The radical religious friends of Senator Ted Cruz: Anointed by Dominionists who want to "wage war to restore America to our Judeo-Christian heritage" - The overlooked religious extremism of the new rising star of the GOP

"We understand that our rights come not from a king or queen, 

not from government, but from the Lord God almighty. 

But if America is going to continue to stand strong, we must first be on our knees." 

-- Senator Ted Cruz, National Day of Prayer statement, May 1, 2013

By Patrick

Ted Cruz is in the spotlight like no other politician these days. Just today, the first excerpts of a new major interview with him, conducted by CNN's Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash, were published. In the interview, Ted Cruz cockily declared that he doesn't "work for the party bosses in Washington", and then claimed that he only works "for the people in Texas."

But who does Ted Cruz really work for? In classic fashion, the mainstream media does not even mention that Ted Cruz aligned himself with religious radicals who have no interest in "politics as usual." Maybe the media believes that this has to be regarded as a private matter, as far as Ted Cruz is concerned. But is this true?

There is enough evidence out there already that suggests that Ted Cruz is very closely connected to Dominionist pastors for who there is no separation between religion and politics, and who want to transform the USA into a radical religious society. If you listen closely, it is also not difficult to spot the influence of these people in the words and actions of Ted Cruz himself.

In a previous post, we reported about the extremist religious views of Rafael Cruz, the father of Ted Cruz, who constantly seems to travel around the country right now, giving speeches. In these speeches, he claimed for example that President Obama is a Muslim, that millions of babies have been mass-murdered through abortion and demanded that pastors should become politically active. In addition, he claimed that he politically educated his son Ted, who in his opinion is "destined for greatness."

But what about Ted Cruz himself? The blogger Bruce Wilson, who did excellent work back in 2008 when he exposed the extremist religious connections of Sarah Palin, including the famous revelation that Sarah Palin was connected to African witchhunter Thomas Muthee (informative video about Thomas Muthee and his activities as a witchhunter also here), now published several pieces about Ted Cruz - and a very ugly picture begins to develop.

For example, in May 2013, Ted Cruz was blessed and anointed by Dominionist pastors at the Iowa Renewal Project Pastors' Conference, together with Rand Paul.

Watch the video:

Bruce Wilson writes in Huffington Post:

In the video, Tea Party potentate Ted Cruz is blessed by pastors who claim the Constitution is based on the Old Testament, appear to endorse biblical slavery, depict gay marriage as a socialist plot against the traditional family, and call for a Christian war on secular society.

The first two attributes in that list belong to an evangelical leader David Barton -- who Ted Cruz has warmly endorsed, in a September 2013 statement to Politico in which the Texas senator called Barton "a good man, a courageous leader and a friend" whose "historical research has helped millions rediscover the founding principles of our nation."

In the lead-up to the Iowa pastors' event, in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network's David Brody, Ted Cruz suggested that gay marriage would lead to Christian pastors being charged with hate speech. During his address to the hundreds of pastors assembled at the two-day Iowa Renewal Project event, Senator Cruz cited militant Biblical scripture such as Ezekiel 33, depicted opponents of a Texas ban on late-term abortions as Satan worshipers, and claimed Christians in the military can be court-martialed for sharing their faith.

One of the pastors blessing and laying his hands on Cruz's shoulders was head of the sponsoring organization the Iowa Renewal Project -- David Lane, who only a few weeks earlier had written an op-ed that called upon the faithful to "wage war to restore America to our Judeo-Christian heritage."

Only a few days after blessing Senator Cruz, Lane stated that "car bombs in Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Des Moines, Iowa" would be merciful punishment from God for legalized abortion and "homosexuals praying at the Inauguration." Without such divine "mercy," suggested Lane, America might "get judgment like Nazi Germany."

The Iowa Renewal Project is part of Lane's American Renewal Project, an effort targeting 12 US states that seeks to register voters, and politically mobilize Christian pastors, in advance of the 2014 election.

