Showing posts with label Ben Carson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ben Carson. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Republican Candidates Express Concerns About Muslims In U.S. After Paris Terrorism

The New York Times reported yesterday on statements by Republican presidential candidates reflecting a growing suspicion of Muslims after the recent terrorism in Paris:
[Donald] Trump, who said last month that he would be open to shutting down mosques as part of the fight against Islamic State militants, reiterated on Monday that the idea should be “studied.”
“I would hate it do it but it’s something that you’re going to have to strongly consider because some of the ideas and some of the hatred, the absolute hatred, is coming from these areas”....
Ben Carson ... called on Congress to defund its program to give safe passage to Syrian refugees. The retired neurosurgeon also suggested....  “I believe that we need to put a lot more pressure on the clerics, the imams, to make a very distinct line between what ISIS, ISIL, the radical Islamic jihadists are doing, and what traditional Islam is about”....
Jeb Bush ... also expressed concern about refugees from the Middle East entering the United States and said ... Christians and Muslims who are fleeing Syria should be treated differently. “We should focus our efforts as it relates to refugees for the Christians that are being slaughtered,” Mr. Bush said.
At a news conference, President Obama particularly criticized suggestions that there should be a religious test for which refugees will be admitted.

Friday, November 06, 2015

Ben Carson Says Egyptian Pyramids Were Joseph's Grain Storage Facilities

AP reported yesterday that Republican Presidential candidate Ben Carson disagrees with historians and archaeologists about the origins of the Egyptian pyramids.  Virtually all academics agree that the pyramids were constructed as tombs for Egypt's Pharaohs.  Carson however, referring to the Biblical story of Joseph, insists that the pyramids were built as grain storage facilities when Joseph predicted a future famine to Pharaoh and advised storing grain in anticipation of it. (Genesis 41). Carson advanced his theory 17 years ago, but stood by his contention in comments at a book signing in Florida yesterday.  The Washington Post has extensive excerpts (as well as nearly 15 minutes of video) from Carson's speech 17 years ago, delivered at the commencement ceremonies at the Seventh Day Adventist affiliated Andrews University. In it Carson more broadly defended a literal reading of the Bible. [Thanks to Tom Rutledge for the lead.]

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Ben Carson's Seventh Day Adventist Faith Is Explored

With Ben Carson coming in as either first or second in almost all the Republican presidential polls, yesterday the New York Times posted a lengthy survey of Dr. Carson's Seventh Day Adventist religion and his relationship to the denomination, saying in part:
In an election season where religion and politics have collided frequently, Mr. Carson’s faith remains a mystery to some and is something that could prove to be both a strength and a liability as he moves forward....
The Adventist legacy is rooted in the 19th century and grew out of what was known as the “Great Disappointment.” Most followers consider its initial founder to be William Miller, a Baptist preacher from upstate New York who calculated that Jesus Christ was due to return to earth on Oct. 22, 1844. When the savior failed to show up, the flock was left in a state of despair.
One of Mr. Miller’s followers, Ellen G. White, reconstituted the denomination under the doctrine that Christ had actually relocated to a heavenly sanctuary where he would begin judgment of the world. She was seen as a prophet.
Unlike members of other Christian denominations, Adventists honor the Sabbath on Saturdays instead of Sundays. They tend to be vegetarians and they continue to wait patiently for the Second Coming and the end of the world....
For theological reasons, Adventism has faced tensions with the Catholic and Baptist churches over the years....

Monday, October 26, 2015

Trump Questions Carson's Religious Beliefs

On the Republican presidential campaign trail last week, Donald Trump raised questions about the Seventh Day Adventist beliefs of fellow candidate Ben Carson. According to the New York Post Trump told a Florida audience on Saturday:
I’m Presbyterian. Boy, that’s down the middle of the road folks, in all fairness. I mean, Seventh-day Adventist, I don’t know about. I just don’t know about.
Subsequently Trump refused to apologize for his remarks.

Saturday, October 03, 2015

Carson Want IRS To Penalize CAIR Over Its Call For Him To Leave Presidential Race

As previously reported, last month the Council on American-Islamic Relations called for Dr. Ben Carson to withdraw from the Republican Presidential contest after Carson told an interviewer that a Muslim should not be made President and that Islam is inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution.  Now, as reported by today's Washington Times, Dr. Carson is urging the Internal Revenue Service to immediately revoke CAIR's tax-exempt status.  Carson has posted a petition on his campaign website saying in part:
The Council on Islamic-American Relations (CAIR), a U.S. Muslim group, recently demanded that I withdraw as candidate for the 2016 presidential race. By doing so, the organization has brazenly violated IRS rules prohibiting tax-exempt nonprofits like CAIR to intervene in a political campaign on behalf of—or in opposition to—a candidate. 

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

CAIR Calls For Carson To Withdraw From Presidential Race Because of His Comments About Muslims

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, yesterday CAIR-- the Council on American-Islamic Relations-- called for Dr. Ben Carson to withdraw from the contest for the Republican Presidential nomination, saying that Carson "is unfit to lead and because his views are inconsistent with the United States Constitution."  The call comes after Carson, who identifies as a Seventh Day Adventist, said on Sunday's Meet the Press that a Muslim should not be made President and that Islam is inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution. (See prior posting.)  In an interview with The Hill on Sunday, Carson expanded on  his views:
I do not believe Sharia is consistent with the Constitution of this country.  Muslims feel that their religion is very much a part of your public life and what you do as a public official, and that’s inconsistent with our principles and our Constitution.
According to The Hill:
Carson said that the only exception he’d make would be if the Muslim running for office “publicly rejected all the tenants of Sharia and lived a life consistent with that.”

...  However, on several occasions Carson mentioned "Taqiyya," a practice in the Shia Islam denomination in which a Muslim can mislead nonbelievers about the nature of their faith to avoid religious persecution. “Taqiyya is a component of Shia that allows, and even encourages you to lie to achieve your goals,” Carson said.
CAIR says it will send each candidate in the primaries a copy of the Koran, and will send a copy to any American who requests it and pays the cost of shipping.

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Presidential Hopeful Ben Carson Says Islam Is Not Consistent With U.S. Constitution

In an interview today on Meet the Press (video excerpt), Dr. Ben Carson-- currently one of the leading contenders (latest CNN poll) for the Republican Presidential nomination-- asserted that Islam is inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution. Politico reports on Carson's responses to a series of questions from moderator Chuck Todd triggered by Donald Trump's silence last week on an audience member's assertions about Islam and President Obama:
Asked whether his faith or the faith of a president should matter, Carson said, "It depends on what that faith is."
"If it's inconsistent with the values and principles of America, then of course it should matter. But if it fits within the realm of America and consistent with the constitution, no problem," he explained, according to a transcript.
Todd then asked Carson, whose rise in the polls has been powered in large part by Christian conservatives, if he believed that "Islam is consistent with the Constitution."
"No, I don't, I do not," he responded, adding, "I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that."
Carson said he would not necessarily have the same view about voting for a Muslim for Congress.