Politics

Video: Melissa Harris Perry, guests, discuss ‘simple’ faith of Ben Carson’s evangelical supporters

mhp-guest-carsonIf it’s a weekend, there’s a good chance that someone at MSNBC is going to say something really stupid about one or more of the GOP candidates.  This week, it’s Jacqui Lewis, the senior minister of Middle Collegiate Church, who told Melissa Harris Perry that Ben Carson is a “non-threatening black body.”

Moreover, she said that Evangelical Christians who support Carson have a faith that seeks “simple answers” that need to “evolve” into something more collectivist.  Video of the MSNBC segment can be seen below:


“I would say this read on to the black body thing. You know, this is a black body that can be read on to with all of this evangelical fervor, non-threatening black body, non-angry black body, speak — sharing our values black body,” she said. “So, I would really love to hear Dr. Carson talk about Black Lives Matter and see how many people would stay supportive of him then.”

Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?

She also told Harris-Perry that “a simple answer doesn’t work for African-American folks. I think we understand our faith is a really important part of our lives, and we know that there’s something about personal transformation, but I think the black church, and I think most black Christians, no matter Evangelical or progressive, understand the transformation isn’t just an individual transaction. We would say we’re not saved until everybody’s saved. So, the transformation of systems, the eradication of poverty, housing, healthcare, all those kinds of things, that justice pocket of faith, I think is really important for black folks. And here’s — just to sort say a little more about the Ben Carson phenomenon, I think his narrative, I mean, as a young black person, he was my hero. I think all of us are captivated by this story like Paul, you know,Ii used to be violent, I was blind ,and now i can see, but there’s something that is missing if the narrative doesn’t continue to evolve to where individual responsibility can’t be the only answer and that there has to be some corporate responsibility as a part of our faith.”

I’ve looked in my Bible, and I can’t find anything that says salvation is a collective issue.  I also don’t see anything that suggests “corporate responsibility.”  Then again, my version doesn’t include the more progressive books like II Opinion…

Related:

If you haven’t checked out and liked our Facebook page, please go here and do so.

Joe Newby

A 10-year veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, Joe ran for a city council position in Riverside, Calif., in 1991 and managed successful campaigns for the Idaho state legislature. Co-author of "Banned: How Facebook enables militant Islamic jihad," Joe wrote for Examiner.com from 2010 until it closed in 2016 and his work has been published at Newsbusters, Spokane Faith and Values and other sites. He now runs the Conservative Firing Line.

Related Articles

Our Privacy Policy has been updated to support the latest regulations.Click to learn more.×