Lane's national project is in turn sponsored by the American Family Association, an organization designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an anti-gay hate group. AFA spokesperson Bryan Fischer has stated that "Homosexuality gave us Adolph Hitler, and homosexuals in the military gave us the Brown Shirts, the Nazi war machine and six million dead Jews."

Another pastor laying hands on Senator Cruz was David Barton, former vice chairman of the Texas GOP who has played leading role in creating an entire genre of Christian nationalist revisionist history used to promote the myth that the United States was created as an expressly Christian nation. The genre is used to stoke anger among the faithful - because America's Christian heritage has allegedly been subverted and stolen - and thus fuel Christian right political activism.

Barton maintains that Jesus opposes the minimum wage, and claims the United States Constitution was based in concepts drawn directly from the Old Testament including the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. He also claims there's no such thing as the constitutional principle of the separation of church and state.

Ted Cruz himself is not shy when it comes to "preaching" - see for example the published excerpts of his speech to the pastors from the same event, the "Religious Right Summit" in Iowa in July 2013, which was organized by David Lane.

RightWingWatch reports:

Cruz, who told CBN in an interview that gay rights advocates intend to dispose of the First Amendment and pass hate speech laws, won plaudits from the audience of conservative activists for his attacks on gay rights advocates and “judicial activism.”

“On marriage there is no issue in which we need to be more on our knees because the momentum is with the opponents of traditional marriage,” Cruz said. “We’re facing an assault on marriage.”

He scolded “unelected judges” who think “we know better” on marriage, and urged pastors to “to speak to your congregations and to mobilize the people, and mobilize them more than anything to pray.”

Watch the video:

More details about David Lane, the self-described "political operative", can be found in another article on RightWingWatch.

Ted Cruz makes no secret about his view that God stands above all - even above the Government. Such a remark might not seem "dangerous" per se, however, in context with the extremist religious beliefs of his friends, who want to turn the US society into a religious state. Ted Cruz said in his statement for the "National Day of Prayer" on May 1, 2013:

"We understand that our rights come not from a king or queen, not from government, but from the Lord God almighty. But if America is going to continue to stand strong, we must first be on our knees."

Watch the video:

Bruce Wilson posted more clips regarding Rafael and Ted Cruz, for example this appearance by Rafael Cruz (including additional footage) from August 2012 - watch:

Bruce Wilson comments about this speech:

In a sermon last year at an Irving, Texas, megachurch that helped elect Ted Cruz to the United States Senate, Cruz' father Rafael Cruz indicated that his son was among the evangelical Christians who are anointed as "kings" to take control of all sectors of society, an agenda commonly referred to as the "Seven Mountains" mandate, and "bring the spoils of war to the priests", thus helping to bring about a prophesied "great transfer of wealth", from the "wicked" to righteous gentile believers.

Rafael Cruz' dominionist sermon given August 26, 2012, at the New Beginnings Church of pastor Larry Huch, in Irving, Texas has already received considerable scrutiny due to an excellent Huffington Post commentary by Methodist Associate Pastor Morgan Guyton, who noted the explicitly dominionist nature of pastor Cruz' sermon, which concerned the divine mandate for believers, with anointing of "kings" in their respective spheres, to take control over all sectors of society.

Cruz spoke of "Kings who are anointed to go to war, win the war, and bring the spoils of war to the priests."

Discussion of the now-notorious speech by Rafael Cruz has missed the fact that Ted Cruz was subsequently blessed and anointed by prominent dominionist pastors, in effect as a "king" in the political/governmental sphere, at a special blessing ceremony at the Marriott Hotel in Des Moines, Iowa, at a July 19th-20th 2013 rally designed to draw pastors into politics.

But in a very real, mundane sense Ted Cruz has already helped deliver hundreds of millions of dollars, or more, to the evangelical right. Cruz' past service - as a "king" who brought "spoils to the priests" - is a matter of established record; as I revealed in a prior story, no less than a top adviser to President George W. Bush has stated that in 1999 Ted Cruz played a major role in helping the Bush for President campaign lock down the conservative evangelical vote in the 2000 election.

