Jimmy Carter was the first American president to describe himself as “born again.” It is now a somewhat exotic term referring to experiencing regeneration through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
According to the former president, it was more of a process than a singular experience. He spoke frequently and fluently about his Christian faith throughout his life, and was honored at a state funeral Thursday.
“Being reincarnated didn't happen when I was 11,” he wrote in his 1996 book Living Faith. “For me, it was an evolutionary event. It wasn't a flash of light or a sudden vision of God speaking, but rather a series of steps that steadily brought me closer to Christ.”
A liberal Baptist from the South who values civil rights and equality, Carter was initially treated as an oddity by the East Coast press when he first appeared on the national stage. Newsweek magazine ran a cover story in conjunction with his campaign in 1976 titled “Born Again!” Evangelicals. ”
and his statements about his faith, such as when he told a Playboy interviewer that year that he had “committed adultery many times in my heart” and “looked at many women with lustful eyes.” sometimes caused confusion. The sins of Matthew. (In the same wide-ranging interview, he quoted theologian Reinhold Niebuhr on the purpose of law and Paul Tillich on religion as a lifelong search for truth.)
The New York Times ran a headline that read, “Mr. Carter's comments about sex raise concerns,” and cited Mr. Carter's “unsophisticated remarks” (used language some considered crude in discussion of extramarital affairs). reported that it could become an issue in the election. However, two months later he defeated incumbent Gerald Ford.
As president, Mr. Carter's faith was not enough to endear him to the emerging Christian right. Prominent conservative pastors and radio and television hosts criticized him for being weak in his defense and weak against what they described as a threat to “family life.”
Conservatives may have shared Mr. Carter's theology and biography as a Southern evangelical Christian, but he was not considered one of them. Instead, they rallied around Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan was a divorced former actor who rarely went to church and who cost him the 1980 election.
Mr. Carter also struggled with the religious traditions in which he was raised.
In 1976, Carter's Baptist church closed its doors and canceled Sunday services instead of admitting black worshipers, a policy Carter opposed. His current congregation, Maranatha Baptist Church, was founded shortly thereafter by unhappy members who wanted a more inclusive place of worship.
In 1990, she distanced herself from the Southern Baptist Convention because of the denomination's approach to women in leadership.
But the Christian faith remained a defining theme for Mr. Carter, who enjoyed the longest presidency in U.S. history. He became known for his philanthropic efforts, including his work with Habitat for Humanity, a Christian housing organization, and regularly returns to his hometown of Plains, Georgia, especially after announcing his cancer diagnosis in 2015. He taught Sunday school classes to crowds for many years. .
