Jimmy Carter and The Elders

Former US president Jimmy Carter wrote an editorial a couple of weeks ago that rocked my world in a fabulous way.  I wanted to share it with you all.

I wonder whether some of the more regular readers here at AWW thought I had missed it.  I hadn’t, I was just trying to decide what to write about it that could appropriately introduce such a great sentiment. In the end I decided to keep it brief and let his article speak for itself.

Jimmy Carter has severed his ties with the Southern Baptist Convention due to its refusal to acknowledge equality of women.  He says that after six decades of involvement it was a difficult and painful decision;

“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.”

Who knows what he, and the other Elders (including Nelson Mandela, Kofi Annan, Desmond Tutu and Aung San Suu Kyi) actually plan to do to pursue their opinions through into tangiable actions.  For now, I am just over the moon to see such highly regarded individuals focusing on global equality for women. 

You can read Jimmy Carter’s feminist editorial here.  Highly recommended reading.