The (past) appeals made to USA Christians by Ted Cruz campaign team
I have given below a transcript of part of a response of Mr. Rafael Cruz, father of USA Senator and former Republican candidate for USA president, Ted Cruz, to a question posed to him in an interview by Mr. Micah Clark of American Family Association (AFA) of Indiana, USA, https://www.facebook.com/AFAIndiana/videos/10154044214020874/, dated April 26th 2016. The description text for the Facebook site says "The American Family Association of Indiana is the state level affiliate of the national AFA organization. Its mission is to protect traditional family values by standing up for decency and morality at the local and state level."
Around 4:15, Mr. Micah Clark says, "Last question I have, what message do you have for churches and pastors and people in churches today, about this election?"
Mr. Rafael Cruz responds, "Well, I will tell you this election is very, very critical. I am in the state of Indiana right now and Indiana is going to have a primary on May the 3rd. Indiana may very well decide who the next President of the United States of America is. You know, it involves the people of God. Proverbs 29 and 2 says when the righteous are in authority people rejoice. When the wicked beareth rule people mourn. You know, one of the challenges we have had is this, if the righteous are not running for office, if the righteous are not even voting, what is left? The wicked electing the wicked. And it becomes our fault.
So I implore, I exhort every member of the Body of Christ to vote according to the word of God, and vote for the candidate that stands on the word of God and on the Constitution of the United States of America. And I am convinced that man is my son, Ted Cruz. The alternative could be the destruction of America.
We cannot afford to have another four years of someone that does not stand on the fundamental principles that have made America the greatest country on the face of the earth. So I encourage everyone, do not be swayed by the rhetoric but look at the record. Don't be swayed by what a candidate says because many candidates will say what they think you want to hear. Rather, look at what they do and what they have done. Jesus put it this way. Ye shall know them by their fruits. It is about time that we check the fruit."
---
Mrs. Heidi Cruz, wife of Senator Ted Cruz, said the following in a radio interview perhaps in February 2016 (this link has the audio clip too, http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/heidi-cruz-ted-running-show-country-face-god-we-serve):
When I thought about doing it for our country, it became very clear to me that our family must be in this race. And it also became clear to me that we are at a cultural crossroads in our country and if we can be in this race to show this country the face of the God that we serve — this Christian God that we serve is the foundation of our country, our country was built on Judeo-Christian values, we are a nation of freedom of religion, but the God of Christianity is the God of freedom, of individual liberty, of choice and of consequence.
And I think that’s something that this country really needs to be reminded of, is that Christians are loving people, are nonjudgmental people, but there is right and wrong, we have a country of law and order, there are consequences to actions and we must all live peaceably in our own faiths under the Constitution. And Ted is uniquely able to deliver on that combination of the law and religion.
--- end Mrs. Heidi Cruz quote ---
Transcript snippet from Ted Cruz's remarks here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAeiZCAmBf8, 2 min. 43 secs, published Aug. 11th 2015, from 0.00 to around 0:59 in the video,
Ted Cruz: "People understand that the challenges facing this country today are extraordinary. We are in crisis and it is now or never. And I will tell you, nothing is more important in the next eighteen months than that the body of Christ rise up. And that Christians stand up, that pastors stand up and lead ... And in this last election 54 million evangelical Christians stayed home. [Interviewer: "Really?", to which Ted Cruz nods] There are 94 million evangelicals nationwide. 54 million stayed home. [Interviewer: "Many of those (are) not even registered."] That's exactly right. If we can simply [bring?] Christians to the polls .. Is it any wonder we have the government we have, we have the leaders we have if believers stay home and leave electing our leaders to unbelievers. We get exactly what we deserve. And nothing is more important than having people of faith stand up (and) just vote our values, vote Biblical values. And that's how we turn the country around."
The politifact website analysed a similar claim of Ted Cruz, "Today roughly half of born-again Christians aren’t voting." here: http://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2015/mar/30/ted-cruz/ted-cruz-says-today-roughly-half-born-again-christ/, dated March 30th 2015, and concludes that Ted Cruz's claim is mostly false (i.e. the statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression).
But who are the evangelical (born-again) Christians? An extract is given below from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelicalism:
Evangelicalism, Evangelical Christianity, or Evangelical Protestantism is a worldwide, transdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity maintaining that the essence of the gospel consists in the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ's atonement. Evangelicals believe in the centrality of the conversion or "born again" experience in receiving salvation, in the authority of the Bible as God's revelation to humanity, and spreading the Christian message.
--- wiki extract on evangelicalism ---
But what exactly is meant by the phrase above, "Jesus Christ's atonement"? Extract below is from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atonement_in_Christianity:
In western Christian theology, atonement describes how human beings can be reconciled to God through Christ's sacrificial death. Atonement refers to the forgiving or pardoning of sin in general and original sin in particular through the death and resurrection of Jesus, enabling the reconciliation between God and his creation.
--- end extract on atonement in Christianity---
Ravi: I think the general words used by Evangelical Christians for such atonement belief is that Jesus died/shed blood for my/our sins and to save me/us. And that Jesus is the only son of God whom God sent among humanity and then sacrificed (through crucifixion on the cross) to save humanity.
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/chosen-by-god-rejected-by-voters/article8557931.ece, dated May 5th 2016 quotes Senator Ted Cruz as saying, "I’m a Christian first, American second, conservative third and Republican fourth.. I’ll tell ya, there are a whole lot of people in this country that feel exactly the same way", in January (2016).
The view from Senator Ted Cruz's side: Ted Cruz Faith In Action, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elfC7d_rm1A, 17 min. 24 secs, published Jan. 19th 2016
Please note that I have a NEUTRAL informal-student-observer role in these posts that I put up about the USA presidential elections. Of course, as I am an Indian citizen living in India, there is no question of me voting in these elections.
