A growing clash within American faith over biblical interpretation has intensified after Pastor Landon Schott publicly rebuked Texas state representative James Talarico in a pointed Facebook post, warning believers about deception within the church.
Talarico has drawn widespread criticism from pastors and Christian leaders for not only supporting progressive policies such as abortion rights, LGBTQ policies and other left-wing social positions but also for attempting to frame those views as consistent with biblical teaching.
Schott framed his message as a pastoral warning, invoking Jesus’ teaching about false prophets and urging Christians to be discerning about those who use Scripture while promoting beliefs that contradict it.
“It’s time to hunt for WOLVES!” Schott wrote. “It’s a shepherd’s job to protect the flock. Real pastors warn and protect Christians from wolves!”
‘Beware of false prophets’
Schott grounded his warning in the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves,” Schott quoted from Matthew 7:15–16. “You will recognize them by their fruits.”
Schott argued that spiritual deception often appears respectable and religious on the surface.
“Notice, He didn’t say they would look dangerous,” Schott wrote. “He said they would look like sheep. That means they know church talk.”
He continued with a blunt assessment: “But they don’t know Jesus.”
The pastor specifically accused Talarico of twisting Scripture to support political and cultural agendas that conflict with historic Christian teaching.
A warning about ideological Christianity
Schott’s criticism centered on the danger of reshaping biblical teaching to fit modern ideology rather than allowing Scripture to shape belief and conduct.
“When someone claims Christ yet promotes agendas that oppose protecting the unborn, that is abomination,” Schott wrote. “Scripture is clear that God forms life in the womb.”
He also condemned efforts to reinterpret biblical teaching on sexuality and gender.
“When someone speaks about faith while affirming sexual sin or redefining marriage, that is perversion,” Schott wrote.
“When leaders promote the erasing of male and female, even encouraging irreversible decisions for minors, that is EVIL.”
Schott argued that using the Bible selectively to justify political or cultural ideology mirrors the tactic used by Satan when he quoted Scripture while tempting Jesus.
“His scripture twisting like Satan tempting Jesus has been embraced by the promoters of wickedness in the media,” Schott wrote.
‘The time is coming’
Schott said the rise of biblical reinterpretation reflects warnings found throughout Scripture about deception in the last days.
He cited Isaiah 5:20 which says, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.”
The apostle Paul delivered similar warnings in the Second Epistle to Timothy, cautioning that many would eventually abandon sound doctrine.
“For the time will come when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires,” Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:3–4.
Paul also warned church leaders in the Acts of the Apostles that deception would arise from within the church itself.
“I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock,” Paul said in Acts 20:29.
For Schott, these warnings are clear signs of biblical prophecy.
“WE ARE LIVING IN THE LAST DAYS,” he wrote.
A call for discernment
Schott concluded his message by urging believers to evaluate spiritual leaders by their alignment with Scripture rather than their popularity or political messaging.
“The TRUE body of Christ needs to BE WARNED,” he wrote.
Schott delivered his most direct criticism at the end of the post.
“James Talarico is a textbook WOLF!” he wrote. “Don’t let his Old Navy Seminary suit, sheep’s costume fool you.”
For Schott and other pastors who share his concerns, the issue is not political affiliation but biblical authority. Scripture, they argue, must shape a believer’s worldview rather than be selectively quoted to affirm personal ideology.
The Bible repeatedly calls believers to test teachings carefully.
As the apostle Paul warned in the First Epistle to Timothy, “The Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.” (1 Tim. 4:1)
Schott’s message reflects a growing conviction among many pastors that guarding biblical truth is a responsibility the church cannot afford to ignore anymore.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a background in journalism from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