One can interpret the "great transfer of wealth" -- predicted by Ted Cruz' father Rafael Cruz, and by Pastor Larry Huch, who threw his Texas megachurch's considerable heft behind the 2012 Cruz for Senate campaign -- in magical terms, sure.

But Ted Cruz' apparently notable role in getting George W. Bush into the presidency led in turn to Bush's "Faith Based Initiative" - that continues to this day under two successive Obama administrations and which, during the Bush years, funneled billions of dollars to churches and institutions associated with the religious right.

In other words, the "great transfer of wealth" is about more than wishful thinking. It's about an ongoing effort, by leaders and institutions of the evangelical right, to gradually gobble up the secular sphere of government.

Let's remind voters that Ted Cruz's religious beliefs are very different from the beliefs of "ordinary" people. Also, his religious beliefs should not be "off-limits", as he is very closely connected to groups who believe that there should be no separation between church and state - and there are indications that Ted Cruz actually believes this as well. His outspoken, radical father certainly does believe it, who politically educated Ted Cruz. Voters should know what they are getting, once Ted Cruz will run for President - and there can be little doubt that he will run at some point, possibly already in 2016.

Finally: It was definitely no "coincidence" when Ted Cruz publicly prayed in front of the White House in September 2013 - it was symbolic, and his followers certainly understood this:

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FURTHER READING:


Daily Kos: Inside the Christian Right Dominionist Movement That's Undermining Democracy

Daily Kos: Deep Background on Dominionism

Alternet: Ted Cruz's Father Suggested His Son Is 'Anointed' to Bring About 'End Time Transfer of Wealth'

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BONUS:

Investigating Ted Cruz should also be fun, so I believe we earned ourselves a little reward: The great classic video by "Genesis" - "Jesus He Knows Me" (h/t Enigma).

Faith in Politics: Difficult but Necessary Questions for the Presidential Candidates

by Nomad

Newt Gingrich warns the U.S. is becoming a secular country, which would be a "nightmare." Rick Santorum says there's a clash between "man's laws and God's laws."

Religious conservatives see an escalating war with the Obama White House. One Catholic bishop called it "the most secularist administration in history." Another bishop says it is an "a-theocracy." Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, Conn., who heads the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' new Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty, believes the First Amendment is clear: The government cannot make people choose between obeying the law and following their faith.

from an NPR article, Has Obama Waged A War On Religion? 


Whether Newt Gingrich knows it or not, America is NOT becoming a secular state. It is a secular state and has been since its inception. It is in very real danger of becoming a theocratic state and that, many people would say, is the potential “nightmare.”

The statements above are extremely revealing about the current mindset of most of the Republican candidates in this year’s election. And for some, this mindset is extremely worrying. 

After all, why should any candidate say there is a “clash” between man’s law and God’s law? A president  takes an oath of office to uphold the Constitution, not the Bible. The issue of any supposed clash has no bearing on his responsibilities. If a candidate feels there is a conflict and that that conflict may make him or her unable to fulfill his duties as president, then he must not take his oath and he has no business running for office in the first place. As far as I can see, anybody who sees a clash should not be entrusted with such a vital position as running the nation.

In a secular society, such as ours, when candidates for higher office make a special point of using their professed religious beliefs as credentials in order to gain support from radical religious groups, then, unfortunately, the matter of private and personal faith becomes a legitimate subject for inquiry. It is a shame that it should, but it must.

Give Unto Caesar

While in most cases, the matter of faith is a private one, this subject has been thrust to the fore-front not by opposing parties or even the mainstream media. In this election, it has become an important point only because the candidates themselves have made it so.

If faith plays such an active role in the candidate’s judgement, why shouldn’t the public have a right to ask openly about his or her religious views, especially if they may impact on his political decisions? 

