An atheist site is celebrating the embrace of Democrat U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico’s pastor of a Bible version touted as “a reimagining of the scriptures,” deeming his position “not at all” controversial.
Talarico, who supports the genital mutilation of confused children and considers protecting the innocence of children from perverted leftist goals as a “Christofascism movement,” has a controversial pastor and mentor by the name Rev. Jim Rigby, head of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas. Rigby recently came under fire following the exposure of an undercover video obtained by Breitbart News, showing him saying he welcomes atheists to join his church and “If you love humanity and love nature and that’s why you hate religion, then we’re on the same team.”
The video itself shows Rigby as he preparing to speak at a Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) event. Notably, that organization wholly dismisses the influence of Christian values in America and its history, instead claiming, “The history of Western civilization shows us that most social and moral progress has been brought about by persons free from religion.”
Rigby said he “works a lot with non-theists,” and added, “I’ve been on trial within the denomination for LGBT stuff, abortion and non-theist… We had an atheist join the church but that’s not a big deal here.”
The Friendly Atheist site, run by Hemant Mehta, supports Rigby and is appalled that conservatives take issue with a supposedly God-fearing pastor saying he is on the same team as atheists.
“If a conservative preacher said he welcomed atheists in his church, he would be praised for attracting them to his ministry. But when Rigby says it, he’s attacked,” the Friendly Atheist said in a post defending Rigby, failing to understand that Rigby is fundamentally under fire for changing Christian doctrine and handing out doctored Bibles in the name of inclusivity – not the Lord. Notably, Rigby will not even refer to Jesus as “Lord” because “it conjures a wealthy, European, male God,” he told the New York Times. He also avoids using male pronouns for God, despite the fact that God does so, presenting Himself as our “Father.”
Because of these things, one could suspect that Rigby is desiring to work with atheists as a political gesture rather than out of a sincere concern for their souls.
The Friendly Atheist post cites a Breitbart headline (“Exclusive: Undercover Video Shows James Talarico’s Pastor Supporting Atheists, if You ‘Hate Religion We’re on the Same Team’”) and continues:
That’s something you’ll also hear in megachurches. Pastors routinely trash “religion” because it’s all about rules; they want you to have a relationship with Jesus instead. Here’s Mark Driscoll saying that. Here’s scamvangelist Creflo Dollar saying it. Here’s another pastor. And another. Hell, 14 years ago, there was a viral video in Christian circles titled, “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus.” It has 36 million views as of this writing.
Once again, one can conclude Rigby is not hating religion in the same way, given his complete disregard for basic tenets of scripture.
Jesus demonstrated to the Pharisees the dangers of putting religion – man-made rules often focused on the outward – over the true gospel. Rigby is clearly not taking – even remotely – the same position.
The Friendly Atheist also goes after articles criticizing Talarico and Rigby’s church for giving new members copies of an “Inclusive Bible” that removes gendered language for God – no surprise, given Rigby’s position on gendered language. The Inclusive Bible itself is said to contain “only inclusive language” that does not use “gender-fueled language that the King James Version uses.”
In all, the Friendly Atheist concludes that the criticisms of Rigby serve as a “sign that the attacks against Talarico aren’t working.” Further, it baselessly asserts that conservatives are failing to convince the public that Talarico is not a “devout Christian.”
However, conservatives argue they are simply showcasing what he and his pastor believe in their own words. After all, it was Talarico who has downplayed the power and name of Jesus in his own public prayers, closing in “all your many names” while referencing Hinduism, Islam, and more.
A basic tenet of Christianity is acknowledging Jesus alone as the way, the truth, and the life. Both Talarico and Rigby have diverted from that thinking in their own language and have demonstrated that supreme authority, to them, lies in radical leftism, political whims, popularity, and emotions – not sola scriptura.
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