Chad Prather@WatchChad
People say I’m the villain for calling out the James Talarico heretical claims. Then I’ll be the villain. I’m happy to spend the next few months knee deep in your cries of “fact check.” Let’s get started.
FACT CHECK: The Claim that “God is Nonbinary”
Texas State Representative James Talarico said the following during debate on transgender legislation in the Texas House in 2021:
“God is nonbinary.”
He LATER clarified that he meant God transcends human gender categories.
Christians should approach statements like this carefully, not politically, but biblically.
Scripture actually gives us very clear language about how God reveals Himself. Jesus consistently refers to God as Father.
Matthew 6:9
“Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”
John 20:17
“I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”
The Son reveals the Father. This is not cultural language. It is revelation language
Throughout Scripture, God chooses personal, relational language that reflects fatherhood, authority, provision, and covenant.
Isaiah 64:8
“Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter.”
This does not mean God is biologically male. Christianity has never taught that. God is spirit (John 4:24).
But it does mean God Himself chose how He would be revealed anthropomorphically. God is not a physical being like humans. He is eternal, immaterial, and uncreated. So in that sense, God is not “male” the way humans are male.
However, the critical issue is how God chose to reveal Himself personally. The language He consistently used was Father.
Talarico was using progressive liberal ideology to make a theological point on a modern topic. When modern ideology replaces that revealed language with categories like “nonbinary,” it is not clarifying Scripture, but reframing God according to modern cultural categories.
Christians should be cautious anytime theology starts moving in that direction with its language.
The question is simple:
Do we allow culture to redefine God, or do we allow God to define Himself through Scripture? Talarico knew the point he was making.
Historic Christianity has always answered the question the same way. So when Scripture uses the language of Father, it is not merely symbolic. It describes eternal relationships within the Godhead.
This is why Jesus constantly refers to:
“My Father”
“Your Father”
“The Father who sent me”
The Gospel of John alone records Jesus referring to the Father over 100 times.
This is not accidental language.
It is theological revelation.
Now, Scripture also affirms that God possesses qualities humans often associate with both paternal and maternal care.
For example:
Isaiah 66:13
“As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you.”
But notice the difference.
Scripture sometimes compares God’s care to a mother’s compassion, but God still identifies Himself as Father.
These are descriptions of God’s attributes, not redefinitions of God’s identity.
The danger arises when modern cultural frameworks attempt to replace revealed language with contemporary ideological categories.
The term “nonbinary” is a modern concept rooted in contemporary gender theory. It does not come from Scripture or classical Christian theology.
God has already revealed who He is.