It is simply negligent for journalists to ignore this situation. The only way to effectively deal with this problem is to confront it directly. 

Is it fair to allow the politician to play religious peek-a-boo, saying one thing among his religious followers and saying quite the opposite among secular voters? Don’t voters have the right to ask whether any of the candidates might be unduly swayed by their religious beliefs, beliefs that might prevent them for properly implementing the Constitution? 

Perhaps it is time to begin to demand serious answers of any candidate, Republican or Democrat, who decides to make his or her faith as a selling point, such as Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum. (I didn't include Sarah Palin only because she has declared she is absolutely not running for president.) Should moderate secular voters be forced to accept religious fanaticism as a norm in all elections?


Pinpointing The Clash

In order to clarify the point, I have composed a list of list of questions I would ask candidates who have openly stated that their private faith (in this case, Christian faith)  played a predominant part in their daily public lives.

1. In your opinion, is the Bible an infallible article of faith in your life? Do you believe, for example, that every word written in the Bible is true in the literal sense? Do you believe in the prophecies of the Book of Revelations from the New Testament, specifically Armageddon? 2. If your spiritual advisor, your pastor or bishop for example, advised you against implementing a legal public policy would you follow the law or would you follow your religious counselor's advice? 3. Do you personally hear the word of God when making political decisions? When was the last time you heard the word of God speak to you? What advice did He give you? 4. Do you think Christianity has a special place above all other religions? Are Christians “chosen people” or special in the eyes of God? 5. Do you believe in the concept of evolution or in what some people called creationism? Generally speaking, does science have more or less value than religion in our lives in your opinion? 6. Is the United States a Christian nation? Why? How do you interpret the phrase “a Christian nation”? 7. Do you think homosexuality is immoral? Does God punish or reward immoral behavior, in your opinion? As president of the United States, do you believe that you would be an instrument of God’s will? 8. Compared to other nations of the world, why should Israel be treated any different than say, Portugal or Canada? Would your Christian beliefs affect your foreign policy towards Israel? 9. Do you think that other religions- that were up until recently considered cults- should receive a tax-exempt status? Why or why not? 10. Do you feel that it is acceptable for a person of the Muslim faith to become president? a person of the Jewish faith? An atheist? Why or why not? 11. Do you feel that God has specifically chosen you to lead the country? Why? 12. Among the ten commandments, there is an prohibition against killing. Do you think your Christian faith would therefore prevent you as president from supporting war or the elimination of the nation’s threats, such as Bin Laden or any other dangerous terrorist? Would you be able to ignore this commandment as the nation’s leader?

I am sure that readers can find more questions to add to this list. Even so, the answers to these questions are sufficient to expose the problem with candidates exhorting their private faith as a means of attracting support. This is why wise politicians avoid discussing religion unless forced to. In a secular society, such as ours, there are far too many problems with such a campaign tactic. It has now become an issue than cannot be ignored.. unless we wish to live under the same kind of regime as Iran or as in Saudi Arabia. These are examples of modern day theocracies with only the superficial trappings of democratic representation. 

I must add, this is not meant to be a litmus test for faith (although many conservative religious leaders might well use the candidates’ answers for that purpose.) The questions are meant only a means of clarification of policy and position.

As anyone can see this questionnaire opens an assortment of problems for any serious candidate but that is exactly why they must be asked NOW. No American voter should have to choose between the Bible, the Torah or the Koran or the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the rule of law.
And no candidate should be spiritually torn between Man’s laws and God’s laws.

