Jimmy Carter on his journey of "Faith"

From CBS-

At age 93, former President Jimmy Carter has been out of office for more than 37 years -- plenty of time to reflect on his life, his mortality, and on his religious faith ... reflections he recently shared with Jane Pauley:

You don't often see crowds lining up for Sunday School lessons, but not many churches have a U.S. president doing the teaching.

Former President Jimmy Carter came to Maranatha Baptist Church in 1981, on the very first Sunday after he left the White House. He teaches whenever he can, and when he does, the crowd comes from far and wide.

Back in 2015, when word came that melanoma had spread to his liver and then his brain, it looked like the end. But when Pauley met President Carter at his library in Atlanta this month, he seemed fit as ever. Thanks to a new immunotherapy treatment, his cancer hasn't come back.

It's an unexpected new chapter for a man who was ready to die -- and had already said his goodbyes.

More here-

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jimmy-carter-on-his-journey-of-faith/

Losing my religion for equality

Jimmy Carter in The Age-

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.

This view that women are somehow inferior to men is not restricted to one religion or belief. Women are prevented from playing a full and equal role in many faiths. Nor, tragically, does its influence stop at the walls of the church, mosque, synagogue or temple. This discrimination, unjustifiably attributed to a Higher Authority, has provided a reason or excuse for the deprivation of women's equal rights across the world for centuries.

More here-

http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/losing-my-religion-for-equality-20090714-dk0v.html

President Carter, Am I a Christian?

From The New York Times-

Christians celebrate Easter on Sunday. But wait — do we really think Jesus literally rose from the dead?

I asked questions like that in a Christmas Day column, interviewing the Rev. Tim Keller, a prominent evangelical pastor. In this, the second of an occasional series, I decided to quiz former President Jimmy Carter. He’s a longtime Sunday school teacher and born-again evangelical but of a more liberal bent than Keller. Here’s our email conversation, edited for clarity.

ME How literally do you take the Bible, including miracles like the Resurrection?

PRESIDENT CARTER Having a scientific background, I do not believe in a six-day creation of the world that occurred in 4004 B.C., stars falling on the earth, that kind of thing. I accept the overall message of the Bible as true, and also accept miracles described in the New Testament, including the virgin birth and the Resurrection.

More here-

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/15/opinion/sunday/president-carter-am-i-a-christian.html?_r=0

Jimmy Carter's message: the fight continues against male-sanctioned female submission

From Australia-

What do Southern Baptists in the United States have in common with the Anglican Diocese of Sydney? They both require women to submit to their husbands.

What is going on?

Six years ago, former US president and noted evangelical Christian Jimmy Carter wrote about his difficult decision to withdraw from membership of the conservative Southern Baptist Convention over its rejection of women in leadership. He could no longer stomach his church's view that women were inferior to men by edict of God.

This newspaper published his piece in July 2009. At Easter this year it suddenly went viral, and is still going strong. Last time I looked it had 362,000 Facebook shares and 651 tweets.

Surprising? Perhaps not. In 2015, reactionary Christians are not only still preaching female submission but have hardened their stance in recent times.

More here-

http://www.watoday.com.au/comment/jimmy-carters-message-the-fight-continues-against-malesanctioned-female-submission-20150416-1mmb0g.html

Jimmy Carter says Pope Francis promised ‘women should have a greater role’

From The Washington Post- (with video)

Former President Jimmy Carter isn’t exactly known for withholding his opinion, so it wasn’t surprising on Wednesday to hear him say he typed out and mailed a letter to Pope Francis challenging the pontiff on the status of women in the Catholic Church.

“He promised me he thought women should have a greater role,” the 39th U.S. president told an audience during an appearance at The Washington Post. Carter was promoting his new book “A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence and Power.”

More here-

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/jimmy-carter-says-pope-francis-promised-women-should-have-a-greater-role/2014/03/26/a2ba17a2-b517-11e3-8cb6-284052554d74_story.html

President Carter Says Catholic Church Should Ordain Women; All Religions Should Promote Gender Equality

From Huffington-


President Jimmy Carter waded in the tricky waters of gender and religion in an interview with Time.com in which he said that the Catholic church was wrong not to ordain women.

In anticipation of a conference called 'Mobilizing Faith for Women' to be held at The Carter Center this week, the former President and current Sunday school teacher was asked if "religion can be a force for women’s rights instead of a source of women’s oppression" by Time's Elizabeth Dias.

The former president said that there was movement towards equality in the major world religion but that religion had done much to support discrimination by 'ordaining' that women were not equal to men:

This has been done and still is done by the Catholic Church ever since the third century, when the Catholic Church ordained that a woman cannot be a priest for instance but a man can. A woman can be a nurse or a teacher but she can’t be a priest. This is wrong, I think.

More here-

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/23/carter-catholic-ordain-women_n_3488082.html?utm_hp_ref=religion

Jimmy Carter leaves Southern Baptists, backs women in ministry

From Philadelphia-

Here's an instant replay, in case you missed it: after 60 years, former President Jimmy Carter has split with the Southern Baptist Convention over its position on the role of women in the church.

"I personally feel that women should play an absolutely equal role in service of Christ in the church,” Carter told the Atlanta Constitution today.

Carter's decision came about one month after the convention voted against women serving as pastors (the convention met June 23-24). Comments began flowing today. Exact wording of the convention's decision could not be determined. The Convention website does not mention the vote. A story by Charlotte's atheism examiner , which includes a YouTube video of Carter, appeared earlier today.

Carter writes about his decision in an article entitled "Losing My Religion for Equality" on The Age.com website. He plans to continue serving as a deacon in his hometown church in Plains, Ga., and associating with Baptists who share his views.

"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." Carter wrote.

More here-

http://www.examiner.com/x-10271-Charlotte-Episcopal-Examiner~y2009m7d21-Jimmy-Carter-leaves-Southern-Baptists-backs-women-in-ministry