The Theology of Ted Cruz: Questions raised by the candidate’s God-and-country vision

Christianity Today ^ | APRIL 1, 2016 | John Fea

[BlackFemaleArmyColonel]

On the Sunday morning before this year’s South Carolina primary, Dr. Carl Broggi, the pastor of Community Bible Church in Beaufort, turned over his pulpit—emblazoned with the Protestant watchword “sola scriptura,” to GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz. I am not sure if it is fair to call Cruz’s speech that morning a “sermon.” The candidate did not open up a biblical text and carefully explain its meaning in the way that I am sure Dr. Broggi had been trained to do at Dallas Theological Seminary and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Cruz did mention a few verses from the Bible during his message, but they were applied less to the spiritual lives of the souls in attendance that morning and more to the character of the United States of America as Cruz understands it. Let’s face it—this was a stump speech.

The Texas senator’s message was lifted from an old playbook. For nearly 400 years Americans have been conflating the message of the Bible with the fate of the country. Ever since the Puritan John Winthrop said that the Massachusetts Bay Colony was a “city on a hill” Americans have seen themselves as God’s chosen people—a new Israel with a special destiny.

Cruz is a master at fusing evangelical Christianity and presidential politics. When he tells the men and women at Community Bible Church that “weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5), and promises them that “morning is coming,” it is unclear whether he is talking about God’s comfort in times of trial (as the psalmist intended) or Ronald Reagan’s famous “morning in America” campaign slogan. When he refers to the “great spiritual awakening” that he sees pervading the country, is this a revival meant to save souls or save America as a nation?

[Psalm 144]

His pretended theology - I see no reason to believe he believes a word of it - is an anti-christ compound of false prophecy and a simulated Christianization of jihad. Dominionism also serves to herd the gullible into globalism. It is all as synthetic as “Ted” is himself.

[Balding_Eagle]

At this point Cruz is in it to deny the Presidency to Trump and give it to Hillary.

It doesn’t seem “God and Country” to me.

[skeeter]

The writer, John Fea, has spent alot of time attempting to discount the relationship between the founding of America and Christianity.

A particular bugaboo of his.

[stockpirate]

Here you go If you plan to vote for Ted Cruz, you MUST know these things! Educate yourselves on him and his wife
* Heidi Cruz has been employed by Goldman Sachs since 2005. She is currently on leave.
* Heidi Cruz is a member of the leftist council on foreign relations, advocates of world Government and a New World Order.
* Ted Cruz was George Bush’s top policy advisor.
* Ted Cruz was in the federal Trade Commission.
* Ted and Heidi met when they were both Bush staffers.
* Cruz advised on legal affairs and Heidi on economic policy for the bush administration.
* Heidi was director for the Western Hemisphere on the national security council under Condoleeza Rice.
* Heidi served as deputy U.S. Trade Representative to USTR head,
Robert Zoellick, working on China trade policy.
* Ted Cruz’ campaign chairman, Chad Sweet, is a former CIA officer.
He also worked for Goldman Sachs.
* Ted Cruz voted for cloture on TPA, (trans pacific partnership agreement)
fast track trade authority, removing the hurdle of concern for further amendment, and clearing the way for passage!
It didn’t have to be recorded, so nobody knew this.
He voted NOT to require approval of congress before other countries could join, including China.
* Cruz has openly stated that he will NOT use a deportation force, and will continue to use the failed ICE system, where an illegal has to commit a crime first, then be caught.
* Cruz belongs to the radical Christian sect of 7 mountains dominionism.
Wise up, he’s not who you think he is
he has always been establishment, he is bought and paid by the banks. He did not vote to audit the Federal Reserve, he most certainly is establishment.

This is circulating the web. Pass it on!

[patlin]

Cruz, the carpet bombing Esau! More form the article...

Finally, many evangelicals support Cruz based on his record of defending life. As he said at Community Bible Church: “Life is foundational. Every life, I believe, is a precious gift from God, and I look forward to the day when every life is protected from the moment of conception until natural death.” Amen.

Yet Cruz’s defense of life is hard to reconcile with his calls to carpet-bomb and “annihilate” ISIS. Carpet-bombing is usually associated with indiscriminate bombing that does not protect non-combatants or civilians. How does one reconcile the defense of human dignity, including the human dignity of our enemies, with these policy proposals?

There are no easy answers to this question or to many of the questions that the Cruz campaign raises. But they are questions that Christians concerned about bringing faith to bear on public policy need to be asking especially during this election season.

[Robert DeLong]

Yeah that’s pretty much what I got from this guy. I wasn’t impressed with this article at all.

