Footage has come to light of presidential hopeful, Ben Carson, saying he believed the Biblical figure Joseph built the pyramids to store grain. He also said that scientists can only explain the pyramids with outlandish theories of super-intelligent aliens, despite the huge amounts of written evidence the Ancient Egyptians left behind to explain why they built the pyramids – they were tombs.
Carson gave the speech in 1998 as the keynote speaker for graduates at Andrews University, the flagship university of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.
Carson, a former neurosurgeon, has enjoyed a recent boost in popularity during the ongoing Republican leadership campaigns. The latest survey, by NBC News, puts his support at 29 percent, six points up on the former front-runner, Donald Trump.
The speech came to light after a recent Buzzfeed News article published a video recording of it. Last Wednesday, CBS News asked Carson whether his views have changed since 1998, to which he replied: “It’s still my belief, yes.”
In the speech he said:
“My own personal theory is that Joseph built the pyramids to store grain. Now all the archeologists think that they were made for the pharaohs’ graves. But, you know, it would have to be something awfully big if you stop and think about it. And I don’t think it’d just disappear over the course of time to store that much grain.
“And when you look at the way that the pyramids are made, with many chambers that are hermetically sealed, they’d have to be that way for various reasons,” Carson said. “And various of scientists have said, ‘Well, you know there were alien beings that came down and they have special knowledge and that’s how’ – you know, it doesn’t require an alien being when God is with you.
“People may not even be able to explain what it is that you’re accomplishing, but they don’t have to be able to explain it when God is there.”
In the speech, he also said, “they [scientists] never have an answer for these kind of things. That’s the wonderful thing about having a relationship with God. God has already told us what happened.”
The comments have been met with ridicule and disbelief, such as the Twitter hashtag #bencarsonwikipedia, which satirizes the comments.
And Pharaoh said "Like mannatech from heaven, welcome to my grain pyramid!" #bencarsonwikipedia pic.twitter.com/NTrnLPRM2d
— Jeremy Newberger (@jeremynewberger) November 6, 2015
When mice reach puberty they become rats. #bencarsonwikipedia
— Mike Monteiro (@monteiro) November 6, 2015
#BenCarsonWikipedia Stonehenge was put together by amateur Lego enthusiasts
— Ryan C (@HayekandHockey) November 6, 2015
You can view the speech in full here.
[H/T Buzzfeed]
