According to a recent article, former President Jimmy Carter has parted ways with the Southern Baptist Convention over the treatment of women. A Southern Baptist for 60 years Jimmy Carter has decided he no longer wants to be a part of them, claiming they are nothing short of a bunch of misogynistic men who use their religion to allow for "persecution and abuse of women throughout the world" (likening them to religious groups who truly do abuse, mistreat, disrespect and devalue women). In his essay he not only calls out Southern Baptists, but the integrity of Scripture as a whole (which, sad to say, is at least consistent with his new found beliefs).
"Why would he say such a thing?" you ask? Because SB's do not ordain women (allow women to serve as deacons or vocational pastors) and tell husbands, fathers and/or men to step up and be the Godly, loving, protective, supportive and integritous leaders of their homes they are supposed to be. For him to lambaste the SBC as chauvinistic, power-hungry men is not only an unfair statement, it is a complete misrepresentation of Southern Baptists, in general. Yes, there are always a select few that carry their faith and values too far, then hide behind it as direct instructions from God; however, I think it would have been better for Mr. Carter to double check Scripture before mislabeling an entire group of men and women who speak on behalf of and fight for marriages, family, integrity, children's rights, women (and their rights) and justice worldwide.
To address his claims against the SBC...
Regarding the claim that women are told to "subjugate themselves to the wishes of their husbands" -
No... the SBC does not call on women to subjugate themselves to their husband's wishes, nor does the Bible. To say such a thing is either a misunderstanding of Scripture (at best), or an irresponsible, slanderous, and hateful lie (at worst). The SBC does not tell women to "submit" (the correct word and phrasing) to their husbands either - the Bible does (Ephesians 5:22-33). Southern Baptists only reiterate what the Bible teaches. It's sad how often this passage and instruction is taken out of context though, as if the Bible tells women they are inferior to men and they have no choice but to listen to their husband-boss. This is NOT at all what the Bible teaches. It actually tells women to submit to their husband's supposed to be Godly-leadership (he is to be leading his family with his wife toward the worship and love of God in all things). The other integral part of that passage often left out or ignored by people is that it also calls on husbands to love their wives sacrificially, willing to go above and beyond to care for them, serve them and love them. No where does it reduce the value or worth of a woman, but actually declares man and woman to be of equal worth and value by stating that when the two are married they become "one flesh" (how is one part of a body more valuable than another?).
Regarding the SBC's refusal to ordain women -
Mr. Carter is correct - Southern Baptists do not ordain women (allow them to be Pastors or deacons). However, they do commission them to serve as missionaries all over the world as well as to lead and teach within the church. This has nothing to do with skill or ability (there are several women Bible teachers the could out-preach many men), it has to do with roles. Two reasons to justify this decision by the SBC in reiterating Scripture's teachings:
1. In 1 Tim. 3:1-13 (one of the key passages in Scripture that talks about the role and qualification of a pastor and deacons), Scripture says that a pastor (or "elder"/"overseer" depending on how the word is translated... all three refer to the same position: Pastor) and a deacon is to be "the husband of one wife" (or "faithful to his wife" according to one translation). If women were called on to lead the church as a pastor/deacon, would this passage not say "or the wife of one husband" (or "faithful to her husband")? There is no ambiguity in this passage.
2. A logical/deductive conclusion in the roles of a husband and wife and the roles of a pastor and deacon. How can a woman submit to her husband's leadership at home, but then go to church and lead him? This is, again, not to say a woman takes orders (because she does/should not), but is to be praying with her husband and trusting that he is leading their family toward God. If he leads at home, but she leads at church, it would seem that she should only trust his leadership outside of church (logically speaking, this makes no sense).
There is much more that can be said of this, I will stop now for simplicity sake.
While it is highly unlikely that President Carter sat under poor Biblical teaching in a misled Southern Baptist Church, one could only hope. At least then his slanderous (and unoriginal) accusations could be understood. Unfortunately, it seems, however, that he has simply caved to the whims of popular culture that speaks regularly of redefining family and the worth and role of a woman; the title of his essay only reaffirms his new (or at least newly shared) foundational belief: "Losing My Religion For Equality."
PARENTS: Outside of rejecting Scripture all together (or making false claims about it like Carter did in his essay), I truly believe one of the greatest reasons there is such a strong opposition to God's Biblical model for family is that there are very few families that demonstrate Biblical values and leadership for this world to see. The Lost world looks at the 50% divorce rate (in and out of the church!) and say "the church doesn't have it figured any more than anyone else" and turn their back on Biblical teaching, labeling it as "faulty." I encourage you as husband and wife to read Ephesians 5:22-33 together and ask yourselves (just the two of you): "is this modeled in our home? When people look at our family, is this Biblical-model of family and love that we have for one another obvious?" Additionally, make sure you take time to understand that passage (along with others in Scripture that pertain to marriage and family) and make sure you teach and model for your children a Biblical worldview of relationships, not one that speaks from the authority of ever-changing culture/political correctness.
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Image borrowed from Moonbattery.
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