There was a time, up until recently, that I actually liked Ben Carson. Certainly not for his religious views, as he is a cult member, but for his political views. I liked him as a political candidate. He has strong conservative views on various issues, including abortion, tax laws, immigration, etc. that I agree with as a conservative. However, he has recently turned into a train-wreck of bad theology meets political idealism.
A few weeks ago, the Southern Baptist convention asked Dr. Carson to step down as a conference speaker at the 2015 SBC Pastor’s Conference, at the request of a vocal majority who held concerns over his cult membership. Many believed that his membership in the Seventh Day Adventist cult, an unorthodox expression of false Christian doctrine, disqualified him from addressing our pastors, many of whom are young and impressionable. Many of the SBC elites, who stand to either make money, or some other type of personal gain, expressed a great discontent with the decision to ask Carson not to speak at the meeting. However, since Carson and the SBC parted ways, many things are starting to become clear about the relationship between Carson, and his staunch Baptist supporters.
Dr. Carson holds to the doctrine of tithing. In fact, he says that he believes that people should “tithe the government.” Now, while I understand that he is making a political point by saying this, the fact that he says he gets this idea from the Bible says a lot about Dr. Carson’s theology. Dr. Carson says:
I like the idea of a proportional tax. That way you pay according to your ability, and I got that idea, quite frankly, from the Bible, tithing.
Okay, so why does this matter? Because the Southern Baptist Convention, lead by our first-fruits tithing heresy, Robert Morris-promoting president, Ronnie Floyd, has always held that the Church today is under the Old Testament law of tithing. Therefore, many SBC churches hold their congregations to this false doctrine. David Uth, who was highly critical of the decision to have Dr. Carson removed from the event, also teaches a soft version of seed-faith tithing. Having Dr. Carson speak to this at the convention would have only lent credence to this heresy in many eyes. Dr. Carson’s ability to have such an influence on the church, even though he is part of a well known cult, is dangerous, and as his political influence grows, so will his influence on the Church.
Dr. Carson also recently came out and said that “God gave me the answers to my college chemistry exam in a dream.” Those claiming direct revelation from God is a growing concern among many in the Southern Baptist Convention, as this heresy is running rampant among many false teachers like Beth Moore, Ann Voskamp, and many others. Dr. Carson says:
When I went to take the test the next morning, it was like The Twilight Zone,I opened that book and I recognized the first problem as one of the ones I dreamed about. And the next, and the next, and the next, and I aced the exam and got a good mark in chemistry. It worked out okay and I promised the Lord he would never have to do that for me again.
The fact that Dr. Carson would make a claim like this is extremely troubling. There are two possibilities here. There is the possibility that he is receiving information from sinister spirits, and, as a cult member, this isn’t so outlandish. However, the more likely conclusion here is that he is simply lying about this experience. The scriptures nowhere speak of God giving us direct revelations through dreams today, and most certainly not answers to a chemistry exam. God has revealed himself to us fully through the closed canon of Scripture. This is a ludicrous claim, and those who believe it should seriously examine their own beliefs.
I am very wary of anyone who tries to make political policy out of their religion–especially if their religion is false.