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Bachmann, Perry, Palin Overdrive -- Part Two: Michele Bachmann's religious hubris - "Lord, you are the one who chooses us, we don't choose you"

By Kathleen

When politicians such as Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry and Sarah Palin mention that they would like to restore all that is "good and strong and free" about America they mean that they want to push American society backwards to a point in time nearly four hundred years ago. To a time when one man could be elected Governor twelve times and merely questioning his views was considered a crime that would result in banishment and the shunning of the offender by the community. That man was John Winthrop, a zealous Puritan, who along with several members of his family, made the long journey on the ship Arbella to New England where he was to dominate society with his theocratic views for almost twenty years.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica Winthrop was "a man suspicious of new ideas and influences and convinced that God favoured his community above all others." It is easy reading this short description to recognise Winthrop's influence on the political ideas that Bachmann, Perry and Palin espouse, especially the idea that America is an exceptional nation favoured by God. That they are the chosen ones, the elected. Bachmann definitely holds to the idea that she has been chosen by God rather than her choosing God.

This audio of Bachmann praying for the ten-fold expansion of the You Can Run, But You Cannot Hide Ministry run by Bradlee Dean, a controversial "minister" who appears to hate gays, President Obama, Muslims and Democrats in equal measure reveals Bachmanns disconnection from reality (you have to listen to this prayer and Michele Bachmann's voice in order to believe it):

At the 1.50 minute mark you can listen as Bachmann thanks God that he is the one that chooses -- that we do not choose God, instead he chooses us. This grandiose idea of somehow being specially chosen also allows such believers to think that they are already "saved" and thereby free from the notion of accountability.

Frank Schaeffer jnr describes in a recent interview with Democracy Now's Amy Goodman that Bachmann and other politicians who share her views were influenced to enter politics by the writings and work of his father, Francis Schaeffer snr. Francis Schaeffer snr was an influential and charismatic evangelist who has been described as the "catalyst who inspired the evangelicals' re-entry into American politics in the 70's" and who believed that secular humanism was the greatest evil that modern day society faces. Schaeffer snr was also instrumental in persuading other evangelicals to join the Catholic Church in its cause against abortion.

Here is a promotion clip describing how Francis Schaeffer snr and others confronted what they saw as the threat of a secular America in which all values were up for grabs leading to the moral decay of society:

Watch the full episode. See more FRONTLINE.

Schaeffer jnr sets out to explain that

Bachmann doesn't just come from the far right of evangelical politics. She comes from a fringe even of the fringe which is the reconstructionist, dominionist movement that honestly in the best of all worlds as far as they are concerned would replace American Democracy with a theocracy on a Christian level that would mirror something like modern day Iran after it fell to the Ayatollah Khomeini.

Schaeffer jnr further reveals that in his opinion Bachmann's answer regarding the issue of submission to her husband was a

planned, well rehearsed lie......which she is allowed to get away with to insinuate herself into mainstream American politics as a radical anti feminist coming from the far right fringe of even the evangelical movement. For purposes of the election and maybe moving forward to getting the nomination from the republican party then she has to tell these well rehearsed lies to somehow soft peddle this extreme background that she comes from.

As I previously mentioned Bachmann already believes that God has chosen her and that her sins are forgiven. The only little voices that Bachmann has to listen to inside her head are those that she believes are from God. How does she know that they are from God? Well, God has chosen her so they must be. And if God whispers to Bachmann that it is OK to lie because it is for his glory then who is she to argue, after all she is God's tool.

Bachmann, Perry, Palin, all of them are willing to misrepresent their true agenda in order to take back America from the secularists that they think are responsible for the myriad of problems that they believe America presently faces. Schaeffer jnr explains that they hate America as it is now:

They wrap themselves in the flag, but they hate America as it is. The America that embraces gay people, is multicultural, is a homogenous society that seeks to incorporate all races and ethnic creeds into its culture. The America that they love is the quote "Christian America" that they keep harping back to....People like Rick Perry, Michelle Bachmann, Sarah Palin, George W Bush etc all want to "take us back." But it is an America that never really existed and certainly doesn't now....... It is that basic lack of patriotism that does not like the laws of the country so tells people to revolt. This flirtation with secessionism that people like Rick Perry and Sarah Palin's husband have played with........these sort of violent overtures saying that we would know what to do with the chairman of the feds in Texas...treat him rough kind of stuff. You know this is the language of people who are unpatriotic, essentially hate their country and want to defund the US government completely and in the best of all worlds would literally overthrow our system of government.

