By Michal Ortner
Lining the walls of 2016 presidential candidate Ben Carson’s home are awards for the achievement and contributions that he has made in the field of neurological science and surgery. Within another frame, one particularly odd painting has everyone talking. Some are wondering about a painting of Carson with Black Jesus.
Though the painting has been called both interesting and odd, some are wondering if it is a hindrance in the realm of gaining votes from conservative Christians.
Ed Straker of the AmericanThinker.com says, “The painting could be viewed as an expression of Carson’s feeling of closeness to Jesus, on the one hand. Or it could be interpreted as Carson’s belief that he is the anointed representative of the black Jesus on Earth, which smacks of hubris.”
He also comments that it is highly unlikely that most conservative-based Christians have their own self-portraits with Jesus hanging in their homes.
“The change in Jesus’s race might cause problems, too. Most Christians believe that Jesus was white. Jesus, they say, was a Jew, and this was way, way before Sammy Davis, Jr.,” Straker adds.
The painting was discovered back in 2009 when Baltimore Magazine did a profile on Carson and had one of their photographers gather photos of his Upperco, MD home.
“We are very spiritual people, so you will see a lot of Bibles around the house and things that are indicative of that,” Carson told the magazine as he pointed to the Jesus painting.
“I don’t have to be politically correct here,” he added.
Instead of viewing it as a piece of art that is personal to the former neurosurgeon, most see the painting as a narcissistic way for Carson to display himself in his own home. Also mentioned in the various articles and social media posts is the Ben Carson “me-wall,” where he keeps awards and memorabilia from his biographical movie, “Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story.”
Twitter user, Laura McGinnis, writes, “@bcuban @DennisG_Shea Not only does Carson have way too many of himself…the one where he’s with Jesus is bizarre, IMO.”
“@realbencarson has some major self-esteem issues. Imagine electing a weirdo who has paintings of himself with Jesus,” another user wrote.
“I know the Constitution says there can be no religious test for holding office,” Bill Maher said of the painting on his show “Real Time.”
“But, sorry, you can’t get you hands on the nuclear launch codes if you own a painting of yourself with Jesus in a bathrobe,” he added, making fun of the candidate.
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