Discovering a Gem

Spirituality Column #52
November 6, 2007
Current in Carmel (IN) newspaper

Discovering a Gem
By Bob Walters

“As a nation we have to understand that it is OK to have Godly values. If the idea of God is in our country’s founding documents (… endowed by our Creator …), in our pledge of allegiance (… under God …), in our courts (… so help me God …) and in our wallets (currency “In God We Trust”), and our country is trying to tell us not to talk about God, well, there is a medical term for that … schizophrenia.” – Dr. Ben Carson

If you haven’t yet heard of Dr. Ben Carson, I’m praying that we will be hearing more from him soon.

Carson is head of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore. He became famous in 1987 for separating cranially conjoined Siamese twins at JHMI, and repeated the procedure 10 years later in Zambia. He is the author of three books with a fourth on the way, and he grew up dirt poor in the hard inner city of Detroit.

And he’s black.

And he’s a Yale graduate.

And he’s energetically Christian.

And he’s a prostate cancer survivor.

And he has a sharp eye for irony and truth.

And he’s terrific to listen to about his faith, our country, black culture, medical ethics, the American medical system, and I’m sure other subjects. No room for the long list of profound observations and wry one-liners here, but Google Dr. Ben Carson.

Carson, 56, showed up recently on C-Span which aired his Oct. 23 presentation at the Baltimore Speakers Series, a “cultural entertainment series of diverse opinions.”

Carson on America: “There is something special about us. If we work together, we can do anything.”

On overly expensive U.S. health care: “We are oriented toward sickness. When we are oriented toward wellness, we will save a lot of money.”

Does he favor universal healthcare? “No, but I favor good health for everyone.”

On stem cells: “It is very promising, but research hasn’t moved as fast as it could in America because it has become a political football. When we learn to do stem cells, there will be advancement in the treatment of neurological trauma.”

On growing up: “We spend the first 20 to 25 years preparing or not preparing for life, and then spend the next 60 years either reaping the benefits, or paying the consequences.”

He drew a standing ovation … a first for the two-year-old series, the moderator said.

Carson has been brilliant for years (he’s had the JHMI directorship since he was 32), but a televised, uber-intelligent, relevant, makes-a-ton-of-sense TV appearance can launch a lifetime of achievement into looking like an overnight success.

I’d love to see Carson in the mainstream of American commentary. It would be a great spot for a brilliant physician and a true Christian believer.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) notes that Carson is a Seventh Day Adventist, a denomination with a solid confession of the Triune God.  To see his much discussed 2013 National Prayer Breakfast Speech, Click here: Dr Ben Carson - C-SPAN Video Library