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Ben Carson's faith has recently become an issue on the campaign trail, as contrasted with Donald Trump's faith. The exchange was largely along the lines of personal views and piety. However, a broader discussion of Carson's views seems likely at some point. This thread is examining how Ben Carson's faith as a Seventh-day Adventist might impact his campaign and his presidency.
A couple of points to get things started, but discussion may branch out to any connections to his Seventh-day Adventist faith.
a. His faith may inform individual policy positions. For instance, Carson mentioned during the first debates that he would prefer a flat tax, similar to the the tithe of Scriptures.
b. In an interview some time back the question was raised about how his Sabbath-observance would be impacted by his recent political exposure. Adventists keep the Sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, refraining from work (an interesting exception for many Adventists is often health care work, and of course Carson's background is that of a surgeon. )
At the time this was the exchange on Sabbath keeping:
http://news.adventist.org/all-news/...-carson-handles-spotlight-prayerfully-humbly/
ANN: With the increased media attention, do you keep Sabbath any differently than you did before?
Carson: Not really. Sabbath is still a precious day for us. We go to church as often as we can. Even if we’re on the road we treat it as a different day than all the others.
On the other hand, some posts by Adventists in social media have questioned recent appearances by Carson for political speech on Sabbath.
Would it work for a president of the United states to take one day off a week? What exceptions would qualify? Will Carson stick to principles on this, or see it as a necessary thing to perform some tasks on Sabbath?
One thing I think that will appeal to many is that while Carson does hold many views which are similar to evangelicals, (and a number of views which are not), the Adventist church has a very strong view of religious liberty, which they extend not only to Christian denominations, but also other religions.
The Adventist church released a statement on his candidacy, and urged churches and employees to not endorse Carson in an official church capacity, or any other candidate. Individual church members are of course able to endorse any candidate. This was in line with their historic position on the issue, as well as a reminder to safe-guard tax exempt status by complying with regulations.
http://www.adventistreview.org/chur...tatement-on-ben-carsons-u.s.-presidential-bid
Some of Carson's statements in the past have indicated as well that he respects other faiths, even non-Christian faiths. Yet some see his religious views as already influencing some of his policy (see the tithe/tax example above).
In the interest of full disclosure, I am a former Seventh-day Adventist, and currently attend an American Baptist church. I would have no issue voting for an Adventist in general, but I do not care for a number of specific policies of Carson, so likely would not vote for him in the Republican primaries at least. However, I still find the issue interesting to consider how the faith of various candidates might influence their positions, campaign, or style of governance.
A couple of points to get things started, but discussion may branch out to any connections to his Seventh-day Adventist faith.
a. His faith may inform individual policy positions. For instance, Carson mentioned during the first debates that he would prefer a flat tax, similar to the the tithe of Scriptures.
b. In an interview some time back the question was raised about how his Sabbath-observance would be impacted by his recent political exposure. Adventists keep the Sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, refraining from work (an interesting exception for many Adventists is often health care work, and of course Carson's background is that of a surgeon. )
At the time this was the exchange on Sabbath keeping:
http://news.adventist.org/all-news/...-carson-handles-spotlight-prayerfully-humbly/
ANN: With the increased media attention, do you keep Sabbath any differently than you did before?
Carson: Not really. Sabbath is still a precious day for us. We go to church as often as we can. Even if we’re on the road we treat it as a different day than all the others.
On the other hand, some posts by Adventists in social media have questioned recent appearances by Carson for political speech on Sabbath.
Would it work for a president of the United states to take one day off a week? What exceptions would qualify? Will Carson stick to principles on this, or see it as a necessary thing to perform some tasks on Sabbath?
One thing I think that will appeal to many is that while Carson does hold many views which are similar to evangelicals, (and a number of views which are not), the Adventist church has a very strong view of religious liberty, which they extend not only to Christian denominations, but also other religions.
The Adventist church released a statement on his candidacy, and urged churches and employees to not endorse Carson in an official church capacity, or any other candidate. Individual church members are of course able to endorse any candidate. This was in line with their historic position on the issue, as well as a reminder to safe-guard tax exempt status by complying with regulations.
http://www.adventistreview.org/chur...tatement-on-ben-carsons-u.s.-presidential-bid
Some of Carson's statements in the past have indicated as well that he respects other faiths, even non-Christian faiths. Yet some see his religious views as already influencing some of his policy (see the tithe/tax example above).
In the interest of full disclosure, I am a former Seventh-day Adventist, and currently attend an American Baptist church. I would have no issue voting for an Adventist in general, but I do not care for a number of specific policies of Carson, so likely would not vote for him in the Republican primaries at least. However, I still find the issue interesting to consider how the faith of various candidates might influence their positions, campaign, or style of governance.
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