Jimmy Carter and the Southern Baptists

I have always respected Jimmy Carter, even when his enemies portrayed him as a naive do-gooder and drew attention to his being a peanut farmer, implying that such an occupation was incompatible with his role as Commander-in-Chief.

My respect for him went up several notches today when I read that he had severed his ties with the Southern Baptist Convention because of its insistence on women’s subordinate place in God’s creation.  Here is a direct quotation from Jimmy Carter’s public statement on the matter:

“ 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. ”

Go here to see his statement in full in the Sydney Morning Herald.