Evangelicals Turned Their Backs on Jimmy Carter who was the Most Credible Evangelical Ever to Serve as President

For we are not peddlers of God's word like so many; but in Christ we speak as persons of sincerity, as persons sent from God and standing in his presence.  Paul, the Apostle in 2 Corinthians 2:17  NRSV

James Earl Carter, Jr., served as the 39th President of the United States, and as the 76th Governor of the state of Georgia.  It is interesting to note that Carter was one in a long streak of Democrats who served as governor of Georgia, the last Republican before him leaving office in 1872.  Carter was a man of deep, sincere Christian faith, a Sunday school teacher in a Baptist church, and in contrast to most of his predecessors in the governor's office, the opposite of men like Andrew Stephens, the former Vice President of the Confederacy who wrote that the cornerstone of that nation's constitution was the belief that the negro was inferior to the white man.  

I can think of no prior President of the United States who was an Evangelical Christian, who was as actively engaged in his local church and who was so open about his beliefs and consistent in practice as Jimmy Carter.  Carter's Evangelical Christian faith was the primary influence in his life that shaped his character and developed his moral values.  He made no apology for its influence in his life and he relied on its cornerstones of prayer and the Bible for guidance.  To use a common and understandable expression, he never "beat people over the head with a Bible," nor did he forcefully push his beliefs on those around him.  He didn't have to separate his Christianity from his character to give high regard to constitutionally guaranteed religious liberty and separation of church and state.  

The fact that his faith was recognized and appreciated by so many people, Evangelical or not, Christian or not, is evidenced by the people who begin lining up as early as 5:30 a.m. on the sidewalk outside the Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia for his Sunday school class.  They come from all walks of life, from all over the country and the world, many of them people he met and influenced during his Presidency, or people he influenced during his years of service with Habitat for Humanity.  There are several hundred people there every Sunday he teaches.  

Ironically, the only American Presidents directly identified with Evangelical Christianity were Democrats.  Prior to Carter, who was a Southern Baptist at the time of his election, was the first of that denomination to serve in the White House.  Harry S. Truman and Warren G. Harding, were both "Northern" Baptists, now known as American Baptists. Neither of those gave the kind of visible testimony to their faith that Carter did.  The only other Southern Baptist church member to serve in the White House was Bill Clinton.  

Falwell:  "We'll Support Reagan Even if he has the Devil Running With Him"

From my own experience of being raised in an Evangelical church and having attended one for the better part of thirty-five years, I'd say that there's probably not one church member in ten that can actually compare church doctrine and theology with Republican party positions and make a determination about their consistency or compatibility.  It may be anecdotal evidence from my perspective, but I haven't had very many conversations with someone along these lines who was able to reach into their own experience and knowledge of the Bible and come up with such a determination.  I've had a lot of these kinds of discussions, going back to my college days, and inevitably, the citations of support for their views came from some well-known Evangelical media personality, not from the Bible.  

The "National Affairs Briefing," a gathering in Dallas in August, 1980, gathered Evangelical pastors for the purpose of pulling them into a conservative, Republican-supporting political movement and a fellow by the name of Ed McAteer, of "Religious Roundtable" along with prominent Evangelical evangelist James Robison, organized the gathering.  They invited Reagan to address the gathering, which he gladly did, and where he said "I know that this is non-partisan and you can't endorse me, but I endorse you," a scripted remark which Robison suggested he make on the ride from the airport to Reunion Arena.  

Reagan's speech to the briefing endeared him to Evangelicals.  It was an intentional, and very well briefed, revivalist sermon and political campaign speech rolled into one, the irony being that his opponent, then-President Jimmy Carter, was a bona-fide, genuine, down-to-earth, theologically astute, articulate Southern Baptist Sunday school teacher. Reagan used the opportunity to ingratiate himself with several of the well known "televangelist" group in order to drive a wedge between them and Carter. Jerry Falwell's comments after Reagan's speech, that his Moral Majority would work to get conservative Christian voters to support Reagan's election "even if he has the devil running with him," has proven to be prophetic, literal and very accurate when it comes to their support for Republican candidates.  In this more recent time, they've voted for the devil when he was the one running for office. 

And that, as far as I am concerned, is where the Evangelical "Religious Right" separated themselves from Biblical Christianity and made their own gods, their own theology, and turned to politics as their only source of spiritual power.  When they openly supported Donald Trump, whose entire identity and character was built on his worldliness, completely opposite of any form of Christian expression, they showed their true colors.  

The Sale of the Evangelical Soul with Trump 

Any pretense that the Evangelical involvement in politics still holds any Christian values or dependence on a higher power has evaporated with the sell-out support for Trump, whose character and person is the exact opposite of the ideal that Evangelicals hold as standard doctrine.  They're still hanging their hat on the abortion issue, which did pay off for them, but they had to abandon everything else, including their integrity, and pick up all of the baggage that came with the orange menace, including his pathological lying, and selfish ambition leading to his organizing and carrying out an insurrection against the government, and by extension, the American people.  

The Trump Organization has gone so far as to attempt to change the Christian gospel, being critical of core teachings of Jesus himself, because exhibiting those values and characteristics "don't get you anywhere in this world."  How much farther from the Christian gospel and teachings of Christ and the apostles do extremist right wing politics have to go before some of the mindless, power hungry, self-proclaimed "leaders" of evangelical Christianity realize how deep into apostasy they are, and the image they are now projecting, with extremist movements like Christian Nationalism gaining support and making a place for themselves at the ideological table.  

Jimmy Carter Will Always Stand in Contrast to Religious Extremism in Politics

The faith that Jimmy Carter held on to and used to guide him through what was a difficult presidency destroys what is now the political agenda of an extremist, racist, right wing mix of Evangelicalism, Christian nationalism and Republicanism.  Carter's faith is one of action that backs up his words and his convictions.  His initiative bringing about the Camp David peace accords, between Israel and Egypt, still stand as the greatest foundational piece for peace in the Middle East and is an achievement rooted in his own personal convictions.  

Carter was criticized among those in the religious, Evangelical right for his position on women's rights, which included abortion rights.  Carter was personally opposed to abortion as a means of birth control, but also was opposed to the government being the decision-making authority when it came to women's health.  His initiatives actually helped alleviate many of the circumstances like poverty, lack of education, access to birth control, and a host of other things, which Republicans are loathe to do, and brought the abortion numbers down.  

It's a core principle of Christianity that conversion leads to actions, not just a lot of words.  Whenever there is conversation or news about Jimmy Carter, its about something he's done that is for the benefit of others.  He embodies the words of the Apostle Paul, to the Christians in the church at Philippi: 

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.  Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interest of others.  Philippians 2:3-4

When I think about President Jimmy Carter, that's what I think.  He will go down in history as one of the greatest men ever to serve as President of the United States.