Bachmann, Perry, Palin do not want to maintain the present system which excludes church from state. They want to replace government with church authority. They want God to be the supreme leader of the USA. They believe themselves to be divinely guided and they want you to believe that they are divinely guided too. That is why Bachmann leads prayer groups in Congress. Why Palin has a "prayer shield" which rallies her followers to rally round and defend her because she has been called by God and should not be criticised. Why Perry prays for rain and has private meetings with his prayer advisor and conducts a prayer rally the weekend before he announces that he is officially entering the race as the GOP nominee for the 2012 Presidential election.

Bachmann, Perry, Palin --- they are all opportunists and if they do not see an opportunity you can be sure that they will make one.

You can find a list of Frank Schaeffer's books here.

I have also read good reports on the series God in America which explores "the 400 year history of the intersection of religion and public life in America." I haven't watched all of the six episodes yet but feel that I can recommend it. You can watch the full episodes online here.

Bachmann, Perry, Palin Part 3 will follow soon.

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BONUS:

Michele Bachmann tries very hard to live up to her reputation to be the "batshit crazy politician." This time it doesn't concern the subject of religion, but her (non-existent) knowledge about global politics. She proved beautifully in a radio interview on August 18, 2011 that she apparently hasn't memorized yet that the Soviet Union doesn't exist any more, and said, as first reported by Raw Story:

“But what people recognize is that there’s a fear that the United States is in an unstoppable decline. They see the rise of China, the rise of India, the rise of the Soviet Union and our loss militarily going forward. And especially with this very bad debt ceiling bill, what we have done is given a favor to President Obama and the first thing he’ll whack is five hundred billion out of the military defense at a time when we’re fighting three wars. People recognize that.”

Patrick didn't hesitate to create a youtube-clip which documents these remarks:

What will come next...?

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A Slice of America

By Leadfoot LA

It’s no secret that I have relatives in Ohio that subscribe to right-wing ideologies. I usually just ignore them and remain thankful that we are separated by geography so I don’t smack the stupid out of them.

But a recent exchange on Facebook with a pair of these relatives made me think about what we can do to overcome the misinformation that has become so pervasive and accepted as reality. Until we are able to combat the stupidity somehow, the left doesn’t stand a chance.

We are just a community of a few hundred people who meet on the Web to educate each other and vent, but we are smart and motivated. Maybe we can have a virtual brainstorm to figure out a way to shine the light on the truth. Even if we just change one mind on Facebook at a time, and then they change one mind….maybe we could make an impact. I don't want to complain anymore, I want to change things. I just don’t know where to start. So, I give you, an example of what we are up against.

I think you will be able to tell which one is me (click on pictures to enlarge):

That is where I threw up in my mouth and almost gave up. But I gathered my strength and decided that I had to do what I can to educate them. So I pressed on:

Oh lord, it is like debating with Willow and Bristol. The racism, it burns. It should be noted that my great grandfather emigrated here from Italy, and somehow THAT was okay. I was getting awfully tired of having my questions and valid points ignored while they threw Fox News talking points at me. But I’m not one to give up…

My aunt did not go to college, and my cousin Amanda dropped out of high school. So to them, I am the “elitist” West-Coast relative who is just a heathen bound for hell. I’ve also been called “spoiled” (because I have worked hard to improve my life?). I’m sure you all have similar tales. Those of us who educate ourselves somehow become the bad guys who want to “ruin this country.” How do we even begin to bridge the divide between us?! I don’t mean on a personal level – I don’t care that much and have written off any racist and religious fundamentalist relatives long ago. I mean on a national level. There is a humongous gaping divide. I wish I could see a way to close it.

UPDATE:Just as I predicted, I am a "know it all" because I went to college. And with that, I am done. I have read all your comments and sadly, I agree. You just can't fight stupid.