Courtesy of Yahoo News:
Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson says Islam is antithetical to the Constitution, and he doesn't believe that a Muslim should be elected president.
Carson, a devout Christian, says a president's faith should matter to voters if it runs counter to the values and principles of America.
Responding to a question during an interview broadcast Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," he described the Islamic faith as inconsistent with the Constitution.
"I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation," Carson said. "I absolutely would not agree with that."
Perhaps somebody should direct Carson's attention to the following:
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.
The President, like all elected officials in this country, are bound to honor and uphold the Constitution, not the Holy Bible.
It should not matter one little bit whether the President is a Christian, a Muslim, a Hindu, a Buddhist, or even an Atheist.
And the fact that it does to Ben Carson, to such an incredible degree, should indicate his lack of fitness to ever be elected to public office in this country.
Many christians think Ben's church---the Seventh Day Adventists are a cult. I wonder what his response would be if this was brought to his attention and he was told no Adventist should ever become president?
ReplyDeleteAnd the curious thing about this stance is this person would be offended if Christianity in any other country was not “welcomed.”
ReplyDeleteBen Carson professes to be Christian. He's African-American, ergo, he's Muslim.
ReplyDeleteWell, while I know lots who are fine people, I absolutely would not agree with a Jew ever being President of the USA. Or a Catholic. Oh wait, haven't we gone there before??
ReplyDeleteI remember in elementary school, our class being incredulous that Americans could ever be that ignorant and, frankly, un-American.
I guess we were ahead of our time, huh?
(In case anyone can't tell, my whole first paragraph was snark. Bitter, bitter snark.)
Anonymous4:57 PM
DeleteWell, while I know lots who are fine people, I absolutely would not agree with a Jew ever being President of the USA. Or a Catholic. Oh wait, haven't we gone there before??
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Muslims, Jews, and Catholics, or those who have no religious affiliation, have just as much right to the presidency as a Christian.
Don't be a bigot like.
If someone said atheists, or gays should never be president, you guys would raise holy hell.
Google "snark".
DeleteGeez, 5:54, did you read the entire 4:57 comment? Especially this sentence:
Delete"(In case anyone can't tell, my whole first paragraph was snark. Bitter, bitter snark.)"
I don't remember the name of the Congressman who said this, and it may not be an exact quote, but he said that some of his colleagues seemed to be forgetting that each of them put their hand on the Bible and swore to uphold the Constitution. They didn't put their hand on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible.
ReplyDeleteNow that I think about it, oaths of office should be sworn on the Constitution, if the office holder has to swear on something. Or use the words of the Founding Fathers about pledging their lives and sacred honor.
And get rid of the Congressional prayer breakfast while we're at it.
"oaths of office should be sworn on the Constitution,
Delete---------------------------------------
Excellent idea, but only after they have been tested on the content.
Colin Powell
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYELqbZAQ4M
I take offense at anyone of any religious affiliation holding any office. I'd prefer that those who make important governmental decision don't believe in ANY sky fairies. It's the first test of intelligence and if one fails that most important test then sorry, no prize.
ReplyDeleteYou can have a religious affiliation, and hold any office you win. Just make sure to separate church from state. For you to say otherwise is just as bad as Carson.
DeleteReligious freedom is in our Constitution. You have the right to not have a religion, and others have just as much right to have a religion.
"I take offense at anyone of any religious affiliation holding any office. "
Delete---------------------------------
Well then you'd better get to work amending the constitution to require that only people who share your beliefs have a right to hold office.
Atheism is no guarantee of intelligence or character.
Thank you, Nefer. You're always a voice of reason here.
Delete7th day adventists are a cult, as are jehovah's witnesses.
ReplyDeleteYes they are And Mormons.
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsccgEjLqMc
all religions are cults
Delete"a misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or thing."
As a Black person myself, it is really disturbing to me to learn that this Black man, Ben Carson, of all people, is a bigot. He has shown himself to be un-presidential. No president should be a bigot.
ReplyDeleteOne of the reasons President Obama won more popular vote than any president in US history, is because he includes everyone, all Americans, no matter what race, religion, or creed.
President Obama and would never think ANY American should not run for, or be president because of their religion.
