How a Little Boy's Brain Tumor Miracle Transformed Ben Carson's View of God

By Billy Hallowell (Pureflix), Pureflix.com Monday, August 20, 2018

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson speaks at the Carolina Values Summit in Rock Hill, South Carolina on Feb. 11, 2016. | (Photo: David Whitlow)

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson was once one of the world's most famous neurosurgeons, saving the lives of children with complex and deadly health conditions. With faith as his guide, the celebrated doctor took on procedures that had never been successfully performed — and helped pave new ground in neuroscience.

In a recent episode of PureFlix.com's "Pure Talk," Carson shared the stunning ways in which God surprised him early on in his career.

"I discovered early on in my neurosurgeon career that God was a neurosurgeon," Carson said, going on to explain the miraculous case surrounding a little boy who had an inoperable brain stem tumor.

Watch Carson explain the miracle that transformed his views on God:

Carson said that the child's parents had "great faith" that God had brought them to Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore for a cure, but Carson had little confidence he could help.

"The parents had great faith and they said, 'The Lord sent us here,' " he said. "I said, 'There's nothing I can do, there's nothing anybody can do about this.'"

But Carson ended up operating anyway, removing as much of the tumor as he could. He later went to the parents and explained that he couldn't remove the entire mass.

The parents responded by again holding out hope, believing that God would heal their son. Their unshakable faith absolutely stunned Carson.

"I said, 'I've never seen people with that kind of faith,' fully expecting [the boy] to deteriorate and die," Carson said.

At that point, the exact opposite happened, and the boy started to improve. After conducting more scans, Carson realized that the child's tumor was potentially not attached to the brain stem. He conducted another surgery and found that his theory was correct.

To Carson's surprise, he was able to totally remove the tumor — and save the little boy's life.

"He walked out of the hospital and today is a minister," Carson said of the child.

The miraculous healing was so shocking that an oncologist who didn't believe much in faith later approached Carson with a stunning admission.

"[The oncologist] said, 'I've never been a believer, but I am now,'" Carson said.

In the end, though, Carson believes the ordeal was a lesson for him, as he had a high view of himself at the time. He was a doctor who had achieved so much at a young age, but that healing showed him that it was God who guided his successes, not himself.

"I said, 'Lord, from now on you be the neurosurgeon and I'll be the hands,'" Carson said.

Watch Carson's full "Pure Talk" interview:

For more about Carson's personal story, stream "Gifted Hands" on PureFlix.com. You can watch "Gifted Hands" as well as thousands of other inspirational movies and TV shows at home or on the go for free during your one-month PureFlix.com trial.

This article was originally published on Pure Flix Insider. Visit Pure Flix for access to thousands of faith and family friendly movies and TV shows. You can get a free, one-month trial here.

Billy Hallowell, author of "The Armageddon Code," has contributed to TheBlaze, the Washington Post, Human Events, the Daily Caller, Mediaite, and the Huffington Post, among other news sites. Through journalism, media, public speaking appearances, and the blogosphere, Hallowell has worked as a journalist and commentator for more than a decade.