Rev. Jim Rigby, the Austin pastor who serves as a mentor to Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, cast doubt on the physical resurrection of Jesus during a 2023 Easter sermon, suggesting the event may not have happened and that believers should not build their lives on what he called a “maybe.”
Rigby leads St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Austin. The recently surfaced sermon has drawn scrutiny because of his close relationship with Talarico, who has faced repeated questions about his religious views despite identifying publicly as a Christian.
Rigby’s Easter Sermon Raises Doubts About the Resurrection
In the 2023 message, Rigby told his congregation that the resurrection is “possible” but offered alternative explanations in the same breath. “It’s possible the disciples stole it to keep the Romans from getting a hold of it. It’s possible the Romans took it because they’re afraid of a resurrection on the third day,” he said, according to James Talarico pastor resurrection doubts.
Rigby pressed further, asking his congregation whether faith built on the resurrection was worth the commitment. “Do you want to just bet your entire life on what somebody a long time ago told you because somebody told him that? Or is it possible that the symbols are calling you to a deeper understanding of the human condition?” he said.
He closed that portion of the sermon with a pointed summary: “Light is not stronger than darkness. Darkness is essential to understanding your life. Maybe Jesus rose from the dead, but maybe not.”
Rigby’s Broader View of Religious Symbols and Eternity
Rigby argued that healthy religious symbols are not records of historical events but expressions of universal principles. “Religious symbols, if they’re healthy, are not symbols of something that happened. They’re symbols of the principles by which everything happens,” he said.
He extended that framework to a broad vision of the sacred. “We need to see the sacred in every being on the face of the planet. I think animals, too. Plants. But if we just love each other, wouldn’t that be good? But when we make the resurrection about Jesus, that doesn’t happen when it’s just about Jesus,” Rigby said. He concluded that “if there is an eternity, it’s already started” and that “living fully” in the present moment is “close to heaven as you need to get.”
In a separate 2018 post, Rigby addressed critics who questioned his orthodoxy, stating that he affirms the resurrection only as “a positive affirmation of the life recess, not as a historical claim about what happened to Jesus’ physical body.”
What the Sermon Means for Talarico’s Senate Race
The sermon adds another layer of controversy to Talarico’s campaign. The candidate has previously denied that Jesus is the exclusive path to truth, asserting that people can reach it through other religions, and delivered an invocation on the Texas House floor that included prayers to multiple gods.
With a competitive Senate race ahead, questions about Talarico’s religious positions and his association with Rigby are likely to remain a fixture of the campaign debate. Talarico has not publicly addressed the content of Rigby’s Easter sermon.
