Rafael Cruz & Pat Robertson
CBN News 02-17-2016
Presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, says his dad, Rafael, is his hero and is the one who taught him early in life that the concept of limited government comes straight from the Bible.
Now, his father, a Cuban immigrant, has a message for America.
Rafael Cruz was born in Cuba in 1939. As a teenager, Cruz faced prison and torture fighting against the brutal Batista dictatorship. After his release from prison, he convinced the government to allow him to leave Cuba for America on a college scholarship. He left with only $100 sewn into his underwear by his mother.
*Rafael Cruz shared more about his new book on The 700 Club, Tuesday, February 16. Click play to watch.
Once in America, Cruz worked hard, started a family, and most importantly, gave his life to Christ. As a church pastor, Cruz became involved with the Religious Roundtable organization, mobilizing Christians to elect Ronald Reagan.
Young Ted took it all in, and like his father before him, chose a career path that would fuse faith and politics.
Rafael Cruz
Nearly 60 years after coming to America, the elder Cruz has a message for his adopted homeland. He writes about it in a new book entitled, A Time for Action.
America was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, by moral leaders, Cruz says, many of whom were strong Christians themselves. The first settlers were committed Christians seeking refuge from religious persecution abroad.
Cruz says that in the last 100 years, America has been on a slippery slope, moving away from its founding principles and, in large part with little resistance from the Church.
In A Time for Action, Rafael Cruz presents a simple underlying message: For Christians, Jesus Christ should be the foundation of the lives they build and they should be active in making a difference in the world around them.
In practical terms, that means we should strive for a free society that respects each of God's children; we should embrace the Judeo-Christian values of love, joy, and peace; and we should seek a relationship with the living God.
It means people of faith should actively participate in the political process to combat the debilitating and deceptive progressive mantra that there should be a separation of church and state.
A Time for Action is the story of one man's quest for refuge from Cuban persecution to realizing the American dream. It is a story about one man finding true freedom that comes from faith in Jesus Christ. It is the story of this great nation that was founded on Judeo-Christian principles and why it has fallen from grace.
It is also a wake-up call to the faithful across the land to step up to the challenge of entering the public arena and taking on the forces at work to destroy the guiding principles that made this country great. Religious people must saddle up. They must vote and volunteer and campaign. They must get in the political game.
The followers of Christ are, in His words, "the light of the world." But for a light to have its effect, it has to shine in the darkness.
That's why our mission is "to declare," as St. Paul said, "the whole counsel of God." If we continue to remain silent, we will answer to God for our silence.
