When U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) announced his presidential candidacy at Liberty University this week, he spoke in phrases intended to resonate with people like me and my family: devout Christians. I come from a long line of people who put Jesus Christ at the center of their lives, and I am raising my children to do the same. Cruz tried to appeal to these values in his speech, yet his claims rang hollow to me.
What I couldn't get past in the speech was the knowledge that his words don't match his actions in Washington, where he seems to relish creating division on everything from the budget to climate change. He constantly creates fights and fails to prioritize any kind of common ground or service.
While churches across the nation are actively trying to eradicate malaria, end human trafficking, or address climate change (my church is a proud supporter of the Imagine No Malaria campaign), Cruz is bent on grinding the government to a halt and dismantling policies that help people rather than creating them.
I don't expect to share Cruz's views, but I do believe a self-proclaimed Christian candidate should take positive action to improve people's lives. Cruz seems more interested in being the troublemaker-in-chief than building the city on the hill.
Just look at his naysaying on climate change.
Cruz recently said the "snow and ice" in New Hampshire were evidence that climate change is not happening and that the Earth is not warming. The facts show otherwise: The 10 hottest years on record have all come since 1998.
Some conservative churches don't recognize the climate crisis, yet many Christian groups -- from the Evangelical Environmental Network to the Southern Baptist Convention to the Roman Catholic Church -- understand that climate change is a threat to millions of people, especially the most vulnerable among us.
One of my heroes, Dr. Katherine Hayhoe, does a great job of explaining what's at stake. Hayhoe is a climate scientist at Texas Tech in Lubbock and an evangelical. She infuses her Christian values into descriptions of the mechanics of climate change: "When I look at the information we get from the planet, I look it as God's creation speaking to us, and in this case, there is no question that God's creation is telling us that it is running a fever," she says.
Cruz ignores these facts. That could hurt him with the two thirds of Americans who believe world leaders have a moral obligation to address climate change, according to a recent Reuters poll. And it could hurt him with the 50 percent of Republican voters who agree that the federal government should reduce climate change pollution, according to an AP survey.
There is almost no chance that Cruz can secure the GOP nomination. But he could become a folk hero. He could position himself as a more powerful Sarah Palin who rallies the base and pulls the party over to his divisive ways. This is a troubling prospect for all of us who want to serve others and protect creation -- in other words, the majority of Americans.