"Sen. Marco Rubio's passionate profession of faith before a meeting of Iowa pastors last Fall played a big role in his surprisingly strong showing in the Iowa Caucus Monday night."
As I have written previously, I personally support Ted Cruz, but I see much to praise and admire in Marco Rubio. Rubio's response to a question in this video is utterly unique. Watch the video and be amazed. Rubio has a genuine gift of preaching. (See also my earlier blog post on Rubio's response to an atheist who challenged him at a town meeting.)
CBN News reports further on Rubio's unexpectedly good showing in the Iowa caucus:
Few expected Rubio would do so well, but he capitalized on a last-minute surge in the polls and stumped hard in the final days of the campaign.
Members of the Rubio team believe the groundswell began in November, kicked off by his stirring explanation of the Gospel and the influence of Jesus Christ in his life before dozens of Iowa pastors.
Chief Political Correspondent David Brody said a senior adviser to the Rubio campaign told him CBN's exclusive coverage of the pastors event was a "game-changer" for the campaign.
Listening to this interchange has raised my respect for Marco Rubio very high indeed. It happens that I am a Ted Cruz supporter at this point, but I am truly impressed with Marco Rubio's response.
** Interesting update (1/21/16): Evangelical leaders support Rubio by a wide margin but evangelical rank and file support Trump by a wide margin. Story here.
CT has produced a major Q&A interview with Marco Rubio. The first page of the interview deals with his Christian faith, and the rest with Rubio's position on various issues of the day.
Photo by Susana Raab
Interview by Sarah Pulliam Bailey:
As speculation has grown over who Mitt Romney will pick as his running mate, Florida Senator Marco Rubio has topped nearly every list. Rubio has also drawn attention with the release of his memoir, An American Son, as well as his brief time in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, his baptism into the Roman Catholic Church, and his ties to an evangelical church. Christianity Today online editor Sarah Pulliam Bailey spoke with Rubio about his diverse faith background, how his faith influences his policy positions, and why Christians should be involved in the public square.
You were baptized as a Mormon and then as a Roman Catholic. Can you describe your faith journey?
My mother desperately wanted to give her kids a wholesome environment, and we were born into a traditional Catholic family. We had extended family members who were and remain active members of the LDS church, which does provide a very wholesome environment. We joined the church for a little less than three years when I was very young, after we moved to Las Vegas in 1979. I'm not sure my mom ever fully understood the church theologically. As a family we were never fully immersed in it because my father didn't buy in, so there are many intricacies to the faith that we never really got involved in. By the time I was in sixth grade, we had left the Mormon Church and gone back to Catholicism, and I did my First Communion on Christmas Day 1984.
And you attended an evangelical church for a period of time?
Sometime in 2000, I unfortunately got really busy with my political stuff. I perhaps didn't do a good job of spiritually leading my family, which is one of the roles I play alongside my wife. In the meantime, my wife and my sister found an excellent local church, Christ Fellowship. It does a phenomenal job on two fronts: bringing people to Jesus, and teaching the written Word through phenomenal preachers. And it has a fantastic children's program. For a period of time, it became our church home almost exclusively. I felt called back to Catholicism around 2004, but have maintained the relationship with Christ Fellowship and attend their services often or listen to the podcasts.
Did you have a conversion moment when you acknowledged your sins and Jesus' death on the cross?
There has never been a moment when faith hasn't been an important part of my life. There have been moments when I've been more alive in my faith than others. There have been times when I've been more involved in my faith, dedicating more to it, and giving it more importance. Like everybody else, unfortunately, it's usually in time of need that we tend to turn to our faith.
It would be unfair to say I had a moment of conversion. But one moment when my faith journey took on a different aspect was when my children became a bit older. I recognized that perhaps the most important part of my job in raising them is that I have only a handful of years to influence them and to inspire in them the knowledge of Jesus, Christianity, and what it means for salvation. If I fail in that regard, everything else becomes less meaningful.
Would you describe yourself as an evangelical?
I'm a Roman Catholic. I'm theologically in line with the Roman Catholic Church. I believe in the authority of the church, but I also have tremendous respect for my brothers and sisters in other Christian faiths. I recognize, as the Catholic Church does, that there are excellent teachings of the Word throughout other denominations. The elements of salvation are found in these churches as well. Some unifying principles bind all Christians: that God became a man and died for our sins, and that without that sacrifice, all of us would be doomed.
At the invitation of Nancy Reagan, Senator Marco Rubio (R) of Florida gave a memorable speech at the Reagan Presidential Library in California a few days ago. I viewed the video below at Wintry Knight's blog and came away greatly impressed. Senator Rubio is unquestionably one of the bright stars of the Republican party -- and of the United States as a whole. He says what needs to be said with extradinary clarity, vigor, and sincerity. The principles he enuniates are those the United States must embrace to recover its greatness. Nile Gardiner of the U.K. Telegraphsays the address
deserves to be widely read, both at home and abroad. Like [Congressman Paul] Ryan, Rubio offers a powerful rejection of the Big Government approach that has crippled America’s economy, and outlines a firm defence of the free market, championed by Ronald Reagan
Those who like to chew on the spoken word can find the transcript here.
The free enterprise system does not leave people behind. People are poor and people are left behind because they do not have access to the free enterprise system because something in their lives or in their community has denied them access to the free enterprise system. All over the world this truism is expressing itself every single day. Every nation on the Earth that embraces market economics and the free enterprise system is pulling millions of its people out of poverty. The free enterprise system creates prosperity, not denies it.
In the most poignant part of the speech, Rubio paid tribute to his grandfather, who fled Cuba for the United States in search of liberty and freedom. Rubio’s grandfather embodied the American dream, and understood the true meaning of American exceptionalism as someone who had escaped the grip of communist tyranny:
My grandfather loved being Cuban. He loved being from Cuba. He never would have left Cuba if he didn’t have to. But he knew America was special. He knew that without America Cuba would still be a Spanish colony. He knew that without America the Nazis and Imperial Japan would have won World War II. When he was born in 1899 there weren’t even airplanes. By the time I was born, an American had walked on the surface of the moon.
And he knew something else. He knew that he had lost his country. And that the only thing from preventing other people in the world from losing theirs to communism was this country – this nation.
It is easy for us who are born here – like me – and so many of you, to take for granted how special and unique this place is. But when you come from somewhere else, when what you always knew and loved, you lost, you don’t have that luxury.
My Grandfather didn’t know America was exceptional because he read about it in a book. He knew about it because he lived it and saw it with his eyes. That powerful lesson is the story of Ronald Reagan’s Presidency. It’s our legacy as a people. And it’s who we have a chance to be again. And I think that’s important for all of us because being an American is not just a blessing, it’s a responsibility.
Me: For readers who might be interested, it appears that Rubio attends both a Roman Catholic church and also Christ Fellowship, an evangelical congregation.
Photo by Susana Raab