“Women and girls have been discriminated against for too long in a twisted interpretation of the word of God,” writes former President Jimmy Carter in an incredible essay explaining his decision to leave the Southern Baptist Convention, his church for more than 60 years. Readers can access and read Carter’s article, aptly titled “Losing My Religion for Equality,” over at TheAge.com.
Jimmy Carter deserves applause for his strong stance and dedication to his religious convictions.
This is not the first time he has challenged the status quo of popular American religious belief or challenged the subcultural norms of his church. Carter’s Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid was a very controversial book because of its criticism of Israeli policy in the Palestinian territories. Carter is a man of deep conviction, and whether you agree with his stances upon issues or not, it can not be denied. His latest expression of these deep convictions is a welcome one. We are living in a time wherein the Christian subjugation of women is as cool or manly or fun as it has ever been in history. We have the pop-culture appropriation of vintage gas station attendant gear and the spiritualization of the UFC to thank for that, it seems. At any rate, it’s a good thing when someone of Carter’s global stature stands up and does the right thing.
I have been a practising Christian all my life and a deacon and Bible teacher for many years. My faith is a source of strength and comfort to me, as religious beliefs are to hundreds of millions of people around the world. So my decision to sever my ties with the Southern Baptist Convention, after six decades, was painful and difficult. It was, however, an unavoidable decision when the convention’s leaders, quoting a few carefully selected Bible verses and claiming that Eve was created second to Adam and was responsible for original sin, ordained that women must be “subservient” to their husbands and prohibited from serving as deacons, pastors or chaplains in the military service.
Kudos, President Cater! You are not far from the Kingdom of God! Moreover, you, sir, are living in step with the Incarantion. Congratulations! You are blessed! Not many do what you are doing because it is far too difficult. It’s much easier, and “feels” way more secure, to petrify spirituality and reduce this faith-life to static expressions and then attribute the reducton to redefined ideas of God, Bible, Jesus, and, whether we want to admit it or not, control. Unfortunately, God isn’t in any of it! God is alive and living in the seemingly insecure and mysterious place that you just journeyed into by making this convicting choice. The Incarnation is alive and it challenges us daily to meet Divinity for real in our world, every day, rather than living vicariously through past expereinces had by people who have gone before us. Yes! That’s it! And that’s not a popular message because it takes a lot of work and a lot of trust. Popular faith doesn’t make much room for these things these days, it seems. So, the call Carter sounds in his easy is a most welcome one. Can you hear it?
We are calling on all leaders to challenge and change the harmful teachings and practices, no matter how ingrained, which justify discrimination against women. We ask, in particular, that leaders of all religions have the courage to acknowledge and emphasise the positive messages of dignity and equality that all the world’s major faiths share.
Carter is obviously one of those men who has served and continues to serve the world in more edifying and productive ways than when he was president. Maybe that’s because now, it’s more important than the popular vote. Each one of us has to learn this lesson sooner or later.
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When I was a pastor in a conservative Southern Baptist Church I was constantly bombarded with this exact kind of backwards thinking / faith that Carter kicked against. Of course, Carter was unanimously deemed a heretic and “probably not a christian at all” by my Southern Baptist congregants.
I’m so glad to be out of that organization. Never again.
Ben, it’s their loss, and a huge one at that! You would be a welcomed pastor in any church. Just keep going towards what is right.