Is America Ready for another black president?

Ever since his ferocious attack on President Obama’s policies at the National Prayer breakfast at the Washington Hilton in Washington DC, on February 7, 2013, Pediatric Neurosurgeon, Dr. Benjamin Carson, has been growing in popularity and has become the darling favorite of the  Republican party as their presidential candidate for 2016.

But who really is Dr. Benjamin Carson?

He shares his story in his first book, an autobiographical masterpiece, entitled, Gifted Hands. In it he tells of his childhood in a poverty stricken environment in Detroit, Michigan. He was raised by a single mother who instilled in Ben and his older brother that they can become anything they want to be. The title of his autobiography bespeaks his rise from the ghetto to become the classless Pediatric Neurosurgeon of his time, perhaps of all of medical history. This enviable position was attained through his successful separation of conjoined twins joined at the head.

He has since become something of an iconic figure in modern American history. Not only has he risen from the depths of poverty to the height of the medical profession; he is world famous for his humanitarian work, charitable endeavors, and motivator-in-chief for the under privileged. He has received over sixty honorary degrees along with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and numerous other awards for his life’s work. But his burning desire for making America a better place, one that he passionately believes the forefathers intended it to be, is what has kept him on center stage in recent times. In his latest book, ONE NATION…What can we all do to save America’s Future, he writes, “Our nation’s founders felt very strongly that our system of government could only survive with a well-informed and educated populace.… Totalitarianism always starts with restrictions on the rights of others. We must avoid this at all costs. George Washington even said, ‘If the freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.’…”

This best seller, to political observers and commentators, is yet another step in his march towards the presidency of the United States. In it he focuses upon those ideas which he believes can make the better America he feels the forefathers envisioned. He also shares his views for less government, more equitable taxation, and greater responsibility on all levels of society. His own life is a testimony of what the latter can accomplish.

In addition to this very timely manifesto, Dr. Carson has been making the media rounds, honing strategic speaking engagements, and providing the usual familiar ‘haven’t yet made a decision on running’ comments quite typical of candidates obviously laying the ground work for a run for nation’s highest elected office. He won the Republican Iowa Straw Poll with more than double the votes of his closest rival. Dr. Carson continues to be a top speaker at Republican events of a national nature.

With all this popularity and political momentum, the question begs to be answered, Is America ready for another black president? That’s a question that only time and providence can answer.

In all his maneuvering, however, one aspect of Dr. Carson’s identity that has thus far evaded scrutiny is his religion. He is a life-long Seventh-day Adventist and credits much of his success to his single mom who raised him in that faith. He reveres, lives with, and takes excellent care of.

The Seventh-day Adventist denomination is an American born Christian movement that grew out of the Great Awakening of the early to mid 1800’s. Of course, one of its distinguishing features, as its name entails, is the keeping of the Bible Sabbath as opposed to Sunday keeping which is practiced by almost all of the rest of Christendom. The other feature of the movement, Adventists, is the belief in the second, visible, and glorious coming of Jesus Christ. The Seventh-day Adventists are also known for their adherence to health principles, which research has repeatable shown, enables them to live an average of 10 years longer than the general population. Its World-Wide Missionary endeavors, International Relief mechanisms, global network of schools, hospitals, and publishing houses are supported by almost 20 million faithful members residing on every continent on planet earth. No other Protestant denomination comes close. All this would certainly benefit Dr. Carson in his run for the White House. But there is one element of his beloved religion that would certainly pose a challenge to the electorate, and perhaps obstacle, to his presidential ambition, i.e. his church’s Eschatology (View of end-time events).

According to Seventh-day Adventist theology, this very America, which Dr. Ben is so passionate about improving, will form an alliance with the Roman Catholic Papacy, one that will deprive Americans and others around the world of their highly cherished Civil and Religious Liberties. Specifically, the Seventh-day Adventist church teaches that this alliance of America and the Papacy will force the world to honor Sunday as a sacred day of rest and worship in opposition to lovingly and voluntarily allowing men and women to choose the Bible Sabbath which it believes God ordains. The church believes that this controversy will ultimately develop into a tectonic struggle of apocalyptic proportions in which millions will be killed who do not go along with the requirements of the alliance’s call for Sunday sacredness (Revelation Ch. 13). Many believe that this alliance is being formed before our very eyes.  They cite the ‘Holy Alliance’ (Time magazine, Cover story, February 1992), when former president Ronald Reagan joined forces with the late Pope John Paul ll to defeat Communism, as the beginning of this union. Today, the call from Rome for universal Sunday sacredness is rapidly intensifying around the world.

Pope Francis lamented the abandoning of the traditionally Christian practice of not working on Sundays, saying it has a negative impact on families and friendships. … He says that spending Sundays with family and friends is an ‘ethical choice’ for faithful and non-faithful alike.” He later added, “Preserving the special character of Sunday as the Lord’s Day — even civilly where possible.”

Here are some other pronouncements that Ben Carson’s Seventh-day Adventists believe are supportive of their interpretation of End-Time Bible prophecy:

“When, through the centuries, she has made laws concerning Sunday rest, the Church has had in mind above all the work of servants and workers, certainly not because this work was any less worthy when compared to the spiritual requirements of Sunday observance, but rather because it needed greater regulation to lighten its burden and thus enable everyone to keep the Lord’s Day holy. In this matter, my predecessor Pope Leo XIII in his Encyclical Rerum Novarum spoke of Sunday rest as a worker’s right which the State must guarantee” (Pope John Paul 11, Dies Domini, Section 66).

“Sunday is our mark of authority…the church is above the Bible, and the transference of Sabbath is proof of that fact.” (Catholic Record, Sept 1, 1923)

“Perhaps the boldest thing, the most revolutionary change the church ever did happened in the first century. The holy day, the Sabbath, was changed to Sunday…not from any directions noted in Scriptures, but from the church’s sense of its own power…People who think that the Scriptures should be the sole authority, should logically become Seventh-day Adventists, and keep Saturday holy” (Saint Catherine Catholic Church Sentinel, May 21, 1995).

“Christians will naturally strive to ensure that civil legislation respects their duty to keep Sunday holy” (Dies Domini, Section 67).

There is a growing movement that is calling attention to this conflict.

Undoubtedly, not unlike Mitt Romney, a previous presidential candidate with close ties to his Mormon church, Dr. Ben Carson’s religion has now come under intense scrutiny. The question is, will the good doctor hold fast to his religious faith whatever maybe the cost; or will he, like the current president, who happens to be black, make a 180 degree turn on gay marriage, thereby renouncing his faith for political gain? This is inevitably a decision Dr. Carson will have to struggle with should he choose to continue his quest to make America a better place as its next president.

The question, however, is “Is America ready for another black president, one who is a Seventh-day Adventist?”

Again, only time and providence will tell.