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Jimmy Carter: Our faith in Jesus Christ is “Basically Adequate”
Orginally published on Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 8:31 AM
by Todd Rhoades
According to The Christian Post, former President Jimmy Carter says that disharmony among Christians “is like a cancer metastasizing in the body of Christ.” Carter spoke to a regional gathering of the New Baptist Covenant. Here are some other things Carter had to say:
“We're saved by the grace of God through our faith in Jesus Christ. That's a fundamental in which I believe. And I think for Christians that's basically adequate...If you believe in that, no matter how you feel about homosexuality or the death penalty or church and state being separated ... we should put those things aside."
“They (Baptists overseas) see us (U.S. Baptists) at each other's throats, as argumentative, as struggling for authority and power.”
It seems to me that, in recent years, Jimmy Carter himself has not been much of a peacekeeper. In fact, he’s been quite outspoken in criticism of many things.
I will admit… I’ve never heard anyone say that our faith in Christ is ‘basically adequate’. I think it all goes downhill from there.
Hoping to overcome any racial, theological, philosophical, geographical or political division, over 30 organizations representing 20 million Baptists (black, white, conservative, moderate, Republican and Democrat) lent their support to the start of the New Baptist Covenant last January.
Since the landmark meeting, event organizers have been holding multiple regional meetings in order to offer greater opportunities for cooperation among Baptist ministries. Regional meetings have so far this year been held in Birmingham, Ala., and Liberty, Mo. Other meetings this year are scheduled for Norman, Okla., and Chicago.
What do you think?
Todd
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Hi... I'm Todd Rhoades. I'm a Christ-follower, husband, father and I love to connect leaders with other leaders. Hopefully you'll find something here at MMI you like and will return often. If you want, you can find out more about me or follow my every step on Twitter.
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Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 9:36 AM
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Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 9:52 AM
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Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 10:33 AM
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Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 10:50 AM
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Friday, May 01, 2009 at 7:02 PM
Post Your Comments:“Saved through our faith in Jesus Christ” begs so many questions it’s hard to know where to begin. . .
But if you start asking those questions you are labelled divisive and sectarian, guilty of “judging others” and two steps removed from the Taliban..
Chalk up another victory for moralistic therapeutic deism!
I think, although I don’t believe in relativism, that there is something to what Carter is saying. We are indeed saved by Christ, not by how we feel on other issues, however important they are.
Telling someone they aren’t really saved because they disagree with me on gay marriage is not constructive. Debating with them might be, but hinging salvation on it is not.
While President Carter has done much good since his time in office through compromise, I don’t think it works with God.
John 14:23-24
Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
(from New International Version)
Former President Carter is right. We should put those things aside. If as much energy was spent or focused on the concern that hell is real instead of these types of things - what a difference it would make.
President Carter is wrong. Although we may be saved by Christ, that does not mean that we should put aside things that have real, sinful consequences if permitted in the church.
I think of Paul who wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:18-19:
“For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.”
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CS
Unity under Truth.
or
Unity in anyone believing whatever they want to believe.
The first is mandated, the second is impossible yet if we all just pretend we’re in a 70’s Coke commercial....
Maybe it’s just the way that I’m reading it, but I don’t find Carter’s comments offensive: “And I think for Christians that’s basically adequate...If you believe in that, no matter how you feel about homosexuality or the death penalty or church and state being separated ... we should put those things aside.”
I “think” what he might have been trying to say is that faith in Christ is sufficient for salvation and that the other issues that we find ourselves fighting over, while important on some level, are not worth dividing over. He probably could have worded it better and used a different word since adequate seems to communicate the bare minimum. It is not communicative of quality. If you say something is adequate, in my mind, it just means that it was okay or mediocare. I don’t think and truly hope that wasn’t what he was trying to say.
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