Thank you, 5;42 PM, and isn't it downright astounding that we, excuse me, the electoral college even better, elected him twice in a landslide.
DeleteI honestly wish I could vote for him a third.
Hey, the last GOP candidate believed that an angel had come to reveal The Word to an illiterate farmhand on golden tablets, that Jesus Christ had visited North America and that, when he died, he'd get his own planet.
ReplyDeleteBut, he was sort of, technically, a "Christian," so that was o.k., right?
There are still people , like huckabee who is a fellow republican , who quote laws that say blacks are not fit to vote let alone hold office because of their race . Ben is saying something similar . Does he look in the mirror ?
ReplyDeleteVisit c4p anyday and watch the meltdown. This country was NOT founded on Christian principles whatsoever, and the queen they worship is the farthest from it. Golden calf, anyone?
ReplyDeleteToo bad that a Muslim is not running for President to give Ben Carson a run for his money. We are not a theocracy and over my dead body will we become one.
ReplyDeleteThis is why I keep all my high powered rifles G. People like Ben Carson keep me hanging on to my guns and my Constitution.
Why do people who don't believe in our Constitution want a job which requires that they adhere to the tenets of that contract????
ReplyDeleteFor the same 2 reasons that Republicans run for office while proclaiming that we should get rid of nearly all government: money and power.
DeleteDevastating. And gloriously sublime.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.baltimoresun.com/news/language-blog/bal-one-reason-to-pay-attention-to-bristol-palin-20150918-story.html
I think Carson added that he thought it's ok with him for a Muslim to be in the US Congress, just not President. It makes me wonder whether Carson has opinion about a Muslim on the Supreme Court.
ReplyDelete(face palm)
I'm not sure that the evangelicals understand his religion. Adventists worship on Saturday ("Seventh Day"), are vegetarians, and do not celebrate Christmas and Easter because they are totally focused on the second coming (the Advent). The church was founded on the belief that Jesus was coming again in 1844. When that didn't happen, Ellen White reformed the church based on the fact that she had been taken into heaven and received direct revelation. KInd of similar to Joseph Smith's revelation, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI grew up around a lot of Adventists and they are good people and are especially healthy because of their diet. They own Loma Linda medical school and hospitals.I have no grief with them. I just think that evangelicals who think he is like them are sorely misguided. But, OTOH, they follow Trump who has no religion (referring to the communion bread as "a little cracker" was kind of a bad sign).
They are not all good people. Take Ben Carson, for example.
DeleteOf course these statements come only a couple weeks after Kim Davis and Mike Huckabee looked directly into the camera and insisted that Christian faith prevented them from following the law and the Constitution.
ReplyDeleteAgain, they and c4p need to read the Constitution and what it stands for.
DeleteI just look at all of them, and say "really?" Why would I ever listen to them, they don't represent any of us. Not a one. What utter bullshit.
ReplyDelete"..the Islamic faith as inconsistent with the Constitution."
ReplyDelete-------------
Has Ben met Christian Kim Davis? Her Christian values don't seem too consistent with the Constitution or the law either.
Mildred
He's a well educated, technically skilled imbecile. As soon as he opens his mouth it's evident that he's got the intellect of a Palin.
ReplyDeleteBut But But...he is the smart one!
DeleteOk. Well.Cool. Is there some especially offensive Muslim person currently aspiring to be nominated to run for POTUS? Dr. Ben needs some actual political topics I think.
ReplyDeleteIt blows my mind that someone who is clearly intelligent, Dr Carson, is so incredibly blind as well as ignorant about our Constitution.
ReplyDeleteHe's got one, very specific, type of intelligence. In every other aspect of his life, he's a dim bulb.
Delete@8:03.
Delete"In every other aspect of his life, he's a dim bulb."
Make that burnt bulb and I can agree. Too bad we can't just twist him out of the socket and put in a new one!
All this does is affirm that all our elected officials should be atheists so that no religion can influence interpretation of the Constitution or sway the elected public servant in the execution of their duties.
ReplyDeleteSo he is right then, no muslim presidents.
DeleteWhat Carson is saying isn't unique to him. We've heard most of the nominees and other 'religious liberty' GOP folk say they believe the Constitution has a Judeo-Christian origin. Media need to start asking the candidates to specify their beliefs on separation of church and state.
