BY   :  Jon Brown, Christian Post Reporter 

New York Times columnist David French faced a torrent of Christian criticism for a Sunday op-ed praising Democratic Texas state Rep. James Talarico as “one of the few openly Christian politicians in the United States who acts like a Christian.”

Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian who has made his Christian faith a key part of his liberal political platform, has drawn intense scrutiny for his public theological positions since his decisive U.S. Senate primary victory last week.

Despite what many Christians have characterized as Talarico’s blatantly unbiblical views regarding Scripture, abortion, race, gender, sexuality and the nature of God Himself, French presented him as a potential antidote to the “members of the MAGA Christian movement” he rebuked when he endorsed former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.

French, who drew backlash last summer for affirming the transgender identity of an employee at The Dispatch, noted he disagrees with some of Talarico’s positions, but wrote that the candidate “is giving people hope,” which he attributed to his decency amid a political climate fiercely divided between right and left.

“Yet if the primary American divide is between decent and indecent, then the equation changes. Talarico shines,” French wrote.

French’s op-ed caused a firestorm of negative responses from many Christians on social media, some of whom suggested his praise for Talarico indicates that the former Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) member has drifted into apostasy.

“David French has completed his sordid metamorphosis. He is now fully convinced in his own mind, and he is on a crusade to persuade others, that good really is evil and evil really is good,” said Colin J. Smothers, who serves as executive director of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and senior pastor at First Baptist Church of Maize in Maize, Kansas.

Christian broadcaster Erick Erickson suggested French’s claim that Talarico is “decent” is superficial and neglects the potential eternal consequences of his positions, which include using the story of the Annunciation to defend abortion, affirming transgenderism for children and claiming “prophetic voices like Jesus” helped him reckon with his own whiteness, which he likened to a virus.

“It is not decent to twist Scripture to lead others to hell. It is not decent to claim whiteness itself is like a virus. It is not decent to use Christ’s conception as a justification for abortion. It is not decent to reduce women to ‘neighbors with uteruses.’ Only if you have been radicalized by your critics can you land at this position,” Erickson said.

“So now you know exactly what David French is — he is a Pharisee,” said Mark Brown, pastor of Mt. Zion Lutheran (LCMS) in Peoria, Arizona. “He is the one who says to sinners who gather around Jesus that they aren’t good enough. He’s the one who likes to be known for perfect tassels, flowing robes and long prayers. While making twice as much a son of hell those who follow his teaching.”

“Advocating for the murder of babies and the castration of children is demonic, regardless of how handsome the speaker is or how dulcet his tone,” Talarico’s colleague, Republican Texas state Rep. Brent Money, replied to French.

Amid the backlash, some users also pointed out the irony of French appearing to fall for praise from a satirical X account named after N.I.C.E. (National Institute for Co-ordinated Experiments), which was the demonic, technocratic organization from C.S. Lewis’ novel That Hideous Strength that sought to destroy humanity while masquerading as kind and progressive.

“It’s clear a lot of the criticism comes from people who aren’t really reading closely. Your work is nuanced and thoughtful, and the strong reactions suggest it’s hitting a nerve. Your work is closely followed and greatly appreciated,” the fake N.I.C.E. account posted to French, who replied, “Thank you :)”

French and Talarico drew particular pushback from Al Mohler, longtime president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, who argued in a Tuesday op-ed for WORLD that the debate erupting over Talarico, a lifelong member of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), is symptomatic of “the battle for the evangelical soul.”

“Talarico may be David French’s ideal of a ‘faith forward’ politician, but his brand of theology not only includes abortion rights and the LGBTQ revolution, but is part and parcel in with the liberal theology of his own denomination, the PCUSA,” wrote Mohler, who publicly warned in 2006 about the spiritual trajectory of Talarico’s boyhood PCUSA church when it admitted an avowed atheist into full membership.

Mohler also dismissed the idea that liberal Christians such as Talarico are any less desirous of the political power they often accuse so-called “Christian nationalists” of coveting.

Talarico has made denunciation of Christian nationalism a major part of his platform, and French appeared in the late Rob Reiner’s 2024 documentary about the topic, though Mohler observed “neither French nor Talarico bothered to define Christian nationalism.” He warned that such figures are broadening the term to include “the vast majority of evangelical Christians and a good number of conservative Catholics,” though he noted Talarico does it “with a smile.”

Claiming Talarico “knows what he is doing,” Mohler described him as “a talented politician who is running as a ‘faith-forward’ candidate while condemning conservatives for running as ‘faith-forward’ candidates, and he condemns evangelical Christians for attempting to influence politics while he seeks to establish his own religious liberalism as law.”

“Talarico wants to divide voters just as much as Donald Trump, but on different grounds and along different lines,” he said.

“Politics in a fallen world is messy and getting messier. This is no time for triumphalism in Christian political life. On the other hand, it’s certainly no time for deception and surrender, which exactly what the ‘Talarico moment’ would represent,” Mohler went on to add.

On Tuesday afternoon, French responded to the backlash on X, writing, “There are a lot of evangelicals on this website who seem to strongly believe that no person can disagree with them on cultural issues and also be a decent person. This is the mirror image of the hyper-woke left, which also rejects the idea that decent people can disagree.”

French went on to say that “the more civil candidate won a plurality on the GOP side and a majority on the Democratic” in the Texas primary, which he hopes “are perhaps a sign of things to come.”

“People are getting tired of intolerance and cruelty,” he added in his three-tweet thread, which also drew plentiful rebuttal from Christians and other conservatives.

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