SILVER SPRING, Md. — General Conference officials are reporting a torrential outpouring of relief from Seventh-day Adventists around the world as news spreads that Adventist retired neurosurgeon and 2016 US presidential hopeful, Ben Carson, is ending his campaign for the White House.
“It’s definitely a bittersweet moment,” said GC Communications spokesperson Cuba Gooding, when asked to explain why Adventists are reacting as they are to the news. “All 18 million of us are proud of Dr. Carson’s record as a surgeon but just about everyone was nervous about how things would turn out when he said he was running for president and started making controversial statements.”
Gooding said that Adventists worldwide have been obsessed with the 2016 presidential election from the moment Dr. Carson challenged President Obama’s agenda at the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast.
As a church, Adventists are “more jittery than most” about having one of their own in the political spotlight, said Gooding. “In our heart of hearts we still only see three real career tracks for Adventists: pastoring, teaching or something medical. Running for president isn’t something we push.”
Adventist theology may be the biggest reason for Adventist relief at Carson’s campaign coming to an end, said Gooding. “Having an Adventist in charge of the most powerful country on earth has never really squared with us prophetically.”
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