ReplyDeletefor example, consider former VP nominee Sarah Palin:
2006 questionnaire for Alaska's gubernatorial race
Question: Are you offended by the phrase "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance? Why or why not?
Palin: Not on your life. If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I'll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance.
May 2010, O'Reilly Factor: " our founding documents...They're quite clear that we would create law based on the God of the Bible and the Ten Commandments. It's pretty simple."
There is something wrong with him, I think. Psychologically. He is not quite right in the head. I am not kidding. I have a hard time believing that he is flat out lying. But, as a doctor, the things he says are so far out of left field, that he seems to have closed his critical thinking skills (and other repressed things) in a vault in his head and thrown away the key. He reminds me of a Stepford wife - he's a Stepford doctor.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.biography.com/people/ben-carson-475422#anger-issues
ReplyDeleteAnger Issues:
Despite his academic successes, Ben Carson still had a raging temper that translated into violent behavior as a child. One time he tried to hit his mother with a hammer because she disagreed with his choice of clothes. Another time, he inflicted a major head injury on a classmate in a dispute over a locker. In a final incident, Ben nearly stabbed to death a friend after arguing over a choice of radio stations.
The only thing that prevented a tragic occurrence was the knife blade broke on the friend's belt buckle. Not knowing the extent of his friend's injury, Ben ran home and locked himself in the bathroom with a Bible. Terrified by his own actions, he started praying, asking God to help him find a way to deal with his temper. He found salvation in the book of Proverbs in a passage that went, "Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city."
"Freedom" is such a difficult concept for conservatives to understand. "Freedom of Religion" is even more difficult for them to wrap their heads around.
ReplyDeleteThey just don't get it.
"...that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights..."
THEIR Creator...
not YOUR Creator, not OUR Creator, not MY Creator
- "THEIR" Creator...
It doesn't matter how strongly YOU embrace YOUR religious views... THEIRS carry just as much weight under the Constitution of the United States.
Even if you believe YOUR religion is "the right one" all the way down in your guts, all the way down to your bones...
YOU don't get to foist YOUR religion upon anyone else (Kim Davis) nor do you get to deny them any rights.
That isn't FREEDOM.
When, in a society, any religion is dominant, then every other religion suffers at least some measure of persecution.
And never forget: in a country where anyone can be persecuted - then ANYONE can be persecuted.
Randall, You are correct. They just don't get it. It is frustrating as hell. I don't get how they don't get it. This has driven me nuts for decades.
DeleteKeep YOUR religion in YOUR heart, YOUR head, YOUR home, and YOUR church. Wish I had a buck for every time I've said that.
The sooner these control freaks are shut down, the better.
One of the big questions in my mind is one these "christian" politicians seem to deliberately ignore. Or even worse, can't seem to see as a possibility.
ReplyDeleteIf they DO succeed in turning this country officially into a christian government, WHICH form of that religion will take precedence?
It is been said there are over 33,000 different denominations of christianity! There have been attempts to unify them all for centuries. Ain't gonna happen. Heck, the catholic church can't get it's act together and unify itself. How the hell are they going to get all the sects and cults and other versions of christianity to agree?
And forget about the attempts being made to come to agreement among the three main monotheistic religions!
So, what are they going to do when that question pops its ugly head up?
I hope they recognize one major point before things come to a head, however: There is NO war more vicious and unforgiving as a religious one!
I'm impressed. The GOP found a brain surgeon candidate so smart he performed his own lobotomy!
ReplyDelete~Canuck~
Hey Canuck, thanks for the snort!
DeleteI hope Trump, Carson and Fiorina suck all the oxygen out of the room and suffocate all the other "real politicians" running in the primary. It must be some sort of message from gawd that these three nimrods are topping the polls.
ReplyDeleteI learned he is a Seventh Day Adventist. The 12th largest religion in the world. The Southern Baptists think that is a cult. They believe in the trinity and that the bible is the direct word and the book that supercedes all other laws in the world. Jews and Islam don't believe in the trinity, therefore can't follow the bible as he deems proper.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that separates this fool and the fool we know as Scott Walker is an advanced degree which led to a respected profession. We all must remember to separate that profession from the idiotic, pandering mouthpiece of a man who practiced it, though.
ReplyDelete