Carson’s Claims About Pyramids Storing Grain Dismissed

Ben Carson, a Republican presidential candidate, has stated his belief that the biblical figure Joseph built the great pyramids of Egypt for the purpose of storing grain. This assertion is being dismissed by experts who say the accepted science is that the pyramids were used as tombs for pharaohs. Despite this Carson is standing by his claim.

The Republican candidate originally described his theory at a Michigan college connected to the Seventh-day Adventist Church (of which Carson is a member) 17 years ago. A video which shows Carson making these statements was recently posted online by Buzzfeed news.

Carson is referring to a story in the Old Testament where Joseph predicted future famine and advised the pharaoh at the time that surplus food should be stored. Carson states this explanation is more likely than all of the accepted archaeological conclusions that the enormous structures were constructed as tombs for pharaohs. Carson continued, saying, “The secular progressives try to ridicule it every time it comes up and they’re welcome to do that.”

Calling the theory his “personal belief,” Carson said, “I happen to believe a lot of things that you might not believe because I believe in the Bible.”

Neither the Seventh-day Adventist Church (or any other major Jewish or Christian religious organization) shares his belief regarding the pyramids’ origins. Additionally, an expert in biblical archaeology with the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Jodi Magness, says she’s not aware of any scholar, Egyptologist or archaeologist who has questioned whether or not the purpose of the pyramids was for royal tombs. According to Magness, the use of pyramids as tombs is not a topic of academic debate and has been verified by both archaeological evidence and written sources.

Built with secret, narrow passages which were intended to fool grave-robbers, the structures would have been incompatible with grain storage, Magness stated. Moreover, the design of the pyramids and their associated temples, replicates the concept of the cosmos held by ancient Egyptians which asserted that the king or pharaoh was the center of a unified kingdom and served as a god, a divine mediator and a political ruler.

A spokesman with the Seventh-day Adventist Church has said that Carson’s beliefs regarding the pyramids are his own personal beliefs, and that while the church does believe in the biblical story of the famine and Joseph, they were not familiar with the contention that grain was stored in the pyramids.

Carson is a political candidate for the first time and has a proclivity for making headline-grabbing statements. He has likened abortion to slavery and he rejects evolutionary biology. He has compared the fanaticism of Islamic militants to those of American Revolution patriots and suggested that the Holocaust could have been avoided if the Jews had been better armed.

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