Deeply religious Ted Cruz only ran for president after God spoke to his wife, says Cruz’s father, Rafael Cruz. In a radio interview, Rafael Cruz tells the story of Ted’s struggle with the scrutiny and pressure that a presidential run could bring to his family. Praying with his wife, Heidi, he sought divine guidance, some kind of sign that he should run for the nation’s highest office. Apparently, Ted’s wife, Heidi Cruz, received a message from God that he should run for office.

Rafael Cruz told the story of a Sunday prayer session Ted and Heidi shared at a Texas church, where God delivered the good news to the Cruz family. After two hours on their knees in the church, God reached down into that Texas church and spoke through Heidi Cruz, allegedly saying “Seek God’s face, not God’s hand,” which Ted Cruz took to mean God had entered the building.

“It was as if there was a cloud of the holy spirit filling that place, some of us were weeping and Ted just looked up and said, ‘Lord here I am, use me. I surrender to you, whatever you want,'” Rafael Cruz recounted.

The story is a little bizarre, but it’s not the first time a president or a presidential candidate has claimed divine inspiration for their political aspirations. George W. Bush made a similar statement during his second campaign for office. The Cruz campaign has long been a bastion of evangelical Christian fundamentalism, as epitomized by their fervent support from evangelical voices like Glenn Beck. Beck, for his part, also claims Ted Cruz is the answer to his prayers and vows to fast in order to prove his devotion to God, Ted Cruz, or both.

Ted’s father, Rafael, is an evangelical pastor who has long been a critic of the Obama administration and social progress. Mother Jones reports that Rafael Cruz once called Obama a “Marxist” who should go “back to Kenya.” Rafael also alleges that Satan was behind the Supreme Court decision last year, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

The radical version of Christianity espoused by the Cruz clan has received no end of criticism from liberal commentators, and it’s no surprise given that the Cruz-ian version of Christian fundamentalism is stark and uncompromising. But today, the Federalist takes issue with some of the claims Cruz has made in the past, using biblical scripture to counter the Cruz clan’s take on Christianity.

“There is a big problem when a candidate employs his faith to rally voters to polls, claim a moral high ground over tax policy or justify types of political discourse,” writes Stephen Roberts of the Federalist.

And that’s a tactic the Cruz campaign has been using to dramatic effect, as evidenced by his recent victory in Iowa. But Cruz isn’t the first politician, nor the last, to have family members who make claims or statements that might be embarrassing to the campaign at large. There’s a reason Ted Cruz isn’t on the campaign trail talking about the time God spoke through his wife. Even the Obama campaign had to distance itself from former friends due to their controversial statements, including that time Reverend Jeremiah Wright went on a screed about 9/11.

RT pls! Anyone who ever thought of voting for him needs to see this. God Told #Cruz To Run https://t.co/2F2sqeJ9ti https://t.co/zlj7V6nmCo — ShelbyDogue (@ShelbyDogue) February 22, 2016

But Mother Jones reports that Rafael Cruz has been an active member of the Cruz campaign ever since Ted first ran for Senate. His father has been a vocal supporter and, more than once, a vital tool for his son’s campaign. Rafael regularly hits the campaign trail to drum up supporters and donations from his own religious following.

Does Rafael Cruz speak for the Ted Cruz campaign? Tell us what you think below.

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