Jimmy Carter dies at 100: The Christian faith of the former president of the United States

Former US President Jimmy Carter, who died this Sunday, December 29 at the age of 100 and who was a Baptist Christian all his life, had opinions different from those of Catholic teaching on a series of controversial social and doctrinal issues, including abortion, same-sex marriage and the ordination of female pastors.

However, perhaps more than any other president in American history, a clear and consistent profession of Christian faith, both in word and deed, characterized Carter throughout his life.

In a chapter titled “My Traditional Christian Faith” in his 2005 book “Our Values ​​at Risk: America’s Moral Crisis,” Carter noted that “most of the rudiments of my faith in Christ as Savior and Son of God are still They are shared without serious question by Protestants, Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Copts, Seventh-day Adventists, and many other religious people.”

Speaking of his Baptist convictions, in that same book Carter stated that “as evangelicals, we were committed to a strong global mission to share our Christian faith with all other people, without prejudice or discrimination.”

Throughout his adult life, Carter demonstrated a personal commitment to evangelism by publicly testifying to his faith, participating in missions, and, most famously, teaching Sunday school for nearly four decades on most Sundays. , year after year, at his hometown Baptist church in Plains, Georgia.

Faith and works

Additionally, Carter’s humanitarian work building homes for the poor each year for nearly 40 years as a Habitat for Humanity volunteer was integral to his faith come to life.

Carter’s sister, Ruth Carter Stapleton, who died in 1983, was an evangelical, and the 39th president credited her with having been influential in strengthening his faith and practice after his first defeat for the presidency. Governor of Georgia in 1966.

That same year, Carter helped lead an evangelical Billy Graham crusade in his home county. Later, as governor of Georgia, he also served as honorary president of Graham’s crusade in Atlanta.

For Catholics, Carter was also celebrated as the first American president to host a Pope in the White House. That milestone occurred in 1979 during newly elected Pope John Paul II’s first papal trip to the United States.

According to a summary of the conversation in the National Archivesthe Pope and the president connected over their shared faith in Christ. The National Archives notes that “these two deeply religious men, each at the pinnacle of power in their respective spheres, agreed to speak not as diplomats but as Christian brothers.”

Position on abortion

Although Carter expressed his personal aversion to abortion, as governor of Georgia and later as president he supported legal abortion in accordance with the then-recent Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade (1973). He also believed that abortion should be available to victims of rape and incest.

In an interview with NBC News in 1976then-candidate Carter said: “Based on the Supreme Court ruling (Roe v. Wade), I will do everything I can as president to minimize the need for abortions. I think abortions are wrong and I think we should have a comprehensive effort by the president and Congress with a national law perhaps, adequately funded to provide sexual education and access to contraceptives for those who believe in their use, better adoption procedures ”.

In 1977, as president, Carter signed the Hyde Amendment, a policy that prohibits federal tax money from being used for abortions except to save the life of the mother or if the pregnancy is the result of incest or rape. Since the law was signed, the Hyde Amendment has saved more than 2.5 million unborn lives, según Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.

In recent years, Carter expressed support for gay “marriage.” In an interview with Huffington Post in 2018the former president, then 93, said he believed “Jesus would approve of gay marriage” and that “Jesus would encourage any loving relationship if it were honest and sincere and didn’t harm anyone else, and I don’t see that gay marriage harms anyone.” no one else.”

Constant flow of books on faith

Carter is the author of 30 books, many of which are directly related to his Christian faith, including his 1996 tome “Living Faith, Sources of Strength: Meditations on the Scriptures for a Living Faith” (1997), “Our Values ​​at Risk: America’s Moral Crisis” (2005) y “Faith: a path for everyone” (2018).

In this last book, carter wrote: “I consider myself an evangelical Christian…the basic elements of Christianity apply to me personally, shape my attitude and actions, and give me a joyful and positive life, with purpose.”

He also affirmed his belief “that Christians are called to immerse themselves in the life of the world and inject the moral and ethical values ​​of our faith into the processes of government.”

Carter’s open expression of his Christian faith and inspiration was seen as a breath of fresh air and a blessing for his presidential candidacy following the disgrace and corruption of the Watergate scandal that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974.

“I will never lie to you,” Carter memorably promised during his successful 1976 campaign.

The advance with China

Among Carter’s most notable achievements in promoting religious freedom and reopening space for evangelism were his negotiations with then-Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping, which led to the restoration, in December 1978, of full diplomatic relations between the United States and China.

As Carter I would tell lateras part of the agreement, pressured the Chinese government to “allow people to freely practice their religion, have Bibles, and allow our missionaries to return.” Deng granted the first two requests, but not the third.

Carter recalls that when he and his wife Rosalynn visited China in 1981, “there was a new law guaranteeing freedom of worship, Bibles were plentiful, and full Christian churches were thriving.”

After being defeated in the 1980 presidential election by pro-life candidate Ronald Reagan, Carter and Rosalynn, who died on November 19, 2023, began the Carter Centera nonprofit foundation dedicated to fighting disease and promoting health, peace, and democracy around the world.

For his efforts on peace and human rights, including the historic 1978 Camp David Peace Accords between Israel and Egypt, Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

Fundamental Christian Faith

In his 2018 book “Faith: a path for everyone”, Carter related that “people in my Bible class often ask me what it means to be a Christian. My best explanation is that a Christian is a person who professes Jesus Christ as his personal savior and strives to have the human qualities demonstrated by Jesus.”

Carter went on to extol the Lord of his life as “God and man, all-powerful yet gentle and loving, omniscient, compassionate, suffering, despised, burdened with the sin of others, abandoned by his followers, publicly executed but resurrected, and now worshiped by thousands.” of millions of believers around the world. Personal faith in Christ and a special reverence for him help us understand the transcendent love of God.”

“Convinced as we are that the miracle of Christ’s resurrection really occurred about 2,000 years ago, we must consider it the most important event in the history of the universe,” Carter wrote in his 1997 book “Sources of strength”. “For us, it means that Christ still lives, that his spirit is still with us, and that we can build our lives around him as our Savior.”

Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA