By Bud Kennedy
bud@star-telegram.com
Four days from the election, two "preacher's kids" told a Collin County church their hope for America.
Neither Ted Cruz of Houston nor fellow lawyer Matt Krause of Fort Worth is the most prominent religious figure on the ballot. That would be Mitt Romney, formerly a top regional official in his church.
But if they defeat Democratic opponents Tuesday, U.S. Senate candidate Cruz and Texas House candidate Krause will be two of the most evangelical Republicans ever elected.
Speaking to a Baptist megachurch luncheon Thursday in Allen, Cruz quoted scripture and predicted a "great awakening" in America.
Not to be outpreached, Krause called for teaching young people "science and technology, to solidify that they're pro-life-leaning."
The pastor of Cottonwood Creek Baptist Church, the Rev. John Mark Caton, did not endorse anyone at the luncheon, promoted as a discussion on "faith, morality and public policy."
But I didn't see any places marked for Cruz's Democratic opponent, Southern Baptist and former Texas House Rep. Paul Sadler or Krause's opponent, Disciples of Christ churchgoer Shane Hardin.
So there was no "discussion" when Cruz accused the entire Democratic Party of "assaults on the church itself."
To Cruz, requiring faith-based hospitals and schools to match secular employers' insurance is about punishing churches and charging them for "violating their faith."
He talked about his religious liberty work in Attorney General Greg Abbott's office defending a Ten Commandments monument and the words "under God" in pledges.
"It is astonishing how frequently our religious liberty is under assault," Cruz said.
He introduced his father, Cuban immigrant Rafael Cruz, an evangelist with Carrollton-based Purifying Fire Ministries.
When it was Krause's turn, Ted Cruz described the young graduate of Jerry Falwell's Liberty University School of Law as a "warrior" and "extremely strong" in Austin.
Krause called for a state constitutional amendment upholding religious liberty. That's something voters elsewhere already defeated over concern about child abuse cases.
His comment on science included a remark about how many young adults support gay rights because they lack education in the "important role the traditional family has played in our culture."
Their opponents didn't even get invited to share a prayer.
Bud Kennedy's column appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays.817-390-7538Twitter: @budkennedy
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