[Liz]

Cruz campaigns as an anointed messiah IN A SICK CULT THAT THINKS THEY NEED TO BE IN POWER BEFORE CHRIST CAN COME BACK......the “seven mountain" dominionist theories are kookier than the mass suicide Jonestown cult in Guyana.

Cruz tried like heck, but he didn't fool evangelicals. They dismissed Cruz/s phony Christianity and put their support squarely behind Trump.

Cruz/s extreme Dominionist beliefs call for religion in every aspect of government. Coincidentally (cough), many of Cruz/s political positions.....like economic libertarianism and TPP....also fit into the far-out Dominionist teachings Cruz learned form his father/s preaching.

The elder Cruz preaches that Christians are divided into Kings and Priests,.....the kings (politicians) go out and conquer the financial world and bring the money back to the priests (pastors in contemporary terms).

Ted and Heidi Cruz/s economic libertarianism also dovetails nicely w/ globalist Goldman/Sachs---who financed Ted into office. G/S is Heidi's $700,000 a year employer. So it looks like the Cruz/s have a head start in getting money back to the pastors.

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Cruz should tell voters:

<><> what role does he plan for his preacher father in the US govt,

<><> what govt job does he plan to give his G/S globalist lawyer wife? .....nclaurel wrote: “I finally found the NAU report. Heidi Cruz’ comment is under Additional and Dissenting Opinions on pages 33 and 34 of the paper. I would say from reading it that it is one of the additional opinions and not dissenting. Taken directly from the paper.”

[quoting Heidi Cruz ...] I support the Task Force report and its recommendations aimed at building a safer and more prosperous North America. Economic prosperity and a world safe from terrorism and other security threats are no doubt inextricably linked.

While governments play an invaluable role in both regards, we must emphasize the imperative that economic investment be led and perpetuated by the private sector. There is no force proven like the market for aligning incentives, sourcing capital, and producing results like financial markets and profit-making businesses. This is simply necessary to sustain a higher living standard for the poorest among us—truly the measure of our success.

As such, investment funds and financing mechanisms should be deemed attractive instruments by those committing the capital and should only be developed in conjunction with market participants. — Heidi S. Cruz

[skeeter]

Is the writer suggesting wholesale abortion devoid of moral conscious is OK, or is he saying its better to surrender to ISIS than risk collateral damage?

Moral relativism is a great route to total policy paralysis.

Thanks God Americans weren't always susceptible to such arguments.

[patlin]

And also from the article...

... Ted went above and beyond the call of duty on this front. As a teenager, he memorized the United States Constitution and traveled around Texas reciting it at civic clubs and other patriotic gatherings as part of a group of like-minded kids known as the “Constitutional Corroborators.” ...

Ted may have the words of the Constitution memorized, however, he obviously does not understand the meaning of the phrases “in the United States” and “the state wherein they reside” where it pertains to one being a natural born citizen at birth. Ted's parents did not reside in one of the States of the United States, they were lawful permanent residents of Canada on the path to becoming Canadian citizens, therefore, Raphael Edward Cruz not being born “in the United States” because his parents were not residents in one of the States of the United States, these 2 facts of the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution makes Raphael Edward Cruz a naturalized US citizen per Article 1, Section 8, Clause 4 of the United States Constitution.

[Duke of Milan]

Dominionism is anti-bible, anti-christ.

[gusopol3]

I read this leftist spiel from top to bottom; as one of the premier Trump boosters , do you really embrace these statements:

Cruz’s recently established “Religious Liberty Advisory Council” is made up entirely of conservative Christians who have a track record of caring very little about religious liberty as the American founding fathers defined it. For example, one of the most pressing religious liberty issues today is the right of Muslims to practice their faith without interference from the government

For example, one can probably make a better historical argument that the United States was built on the backs of slaves than on Judeo-Christian principles—a point that was not lost on a group of evangelical African American pastors from Cincinnati who met at Wheaton College in October 2013 to denounce the “let’s return America to its Christian roots” rhetoric that now pours forth from the Cruz campaign.

[Just mythoughts]

Cruz tried to reenact Gideon in South Carolina... Cruz culled out 300 preachers and sent them out to win.... Guess what the weapons were that Gideon’s army used? Trumpets... s n i c k e r.... Who won all 50 delegates in South Carolina? Trump!!!!

[gusopol3]

With less than 50% of the vote!! But now he demands the nomination be handed to him with less than 50% of the delegates!!

[skeeter]

Amazing that some on this conservative site will easily use leftwing argumentation to criticize a candidate with a 98% ACU and 99% Heritage conservative rating.

[patlin]

Is the writer suggesting wholesale abortion devoid of moral conscious is OK, or is he saying its better to surrender to ISIS than risk collateral damage?

