Jimmy Carter Leaves His Church Over Way Women Are Treated
Jimmy Carter is still leading this nation into the future. After more than 60 years together, Jimmy Carter has announced himself at odds with the Southern Baptist Church. As such he’s decided it’s time they go their separate ways. The entire article written by the former President is quite impressive.
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.
The carefully selected verses found in the Holy Scriptures to justify the superiority of men owe more to time and place - and the determination of male leaders to hold onto their influence - than eternal truths. Similar biblical excerpts could be found to support the approval of slavery and the timid acquiescence to oppressive rulers.
I am also familiar with vivid descriptions in the same Scriptures in which women are revered as pre-eminent leaders. During the years of the early Christian church women served as deacons, priests, bishops, apostles, teachers and prophets. It wasn’t until the fourth century that dominant Christian leaders, all men, twisted and distorted Holy Scriptures to perpetuate their ascendant positions within the religious hierarchy.
The truth is that male religious leaders have had - and still have - an option to interpret holy teachings either to exalt or subjugate women. They have, for their own selfish ends, overwhelmingly chosen the latter. Their continuing choice provides the foundation or justification for much of the pervasive persecution and abuse of women throughout the world. This is in clear violation not just of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but also the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul, Moses and the prophets, Muhammad, and founders of other great religions - all of whom have called for proper and equitable treatment of all the children of God. It is time we had the courage to challenge these views.
I personally feel that President Carter is right on. He wrote how he felt very articulately and in my opinion, wrote very well about how his views come out. Views, which in fact, clearly state where I come out, too. When I worked at Habitat for Humanity in Americus, GA I had the priviledge to be part of the S.S. class that he taught. He is a man who studies the Bible, is very articulate and very caring about those around him, especially the underpriviledged. If you were to hear him in person you, too, (Ferrell Gummitt) may be a changed person, just as I was and am.
Again, this is further evidence that Jimmy Carter’s cheese has left his cracker…
I am a member of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and like the Baptist church we also do not ordain women into the Pastoral Office. We are told through the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 3:1-2:
“Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, and able to teach.”
God has given the responsibility to serve as pastors only to certain qualified men. The church calls these men to serve as representatives of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in the pastoral office. Women are not called to serve in this way because God has not given this responsibility to women.
Women serve as directors of Christian education, directors of Christian outreach, deaconesses and parish nurses. Laywomen have many opportunities for service through various church societies, guilds and leagues, along with the service they provide as volunteer teachers. They have additional opportunities to serve in their local congregations as members of various boards and committees.
Jimmy Carter makes it sound like that the women in the Baptist church are pulled around by the nose and beaten up mercilessly by the men.
Former President Carter is free to make all the wild “DaVinci Code” type of conspiracies of the church. Unfortunately, more people listen to him because he is considered an “enlightened” man by the left, than listen to the Baptist church where that all they want to do is remain faithful to the word of God.
Jill,
You are correct about Carter’s long-term problems with his church. The reason this is brought up at this time is that Carter penned a new article about this issue. I just thought his words were clear and aimed in the right direction which resulted in the post.
Thanks, as always, for the link and comment.
This is actually old news, although Carter made reference to it in a recent interview. This is the comment I wrote on Blogging Blue when the topic came up a couple weeks ago:
Carter’s decision to leave the Southern Baptist Church took place several years ago, at the time that the national organization (the Southern Baptist Convention) imposed the doctrine of female subservience on all member churches. Before that time, each local Southern Baptist Church had a great deal of independence on matters of doctrine, and the denomination did not tell individuals how to interpret scripture. It is the church doctrine/policy that changed, not Carter’s beliefs. Here is a summary of the issue from when it first hit the news, in October of 2000: http://pluralism.org/news/article.php?id=58