Some apparent death wishes from Christian extremists against Texas Democrat James Talarico have vaulted the Senate candidate into rare air.
Talarico, a progressive state lawmaker known for preaching at Presbyterian churches, rebuked the comments, made by two pastors with ties to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The incident brings to mind other white faith leaders who have faced violent fury from white people while advocating for civil and human rights, such as the Rev. Will Campbell and Freedom Rider James Zwerg.
HuffPost reported on the remarks made on a recent podcast by the extremist pastors, Brooks Potteiger and Joshua Haymes:
After referring to the Texas Democrat as ‘a wolf,’ a ‘demon,’ and ‘a snake,’ the two talked about what they hope becomes of Talarico.
‘First and foremost, we pray that a man like this would be cut to the heart,’ Haymes said. He said he puts Talarico in the category of ‘public enemies,’ or those you ‘are not called to love.’
‘This is where you have imprecatory psalms. This is where you pray strongly,’ he said. ‘The psalmist is not shy. God, destroy them. Make them as dung on the ground.’
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But wait, there’s more:
‘I pray that God kills him,’ Haymes continued. ‘Ultimately, that means killing his heart and raising him up to new life in Christ.’
Potteiger concurred. ‘Right, right,’ he said. ‘We want him crucified with Christ.’
Haymes repeated that he wants “death and new life” for Talarico. “And if it would not be within God’s will to do so, stop him by any means necessary,” he said.
Talarico’s response on social media was a simple one, directed at Potteiger:
I’ve previously written about Haymes and his assertions that “the institution of slavery is not inherently evil” and it’s “not inherently evil to own another human being” — and that “every Christian in today’s society should be able to defend” those claims. Such comments help show that he and Potteiger are essentially polar opposites of Talarico, who tends to use his religion to rebuke abuses of civil and human rights — not defend them.
This incident underscores divisions I spotlighted in 2024, when I wrote about the divide between white Christian nationalists and the Christians who adhere to a more loving and radically progressive theology, like the kind traditionally practiced by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Bishop William Barber and other Black leaders.
Fundamentally, Talarico’s response to the far-right pastors seemed to center on what some white Christians believe their god exists to do — harm conservatives’ perceived enemies — and those who spread a gospel of love and shared humanity.
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