the new name on many Seventh-day Adventists’ lips. The young democratic Texas state legislator is very adept at utilizing the language of Christian faith in service to his progressive political agenda. He rose to national fame, and to the deserved attention of watchful Adventists with his clips from the Texas legislative assembly going after his colleagues for violating the separation of Church and state with bills to mandate the posting of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. He went as far as to call out one his colleagues for breaking the seventh-day sabbath of the commandments while pushing the commandments on Texas schoolchildren.
I think Mr. Talarico deserves some praise for these stands, but I see many Adventists online falling for his political schtick further than I think we can or should follow. Talarico is right to remind the Christian Nationalist right that the separation of Church and State exists, but he doesn’t completely understand WHAT the separation actually is. And he also bastadarizes Scripture to fit into his own political program, while condemning his political opponents for doing the same thing in a different direction.
In interviews on both the Joe Rogan Experience and the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Talarico ripped into the Christian Right for in his view convincing American Christians that abortion and gay marriage are the most important biblical issues, to the exclusion of commands to care for foreigners or for supporting the poor. But then he further rips the mask off of his project when he then says that he supports abortion and gay marriage: so it’s not just a matter of reducing emphasis-he doesn’t support life or biblical marriage. As Romans 13 makes clear, both the defense of innocent life and biblical marriage fall squarely into the realm of legitimate civil authority. Romans 13:8-10 describes the duty of the state in keeping with Christ’s summary of the second tablet ‘love thy neighbor’ with no mention of the the summary of the first tablet ‘love thy God’.
At the end of the day, representative Talarico suffers from a similar error as his Christian Nationalist opponents, he uses his personal theology and understanding of the Bible to push Christians to vote for Democratic politicians and support Democratic political priorities. But the mistake that both Christian Nationalists and their Leftist Christian counterparts make is that they have lost a universal moral language within which to debate and push public policy. The Two Tablet Theory was never intended to convince our fellow citizens of proper political positions, but rather to limit people in public life from impeding on what government has no right to impede on (the first tablet).
So, while the second tablet of the commandments outlines the correct realm over which the civil authority has jurisdiction, in a non-theocracy we don’t argue in legislative halls or political debates for policy on the basis of them being in the Commandments or Bible, more broadly. As Christians we argue for the sanctity of life, biblical marriage, and other second tablet issues but we make moral, ethical, practical, and scientific arguments for why those policies are good for ALL of society. Scripture affirms this reason based approach, the fact of the Imago Dei equally distributed among all mankind, means that every person has a moral conscience and reasoning faculties to which citizens regardless of faith or lack thereof should appeal to in the process of a Constitutional Republic of self-government (Romans 1).
So, to the Adventists fawning over James Talarico, please submit his calls for left-wing economic policies to reason-based arguments over the specifics of his political proposals. Abusive language attacking citizens for opposing socialist wealth distribution because the Bible says to love the poor and the stranger should be treated the same way as abusive language attacking citizens for joining church and state in an effort to a create a “Christian Nation.” Yes, the Bible instructs us to care for the poor and the stranger, and also to honor God in everything we do including politics. However, in terms of public policy, as citizens we actually get to have discussions/debate over whether or not proposed “feel good” policies will actually accomplish good for the poor and stranger, and whether or not enforced religion is honoring God (hint: it’s not).
Summary
In summation, there are two ditches that Christian political involvement can fall into.
Cozying up to the King of the North (Enforced Religion), and cozying up to the King of the South (Atheism/Materialism/Sexual Immorality) for “protection” from the King of the North. But neither of these paths is acceptable for Seventh-day Adventists, we must stand for both liberty and justice within a republican framework (representative democracy/self government).
This means in the public square, making principled, reasonable defenses of the institution of the family, the sanctity of human life, and the inviolability of religious freedom and avoiding the temptations of compromising for the sake of moral superiority or secular applause.
The Great Controversy page 441:
“And he had two horns like a lamb.” The lamb-like horns indicate youth, innocence, and gentleness, fitly representing the character of the United States when presented to the prophet as “coming up” in 1798. The Christian exiles who first fled to America, sought an asylum from royal oppression and priestly intolerance, and they determined to establish a government upon the broad foundation of civil and religious liberty. The Declaration of Independence sets forth the great truth that “all men are created equal,” and endowed with the inalienable right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” And the Constitution guarantees to the people the right of self-government, providing that representatives elected by the popular vote shall enact and administer the laws. Freedom of religious faith was also granted, every man being permitted to worship God according to the dictates of his conscience. Republicanism and Protestantism became the fundamental principles of the nation. These principles are the secret of its power and prosperity. The oppressed and down-trodden throughout Christendom have turned to this land with interest and hope. Millions have sought its shores, and the United States has risen to a place among the most powerful nations of the earth.”
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Joey Carrion is a political science student at Andrews University, and is very interested in the interaction of political conservatism and religious liberty. He is a co-host on the Gio and Joey Show, which analyzes political and cultural news and events from an authentically Protestant and Adventist worldview. In his spare time he enjoys basically anything outdoors, country music, studying prophecy and theology, reading, and volunteering with his church family in Gobles, MI.
You can follow him on X at the handle @AdventistCowboy.