“When Jesus healed the sick, he didn't ask for a deductible,” Talarico tells a crowd of supporters. “So, when I fight for universal healthcare, I'm doing it on biblical grounds.”
Talarico’s comment went viral on social media after his Senate campaign published it online.
The 49-second clip has now surpassed 2 million views and 8,000 comments after it hit social media Sunday.
Many of the comments ripped Talarico for using Jesus to push his politics.
"Christian charity is not government dependency," Kristan Hawkins, the pro-life activist, wrote.
"Jesus also said those who cause little ones to stumble should be drowned in the depths of the sea. So, there’s that," Kemberlee Kaye, a writer and Texan, wrote.
Reacting to Talarico’s comment, “Today’s Issues” co-host Ray Pritchard said Talarico is blending his liberal politics with his liberal theology, and that is forcing the Bible to state something it doesn’t say.
“It's a very false – and I even say fake theology – that tries to reason from the miracles of Jesus to somehow free healthcare for everybody,” said Pritchard, who leads Keep Believing Ministries.
Talarico, a lifelong Presbyterian, attends a far-left Austin church, St. Andrew’s, where an open lesbian is on staff.
Unlike many evangelical congregations, St. Andrew’s is not afraid to mix theology and politics. A sign hanging on the church grounds states “No Human is Illegal,” a reference to supporting illegal immigration and an open U.S. border.
New church members at St. Andrew’s receive The Inclusive Bible from the church. That version has stripped “gendered language,” such as referring to Jesus as the “son of God,” the Daily Caller reported recently.
Talarico, who holds a theology degree from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, has become famous for his bizarre statements that reflect his liberal theology. One of the most controversial was his comment that God is “nonbinary,” which likely reflects the teachings at St. Andrew’s and its Inclusive Bible.
Pritchard said Jesus was not setting an example for us to follow when He healed the sick, because He was performing miracles for a supernatural reason.
“He worked miracles to demonstrate to the world that he truly was who He said He was,” Pritchard stressed.
That belief in the divinity of Jesus, and that salvation comes through Him, is also foreign to the U.S. Senate candidate who is preaching about Jesus and miracles.
"We all have different names for that mystery, whether it's God or Yahweh, or Allah or Nirvana, or Great Spirit," Talarico has stated. "Whatever you call it, this is all different pathways to the same fundamental truth."
