Tell the Truth Dr. Carson

Last updated on: November 9, 2015 at 5:07 pm by John Mark N. Reynolds

Tell the Truth Dr. Carson 2015-11-09T17:07:13-04:00 John Mark N. Reynolds

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Dr. Carson has earned a second look from all traditional Christian voters. I had dismissed him earlier because he lacks the traditional qualifications for political offices and shows a lack of depth on many issues. However, this may be the year for the “outsider” and Dr. Carson is intelligent, has a heroic backstory, and is learning quickly.

One thing he should not learn is how to lie like a politician.

When asked about his involvement in a dodgy supplement company, Dr. Carson denied any involvement with the organization. This is only defensible in a Clinton-world where words get parsed and relationships are legally defined. He spoke for the business, he said he uses their product, he appeared in a commercial for the company. Read this story and watch the video.

That is “working” for the company in the common folk definition of the term and “endorsing them” as most of us understand it. The legal niceties may give him wiggle room, but we are electing Carson to a great extent based on his (otherwise) great character and not on much else. If we gain a good reason to question his character, what else does he have going for him?

My greatest fear is that this decent man has fallen into the world of Professional Christian Incorporated where truth is stretched and ethics challenged. Ghost writers produce books that the author could not have written, but get no credit or almost no credit on the cover. For profit and not for profit companies mingle in ways that are legal, but feel weird for a ministry. Truth becomes a matter of what is precisely true given this long complex contract, not true as most people understand it.

We know that Carson worked for a speakers group and they paid him. We know that if Evil Incorporated had tried to hire him, Carson would have turned down the gig. He has a say. He did not just go to the supplement group and give his generic stump speech, he touted their product. As a medical doctor, a superb surgeon, his opinion had extra weight. He did not use the phrase “endorse,” but appearing in a commercial is helping sell the product.

The company made enough dodgy health claims they had to pay a very large fine . . . and this is usually hard to get a company to do since they most often have parsed their language enough to slip through the legal cracks. The ethics of that kind of behavior is also questionable. If Dr. Carson wants to be President of the United States, he can put all this behind him.

He can tell the truth and leave Professional Christian Incorporated behind him. Here is the truth: “I took this supplement. I liked the product. I made some paid speeches for them and appeared in a video commercial. I did not know the company was engaged in bad business practices. I should have been more careful and I was not. While I technically did not work for the company or “endorse” them, reasonable people would think I did.” He should then borrow a page from Lee Iacocca faced with a problem at Chrysler and say: “I screwed up. My integrity means more to me than the money or technicalities. I will return this payment.”

This will put the issue behind him for the rest of the campaign. If he cannot do this, we don’t need someone who cannot escape the dirty underbelly of the Evangelical movement as our standard-bearer.

Politics

Previous Post

October 28, 2015

On Being Humble

Next Post

October 30, 2015 Fear Not!

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Apologetics Art Culture Education On Books On Education Philosophy Politics Pop Culture Spiritual Reflections Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 July 2025 June 2025 September 2024 July 2024 June 2024 December 2023 June 2023 September 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which Christian group is known for speaking in tongues?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Baptist Methodist Catholic Pentecostal

Books by This Author John Mark Reynolds

See All Titles »