But He Doesn't Get to Decide, We Do.

CNSNews.com) Neurosurgeon and best-selling author Dr. Ben Carson said that although President Barack Obama has claimed America is “not a Judeo-Christian nation,” he is not the one to decide that point, we the people “get to decide that.”

“We as Americans have certain beliefs and cultures that led us to the pinnacle of the world,” said Dr. Carson while speaking at the 8th Annual Defending the American Dream Summit on Friday in Dallas, Texas.

“One of those things is that we are a people of faith,” he said. “I know the president has said that we are not a Judeo-Christian nation. But guess what? He doesn’t get to decide that, we get to decide that.”

Following that remark, attendees of the Americans For Prosperity-sponsored event gave Dr. Carson a standing ovation in the Dallas Omni hotel ballroom. Dr. Carson had prefaced his point by discussing how many brave Americans, from the Revolutionary War forward, had sacrificed their lives to ensure that America was a free country.

President Barack Obama has on several occasions stressed his belief that America is not a Judeo-Christian nation.

Back on April 6, 2009, during a press conference with the president of Turkey, President Obama said, "Although as I mentioned, we have a very large Christian population, we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values. I think modern Turkey was founded with a similar set of principles.”

Dr. Ben Carson is the former director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, and a former professor of neurosurgery, plastic surgery, oncology, and pediatrics. His latest book, One Nation: What We Can All Do to Save America’s Future, was a New York Times best seller, as was his 2012 publication, America the Beautiful: Rediscovering What Made This Nation Great, and four other books.

The Defending the American Dream Summit is an annual event sponsored by Americans for Prosperity and focuses on the ideals of economic freedom and personal liberty.

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/michael-w-chapman/ben-carson-obama-says-we-are-not-judeo-christian-nation-he-doesn-t

President Obama is correct in this case. The USA isn't a theocracy.
We don't get to decide because the 1st Amendment has already decided the issue.

That isn't the point being made. The US legal system, for example, is based of Judeo-Christian values and behavior allowed by law is set by these rules. Sex between adults and small children may be allowed in some religions but not in the US. The article is about culture, not theocracy. We have a Judeo-Christian culture primarily in the US.

I think the presidents point is that the US isn't a theocracy, and cant establish, or promote any religion

I think those protesting are making a point that enough of the values they deem as 'christian' are enforced by the laws to make it a Christian 'culture

neither is incorrect, unless we argue what is exclusively a 'christian' value and what is not,,but that's for anther time,,

for example, marital age is not truly covered in the bible, so whether 'children' had sex or were betrothed is not really a 'christian' value that can be verified or defiled with the bible,,,

msharmony is correct. the Tanak and the New Testament don't describe a specific age when marriage is permissible.

The concept of "minors" used in the USA has not always been what it is now. If I remember correctly, marriages in the USA used to be permissible for females who were under age 13.

The claim that certain laws specific to the USA are based on the Bible is a claim that is often made but never proven.