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I realize that as an evangelical Christian I have a dog in this fight, but I want to say a few words about evangelicals and the unfortunate effort afoot to make them the political boogeyman. There are so many misconceptions about "evangelicals" -- from the definition of the word to the intentions of the people themselves -- but the most damaging myth is that we evangelicals seek a theocracy for the United States of America, which couldn't be further from the truth. I'll get back to that, but first a little background. Recently I've had several people ask me what...

Liberals love to "find" things in the Constitution that simply aren't there. The most egregious example is the right to abortion that the Supreme Court claimed to discover in Roe v. Wade. Another liberal myth is that the Constitution provides for the "separation of church and state." MSNBC's Joy Reid today told the Rev. Mike Gonzalez, head of Ted Cruz's evangelical movement in South Carolina, that "separation of church and state is not a myth, it's a constitutional fact." What's worse, Reid alleged that as president, Cruz would "ignore" the part of the Constitution prohibiting the establishment of a national...

"Every once in a while you can have a little fun, don't you think?" the GOP presidential candidate says on Fox News Donald Trump says his decision to repeat a supporter's claim at a recent rally that Ted Cruz is "a pussy" was all in good fun...

Conventional wisdom is congealing around two key factors in Trump’s loss this morning, so let me offer them to you as I think there’s merit to both. The main factor: Evangelicals came through for Cruz in the crunch. Political sites have been filled with news over the past few weeks about Trump’s surprising strength with born-again Christians, particularly given how intensely Cruz was courting those same voters. A guy who doesn’t know if he’s ever asked God’s forgiveness and who’s regularly demonstrated his unfamiliarity with Christian practices during this campaign shouldn’t be competitive with an evangelical candidate with dozens of...

Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is citing the Bible in his final push for votes before Monday’s Iowa caucus. Cruz’s stump speech is by far the most religious one of all the Republican candidates, in which he tells his supporters to pray “each and every day” until the November election.

Gary Bauer, one of America's leading pro-life and pro-family activists, endorsed Ted Cruz on Friday. In doing so, Bauer became one of many evangelical Christian leaders who have thrown their support behind the senator from Texas. Bauer explained: "Ted Cruz is a courageous conservative who has built a consistent record on the issues that matter most. He has fought for religious liberty at home and abroad. He believes all of our children should be welcomed into the world and protected by the law. Ted knows that government is too big and that taxes and regulations are too high. He will...

Jim Daly is president of Focus on the Family, one of the country’s biggest and best-known evangelical organizations, a group that considers opposing abortion one of its very top values. Yet Friday will be the first time Daly has come to Washington for the huge March for Life, the country’s biggest antiabortion event each year. March attendees are always overwhelmingly Catholic, but this year an influx of evangelicals will be joining them on the Mall. Daly co-sponsored the brand-new Evangelicals for Life event, held Thursday and Friday, part of an effort to refocus a generation of young Christian conservatives who...

The Constitution provides that "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States." But, as Gary Scott Smith of Grove City College writes in his new book, Religion in the Oval Office, "Throughout American history many citizens have viewed strong faith as an asset, if not a requirement, for politicians, especially presidents." The biography of faith, such as it is, of the Republican presidential candidate who has led the polls for six months starts with First Presbyterian Church in Jamaica, Queens. That is the church Donald Trump's parents attended...

Buford Arning, a retired building-supply executive in Statesville, N.C., went to church each week until a pinched nerve made it hard for him to leave his house. He believes in living a faith-filled life. But he does not demand piety of his preferred presidential candidate, Donald J. Trump. “Am I a Bible toter that gets out and preaches on the side of the street and tries to convert everybody? No,” said Mr. Arning, 62, who calls himself an evangelical voter. He said he believed that Mr. Trump was “a Christian man,” and that was good enough. Mr. Trump may not...

It's become a truism this election season that whatever you expect to happen with Donald Trump, you're probably wrong. So add this to the list of surprises: On Monday, the thrice-married Republican frontrunner, who described himself as pro-choice as recently as 2000, traveled to the heart of conservative evangelism only to be greeted as a conquering hero. Trump spoke at the Liberty University convocation on Martin Luther King Day. Liberty is the largest Christian university in the world... So one might have expected that Trump, who declined to name his favorite Bible verse on the campaign trail, would have received...

One of the United States' most influential evangelical leaders blasted Liberty University President Jerry Falwell, Jr. on Monday for hosting Donald Trump to give a campaign speech. Russell Moore, who heads the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, let fly a series of tweets after Falwell gave a glowing introduction to Trump, calling him "one of the greatest visionaries of our time" and saying Trump "lives a life of helping others ... as Jesus taught in the New Testament." Moore appeared incredulous at Falwell's language, which was more effusive than he had...

