Ben Carson Reveals the Death-Defying Moment He Truly Embraced God

Dr. Ben Carson overcame a childhood of intense poverty and struggle to become one of the most famous neurosurgeons in the world – but his story didn't end there.

Carson, an outspoken Christian who currently serves as the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), also ran for president in 2016, inspiring millions of people in the process.

Carson has long been open about his deep faith in God, routinely showcasing his calm and kind demeanor as he navigates the political landscape and shares his past struggles and victories.

But the man that many now know as a faithful and compassionate leader wasn't always so calm and collected, as he revealed in an interview with PureFlix.com's "Pure Talk" that a potentially disastrous decision he made as a teenager could have ruined his life.

"When I was 14 ... I had a pretty violent temper," Carson said. "I would go after people with sticks and baseball bats and hammers and rocks, and when I was 14 ... I got so angry I tried to stab another youngster."

Fortunately, the stabbing didn't cause major damage to the other boy, as a large metal belt buckle stopped the knife from penetrating his skin.

"The knife struck with such force it broke and he fled, but I was actually more terrified than he was because I realized I was trying to kill somebody," Carson said, noting that he was a straight-A student at the time, but simply couldn't control his anger.

Carson's actions led him to run home and hide in the bathroom, where he thought deeper about what had transpired.

"I just shut myself up in the bathroom and I started thinking ... 'I'll never become a doctor with a temper like this. I'll end up in jail, reform school or the grave.' And I just fell on my knees and I said, 'Lord, you've got to help me. I can't do this. [There's just] no way I'm going to be successful unless you change me.'"

Carson said he picked up a Bible and started reading it — and that's when some specific Scriptures started to speak to him.

"There were all these verses about fools that seemed like they were all written about me," he quipped. "Then there are all these verses about anger too, like Proverbs 19:19 — 'there's no point getting angry men out of trouble because you're just going to have to do it again' — or Proverbs 16:32."

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