The writer is saying neither. I ask, if it was found out by the government that there was a terrorist living/hiding out in your entire neighborhood? Would you, as a Christian, be ok with the government indiscriminately carpet bombing your neighborhood without the slightest of warning? Unless one is a hypocrite, the same standards that apply here should apply all throughout the world. As a Christian, would you not agree with this?

[Liz]

St Ted is prone to pontification. He'll say anything to advance his ambitions. Makes up lies like "Pres Trump is going to work with Sen Harry Reid." Cruz doesn/t even know Reid is retiring and wont be around when Trump is president. Isn/t it strange? Sen Ted is unaware of what’s going on in the US Senate...where he supposedly represents Texans.

BACKSTORY Ten months after Cruz was elected to the Senate, his long-held ambitions for the presidency began in earnest. Trusting Texans did not know Cruz was using the Senate seat to advance himself into political power.

more below

=========================================

Cruz is looking like ex-Texas Gov Rick Perry.....two stealth candidates trusting Texans hardly knew.

At first, Cruz (like Perry) looked good....prez material, even. Then candidate Cruz (like Perry) began admitting things that trusting Texans knew nothing about.

Gov Perry shocked his constituents when he admitted in a presidential debate that he was using trusting Texans tax dollars to give illegals in-state tuition...and that they were heartless b/c they did not like this use of tax dollars. (Perry also installed the country/s first Sharia Court in Texas....active to this day).

==================================================

Cruz heaped on the surprises:

<><> I didn/t know I was a Canadian citizen when I ran for the Senate until the media exposed it.

<><> I told trusting Texas voters wifey and I were liquidating family assets so I could get into the Senate.

<><> I didn/t know I was supposed to tell the FEC I borrowed over a million from my Wall Street margin accounts to fund my campaign.

<><> I told Mark Levin the borrowed funds were used for campaign ads....but I didn/t report this as required.

<><> And so on and so forth, ad infinitum, ad nauseaum.

===============================================

BACKSTORY In Texas, Cruz/s Senate election fairy tale has become legendary......portraying himself to trusting Texans as a scrappy populist putting everything on the line to overcome a wealthy establishment opponent.

He was whining in the media, telling trusting Texans that he, and his faithful little wife (a $700,000 globalist lawyer employed by G/S), were forced to liquidate their entire family savings (of slightly more than $1 million) to fuel a come-from-behind win in the Republican primary.

NOW TEXANS LEARN Cruz did not liquidate family assets.....he got his hands on over a million dollars from his hefty margin accounts at G/S and Citibank......and did not disclose this on FEC reports (to keep it a secret from Texans).

Cruz did not disclose loans on FEC reports (required by law) b/c Texans would have discovered he was not the aw-shucks rube he pretended to be. He continued the rube act in order to milk votes from Texans.

At the same time, he also did not disclose he was a Canadian citizen......the Harvard-educated lawyer w/ two Ivy League degrees said he didn/t know.

When the Dallas Morning News published Cruz/s Canadian birth certificate, Cruz put Texans through the charade of renouncing his Canadian citizenship.....even though Canada did not recognize dual citizenship at the time of his birth.

==========================================

Cruz’s latest numbers indicate he would lose a primary challenge for his Senate seat. Clearly, Ted isn’t as well liked in Texas as he wants everyone to think.

In the Texas prez primary, Cruz did not do as well as expected even w/ Texas Gov Abbott running the show. Cruz didn’t even come close to winning a majority in Texas. He would have gotten a lot more delegates if he had.

Cruz got 1,239,370 votes but that/s only 44% of the vote---56% of his own constituents rejected him. delegates.

NY/er Donald Trump got a whopping 757,618 votes....27% of the vote....he got 47 delegates. Floridian Even Rubio got 502,223 votes....that/s 18% ... w/ 3 Texas delegates.

Cruz spent a bundle but came away looking like a reject.

[daisy12]

Heidi is said to have written the policy papers to dissolve USA borders to create the North American Union. I believe that is a CFR document.

[Just mythoughts]

With less than 50% of the vote!! But now he demands the nomination be handed to him with less than 50% of the delegates!!

Excuse me? He who?

[patlin]

Correction, bad grammar due to bad editing...

Is the writer suggesting wholesale abortion devoid of moral conscious is OK, or is he saying its better to surrender to ISIS than risk collateral damage?

The writer is saying neither. I ask, if it was found out by the government that there was a terrorist living/hiding out in your neighborhood would you, as a Christian, be ok with the government indiscriminately carpet bombing your entire neighborhood without the slightest of warning? Unless one is a hypocrite, the same standards that apply here should apply all throughout the world. As a Christian, would you not agree with this?