Evangelical Influencer Supports Cruz for PresidentHOUSTON, Texas – Presidential candidate Ted Cruz today announced the endorsement of Paul Blair, President of Reclaiming America for Christ and the pastor of Fairview Baptist Church.Blair was raised in Edmond, Oklahoma, and spent five years in the NFL. Since 2001, he has served as the Senior Pastor of Fairview Baptist Church in Edmond, Oklahoma. Pastor Blair speaks around the United States on the topics of Christian apologetics, a biblical worldview, Islam, and the nation's Christian heritage. He is also a member of the Council for National Policy.Pastor Blair was named Oklahoma's Pastor of the...

Marco Rubio is widely considered one of the most talented communicators in the Republican party, but he hasn't won the hearts of the Evangelical voters who dominate the Iowa caucuses and the South Carolina primary. Ironically, many say it's in part his relative restraint when it comes to talking about matters of faith -- a contrast with the loud, proud declarations more typical of the country's Evangelical denominations -- that has prevented him from making greater inroads with one of the party's most important constituencies. That, of course, is a stark contrast with Rubio's biggest rival, Ted Cruz, the son...

...This is precisely what Donald Trump, national GOP front-runner but second place in Iowa, told an Iowa crowd this week while stumping for votes. Just remember this -- you gotta remember, in all fairness, to the best of my knowledge, not too many evangelicals come out of Cuba, okay? Just remember that ... just remember. ...We will not dedicate time, space or energy to parsing those words in ways that might offer some alternative meaning than the one most evident and likely, which would be this: Donald Trump thought it would advance his political aims if voters in Iowa were...

Ted Cruz isn't only surging in the polls -- he's now in second place nationally and leads in Iowa -- he is also raising a truckload of money. In the last quarter of 2015 alone the Republican presidential candidate received almost $20 million from his supporters. Not bad for a grassroots candidate who's despised and hated by his own party's leadership team. Small wonder then that Cruz bragged about these results during a phone call with supporters, adding that he's confident he'll be the Republican nominee -- soon: "There’s a very good possibility that the Republican primary will be decided...

Sen. Ted Cruz enjoyed a banner end to 2015, building a strong argument for being the top movement conservative in the Republican presidential race.But on New Year’s Eve, he was looking ahead to future battles. The Texas Republican told a conference call for 56,817 of his volunteers, according to The Blaze: We're winning right now. And as a result, I want to tell everyone: Get ready. Strap on the full armor of God. Get ready for the attacks that are coming." He added a warning: "We ain't seen nothing yet. ... In the month of January, we are going to...

Back in 2008 on the day of the Iowa caucus, when I was reporting on my first election for Townhall.com, I happened to be grabbing lunch in the same hole-in-the-wall restaurant as then-Huckabee National Campaign Advisor Ed Rollins. He sat in the cafe loudly trash talking the Romney campaign to any reporter he could call on his cell phone. Expletives and insults flew. Anyone sitting in the eatery could hear him. I, stunned any known operative would be so foolish to speak in such a way in a public place, wrote it up as an item. These are the same...

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz has received the endorsement of another prominent evangelical leader: Bishop E.W. Jackson, one of Virginia's most well-known African-American pastors, has backed the Texas Senator, citing his "authentic faith in Jesus Christ." According to a report from Conservative HQ Jackson, who is the senior pastor of Fall Church in Chesapeake, Virginia, explained his decision in a statement: "It is absolutely essential and urgent that we elect a Godly President who reveres our Constitution, honors our Judeo-Christian values and respects the freedom of the American people. After eight years of 'fundamental transformation,' we need a leader who...

A string of allied “super PACs” supporting the presidential campaign of Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is planning a $1 million television, digital and radio advertising buy in the early voting states, with the heaviest spending in Iowa, a spokeswoman for the group said. The super PACs, both collectively and individually called Keep the Promise, are flush with cash, and this spending is the biggest investment in television advertising that any of them have made this year. The ad buy includes television advertising in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. By midday Thursday, $700,000 was reserved for television time...

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) tells his volunteers about the need to energize and mobilize Christians. "If we awaken and energize the body of Christ - if Christians and people of faith come out and vote our values - we will win and we will turn the country around," Cruz told volunteers on a conference call Tuesday. Cruz also said that he is organizing a coalition of pastors in early states including Iowa and South Carolina. "We're working to have a lead pastor in each of the 99 counties in Iowa, 99 pastors are organizing other pastors," Cruz said. "We're doing...