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For 30 minutes, Rafael Cruz never once mentioned his son’s name nor any of his son’s political opponents by name Wednesday inside the receptive confines of The Door Fellowship on Pine Street.
The father of candidate Ted Cruz, who is seeking the Republican party presidential nomination, called on Evangelical Christians to turn out on April 26 in Pennsylvania’s primary election.
Candidate Cruz’s name never came up until a question-and-answer period. Not once did he mention Donald Trump or John Kasich or Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders, until he requoted, “It takes a village to raise a child,” claiming that candidate Clinton, whether realizing it or not, took that phrase from Karl Marx, considered to be the father of modern-day Communism.
To a friendly audience, Cruz asked those with biblical faith to vote for candidates’ records, not their rhetoric.
Born in Cuba, Rafael lived and suffered under an oppressive dictatorship and began fighting Fulgencio Batista’s regime as a teenager before he was imprisoned and tortured. He arrived in Texas in 1957 on a student visa.
Often, candidate Cruz can be heard in a preamble to start his political rallies declaring proudly, “I am the son of a Cuban immigrant.”
The elder Cruz took a job as a dishwasher, making 50 cents an hour, and worked his way through the University of Texas while learning English. Later, he built a small business in the oil and gas industry.
His long history in politics included mobilizing many during the presidential campaign of Ronald Reagan.
As an ordained minister and director of Grace for America, which shares the Bible in churches and pastors’ conferences nationally, Cruz took the audience on a historical journey. He described how Moses, during the exodus from Egypt, taught the Hebrews to elect from their tribes “able men, such as fear God. Men of truth hating covetousness.”
Cruz’ father alluded clearly to billionaire Republican party front-runner Donald Trump when he said a candidate has expressed his “love of money.”
“What does the Bible say about the love of money?” Cruz asked.
Cruz said if Christians would vote, a “great awakening” similar to what happened prior to the American Revolution, when theologians such as Jonathan Edwards and George Whitfield sparked a political and spiritual revival in the 13 original colonies, could happen again.
Cruz warned how some politicians make “wonderful promises” and cautioned potential voters to “start looking at their records.”
“Too many politicians will tell you what they think you want to hear,” he said.
Cruz drew a difference regarding the abortion issue and pro-life and pro-choice, calling the latter pro-death.
He also touched on hot topics such as the divided Supreme Court decision on June 26, 2015, which he said was an attempt to redefine marriage. The majority of judges ruled that same-sex couples can marry nationwide, establishing a new civil right and handing gay rights advocates a historic victory.
“It’s about time we become biblically correct instead of politically correct,” Cruz said.