Donald Trump's attacks on Ben Carson's faith fall flat in Iowa

Donald Trump isn't so sure about Ben Carson's religion, skeptically telling a Florida rally on Saturday, "I mean, Seventh-Day Adventist, I don't know about." Iowans, however, do.

"For Donald Trump, as a name-only Presbyterian, to be criticizing somebody else for their faith statements is laughable. This is a guy who can't even quote a Bible scripture to someone," Mike Demastus, a pastor at Fort Des Moines Church of Christ, told The Des Moines Register.

Demastus added in a separate interview with the Register that Seventh-day Adventists "believe whole-heartedly in Jesus Christ and his sacrifice on the cross," and that, "It's not like Mitt Romney and Mormonism. That's an entirely different issue for Christians in the state of Iowa. Mormonism takes a completely different view of Jesus — they have other scriptures."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"Personally, I think we should look at each candidate individually in regards to their character and their positions on the issues rather than trying to bring up their religious background as a test," Jeremiah Smart, a Des Moines area Seventh-day Adventist pastor, said.

Barbara Nuechterlein, a retiree from Cedar Rapids, is unsure of Seventh-day Adventists but that doesn't make her rule out Carson. "They're entitled to believe what they believe, and that's what makes America great," she said.

Ben Carson has overtaken perennial frontrunner Trump in both the Iowa polls and nationally.