[I thank Wikipedia, Mr. Rafael Cruz, Mrs. Heidi Cruz, USA Senator Ted Cruz & politifact.com, and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above transcript snippets of their talks/short extracts from related websites on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
Around 4:15, Mr. Micah Clark says, "Last question I have, what message do you have for churches and pastors and people in churches today, about this election?"
Mr. Rafael Cruz responds, "Well, I will tell you this election is very, very critical. I am in the state of Indiana right now and Indiana is going to have a primary on May the 3rd. Indiana may very well decide who the next President of the United States of America is. You know, it involves the people of God. Proverbs 29 and 2 says when the righteous are in authority people rejoice. When the wicked beareth rule people mourn. You know, one of the challenges we have had is this, if the righteous are not running for office, if the righteous are not even voting, what is left? The wicked electing the wicked. And it becomes our fault.
So I implore, I exhort every member of the Body of Christ to vote according to the word of God, and vote for the candidate that stands on the word of God and on the Constitution of the United States of America. And I am convinced that man is my son, Ted Cruz. The alternative could be the destruction of America.
We cannot afford to have another four years of someone that does not stand on the fundamental principles that have made America the greatest country on the face of the earth. So I encourage everyone, do not be swayed by the rhetoric but look at the record. Don't be swayed by what a candidate says because many candidates will say what they think you want to hear. Rather, look at what they do and what they have done. Jesus put it this way. Ye shall know them by their fruits. It is about time that we check the fruit."
---
Mrs. Heidi Cruz, wife of Senator Ted Cruz, said the following in a radio interview perhaps in February 2016 (this link has the audio clip too, http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/heidi-cruz-ted-running-show-country-face-god-we-serve):
When I thought about doing it for our country, it became very clear to me that our family must be in this race. And it also became clear to me that we are at a cultural crossroads in our country and if we can be in this race to show this country the face of the God that we serve — this Christian God that we serve is the foundation of our country, our country was built on Judeo-Christian values, we are a nation of freedom of religion, but the God of Christianity is the God of freedom, of individual liberty, of choice and of consequence.
And I think that’s something that this country really needs to be reminded of, is that Christians are loving people, are nonjudgmental people, but there is right and wrong, we have a country of law and order, there are consequences to actions and we must all live peaceably in our own faiths under the Constitution. And Ted is uniquely able to deliver on that combination of the law and religion.
--- end Mrs. Heidi Cruz quote ---
Transcript snippet from Ted Cruz's remarks here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAeiZCAmBf8, 2 min. 43 secs, published Aug. 11th 2015, from 0.00 to around 0:59 in the video,
Ted Cruz: "People understand that the challenges facing this country today are extraordinary. We are in crisis and it is now or never. And I will tell you, nothing is more important in the next eighteen months than that the body of Christ rise up. And that Christians stand up, that pastors stand up and lead ... And in this last election 54 million evangelical Christians stayed home. [Interviewer: "Really?", to which Ted Cruz nods] There are 94 million evangelicals nationwide. 54 million stayed home. [Interviewer: "Many of those (are) not even registered."] That's exactly right. If we can simply [bring?] Christians to the polls .. Is it any wonder we have the government we have, we have the leaders we have if believers stay home and leave electing our leaders to unbelievers. We get exactly what we deserve. And nothing is more important than having people of faith stand up (and) just vote our values, vote Biblical values. And that's how we turn the country around."
The politifact website analysed a similar claim of Ted Cruz, "Today roughly half of born-again Christians aren’t voting." here: http://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2015/mar/30/ted-cruz/ted-cruz-says-today-roughly-half-born-again-christ/, dated March 30th 2015, and concludes that Ted Cruz's claim is mostly false (i.e. the statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression).
But who are the evangelical (born-again) Christians? An extract is given below from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelicalism:
Evangelicalism, Evangelical Christianity, or Evangelical Protestantism is a worldwide, transdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity maintaining that the essence of the gospel consists in the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ's atonement. Evangelicals believe in the centrality of the conversion or "born again" experience in receiving salvation, in the authority of the Bible as God's revelation to humanity, and spreading the Christian message.
--- wiki extract on evangelicalism ---
But what exactly is meant by the phrase above, "Jesus Christ's atonement"? Extract below is from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atonement_in_Christianity:
In western Christian theology, atonement describes how human beings can be reconciled to God through Christ's sacrificial death. Atonement refers to the forgiving or pardoning of sin in general and original sin in particular through the death and resurrection of Jesus, enabling the reconciliation between God and his creation.
--- end extract on atonement in Christianity---
Ravi: I think the general words used by Evangelical Christians for such atonement belief is that Jesus died/shed blood for my/our sins and to save me/us. And that Jesus is the only son of God whom God sent among humanity and then sacrificed (through crucifixion on the cross) to save humanity.
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/chosen-by-god-rejected-by-voters/article8557931.ece, dated May 5th 2016 quotes Senator Ted Cruz as saying, "I’m a Christian first, American second, conservative third and Republican fourth.. I’ll tell ya, there are a whole lot of people in this country that feel exactly the same way", in January (2016).
The view from Senator Ted Cruz's side: Ted Cruz Faith In Action, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elfC7d_rm1A, 17 min. 24 secs, published Jan. 19th 2016
Please note that I have a NEUTRAL informal-student-observer role in these posts that I put up about the USA presidential elections. Of course, as I am an Indian citizen living in India, there is no question of me voting in these elections.
[I thank Wikipedia, Mr. Rafael Cruz, Mrs. Heidi Cruz, USA Senator Ted Cruz & politifact.com, and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above transcript snippets of their talks/short extracts from related websites on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
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