When Sunday School Becomes Strategy: The Dangerous Theology Behind Ted Cruz's Foreign Policy
What happens when childhood sermons guide international decisions?
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Quick note before we begin:
I know I don’t usually send multiple Substacks this close together, but this one couldn’t wait. If you believe religion should never be a substitute for policy, especially when lives are at stake, please consider sharing this with religious friends and family who may not realize how dangerous this approach to foreign policy really is.
In a recent interview, Senator Ted Cruz doubled down on a familiar talking point: that his foreign policy is guided by the Bible. But when asked to name a specific verse that informed his views, he stumbled. He couldn't recall it. He couldn't explain it. He couldn't contextualize it. He simply said that, as a kid, he remembered hearing it in Sunday school.
And millions of lives may hang in the balance because of that memory.
This isn’t just political theater—it’s theological malpractice. It’s what happens when power cloaks itself in religion, and religion is reduced to vague recollections and cherry-picked slogans.
Weaponizing the Word
Politicians like Cruz frequently appeal to Christian values while pushing policies that contradict the very teachings of the figure they claim to follow. They invoke biblical authority but rarely show biblical literacy.
Take Cruz’s support for aggressive U.S. intervention in the Middle East. He often justifies it by claiming it aligns with a “biblical worldview.” But what part, exactly? The Sermon on the Mount? Jesus’ command to love your enemies? His rebuke of violence in the Garden of Gethsemane? Or is it a misunderstood passage from Genesis, filtered through 1970s evangelicalism, then weaponized in a Senate subcommittee?
The truth is, most of these so-called biblical policies don’t come from scripture. They come from cultural conditioning—passed down in sermons and Sunday school soundbites, not serious study.
And that’s dangerous.
Because vague religious justifications are immune to scrutiny. They’re built to shut down questions, not answer them. And when politicians hide behind faith instead of reason, it becomes nearly impossible to hold them accountable.
A System Built on Certainty
Christian nationalism thrives on confidence without comprehension. It doesn’t need leaders who understand the Bible. It needs leaders who quote it loudly enough that no one asks if they’re quoting it correctly.
That’s why Ted Cruz’s ignorance isn’t a flaw in the system. It’s a feature.
In this worldview, certainty matters more than accuracy. And allegiance to biblical branding outweighs the need for informed, evidence-based policy. The louder the appeal to scripture, the less likely anyone is to challenge its relevance, context, or consequences.
But history warns us of what happens when governments are led by religious slogans instead of ethical clarity.
The Cost of Faith-Based Foreign Policy
Religion, when used as a tool of governance, doesn’t just blur the line between church and state. It erases it. And in doing so, it replaces nuanced diplomacy with theological absolutism.
That’s how wars are justified. That’s how genocide is excused. That’s how dehumanization becomes policy.
All because someone remembered a Bible verse—or thought they did.
This isn’t just about Ted Cruz. It’s about a broader pattern: theocratic ideology creeping into secular governance. It’s about elected officials substituting Sunday school theology for strategic analysis. It’s about mistaking religious fervor for moral authority.
And in the age of nuclear weapons and global alliances, that’s not just foolish. It’s fatal.
Faith Is Not a Foreign Policy
We need leaders who understand history, not just prophecy. Who value ethics, not just dogma. Who rely on evidence, not inspiration.
Because scripture is not a strategy. And divine justification is no substitute for human accountability.
As citizens, we have to demand more than vague verses and blind faith. We must ask the hard questions. We must insist on reason.
The future should not be written by someone’s hazy memory of Sunday school.
It should be shaped by clarity, compassion, and critical thought.
Anything less is a betrayal—not just of democracy, but of the very values religion claims to uphold.
This space is for all of us who were handed fear and called it faith. Who were taught to sacrifice ourselves for the comfort of others. Who are finally learning to take it all back.
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