Dr Ben Carson - Post 2016 Election

[RZehr]

The bananas? I don't get it.

Think of "going bananas" in the sense of taking temporary leave of one's faculties.

Okay I get it. To suble for me.

[MaxPC]

I disagree about Dr. Carson's recent decisions being questionable and waffling. All of us go through periods of discernment in trying to understand God's will for our lives...all of us. That's the process I'm perceiving with Dr. Carson. He's always seemed to be a sincere Christian.

Most of us have the luxury of going through the discernment and decision-making privately while Dr. Carson has had the harsh public spotlight of the mass media scrutinizing his every comment, thought and decision, mercilessly.

For that reason I think it's a Christian prerogative to ignore the media and give Dr. Carson the benefit of charitable doubt, especially since he was one of the first to recognize the importance of the Supreme Court and who will be replacing several justices. The liberal justices on the Supreme Court have been unfriendly to religious freedom decisions.

[Bootstrap]

Am I the only one here without the ability to discern exactly what's going on in the heart of whatever public figure we start discussing? Where do you all get this inside knowledge - is it direct revelation from the Holy Spirit?

[PeterG]

I'm confident that Dr. Carson has the best of intentions, but if his goal is to influence society for good as much as possible, he has already failed. Dr. Carson could be the greatest HUD secretary imaginable, but his potential impact as a cabinet member can never even begin to approach the positive impact that his Christian testimony had before he entered politics. The state's use of power is both contrary to the way of Christ and counterproductive as a way of promoting God's kingdom. This is a basic principle of an Anabaptist understanding of the New Testament. "The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds."

[PeterG]

I think it's a Christian prerogative to ignore the media and give Dr. Carson the benefit of charitable doubt.

The benefit of charitable doubt about what?

[ken_sylvania]

Am I the only one here without the ability to discern exactly what's going on in the heart of whatever public figure we start discussing? Where do you all get this inside knowledge - is it direct revelation from the Holy Spirit?

Thank you for the reminder Bootstrap.
My sisters like to tell me that:

46969-small-minds-discuss-people-quote.png (538.59 KiB) Viewed 432 times

[MaxPC]

I think it's a Christian prerogative to ignore the media and give Dr. Carson the benefit of charitable doubt.

The benefit of charitable doubt about what?

Am referring to the comments made about his last few public positions are seen as waffling. See my full post for the context below please.

I disagree about Dr. Carson's recent decisions being questionable and waffling. All of us go through periods of discernment in trying to understand God's will for our lives...all of us. That's the process I'm perceiving with Dr. Carson. He's always seemed to be a sincere Christian.

Most of us have the luxury of going through the discernment and decision-making privately while Dr. Carson has had the harsh public spotlight of the mass media scrutinizing his every comment, thought and decision, mercilessly.

For that reason I think it's a Christian prerogative to ignore the media and give Dr. Carson the benefit of charitable doubt, especially since he was one of the first to recognize the importance of the Supreme Court and who will be replacing several justices. The liberal justices on the Supreme Court have been unfriendly to religious freedom decisions.

[Bootstrap]

For that reason I think it's a Christian prerogative to ignore the media and give Dr. Carson the benefit of charitable doubt, especially since he was one of the first to recognize the importance of the Supreme Court and who will be replacing several justices. The liberal justices on the Supreme Court have been unfriendly to religious freedom decisions.

If we ignore the media, we probably won't be discussing Ben Carson much. And I'm guessing the HUD secretary won't be appointing supreme court justices.

[PeterG]

I think it's a Christian prerogative to ignore the media and give Dr. Carson the benefit of charitable doubt.

The benefit of charitable doubt about what?

Am referring to the comments made about his last few public positions are seen as waffling. See my full post for the context below please.

I disagree about Dr. Carson's recent decisions being questionable and waffling. All of us go through periods of discernment in trying to understand God's will for our lives...all of us. That's the process I'm perceiving with Dr. Carson. He's always seemed to be a sincere Christian.

Most of us have the luxury of going through the discernment and decision-making privately while Dr. Carson has had the harsh public spotlight of the mass media scrutinizing his every comment, thought and decision, mercilessly.

For that reason I think it's a Christian prerogative to ignore the media and give Dr. Carson the benefit of charitable doubt, especially since he was one of the first to recognize the importance of the Supreme Court and who will be replacing several justices. The liberal justices on the Supreme Court have been unfriendly to religious freedom decisions.

From a conservative Anabaptist perspective, Dr. Carson's recent decisions are worse than questionable. His actions correspond most closely to option 6 from Dan Z's poll, the option most at odds with Anabaptist belief and practice. Furthermore, his relationship with President-elect Trump seems inconsistent with his character and the positions he has espoused in the past. It may be irreverent or even disrespectful to describe this as "waffling," but it is not unfair to note the inconsistency.

Charity is always important, and I am in no way questioning Dr. Carson's sincerity or Christianity. In that sense, he certainly deserves the benefit of the doubt, which I believe he is being given here on MN. But according to an Anabaptist understanding of the situation, Dr. Carson's actions are objectively incorrect.

[temporal1]

Is Dr Carson singularly to blame for his Anabaptist failures? i wonder.
When i look at the world, i tend to think, we Christians have not done our jobs. Not just Anabaptists.

Jesus gave us 1 job.

How many CO's have gone to meet with Dr Carson to share this wisdom? any?

Dr Carson is SDA, i barely know what this is.
i believe he is trying to follow God's Will for himself, and, i don't believe this is a new endeavor for him. he is trying to be a Salt+Light in the world, as far as he understands that, and, he may not understand "Salt+Light" as Anabaptists do.

i believe he feels blessed in his life in countless ways, and his intent now is to serve.
most in his position do not give a thought to service to others.

Jesus loves servants.

Has anyone reached out to him? it could be!
i know he is personally known by some CM's (who shared some of their personal experiences with him on MD.) i do not know.

i have not reached out to him personally. i read things. about different people.