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An email from my sister prompted me to look into this news item about former president Jimmy Carter. Seems he has parted ways with the Southern Baptists Convention (SBC) that he has been a part of for 60 years over their treatment of women.
The convention recently ruled that women could not become deacons, pastors or chaplains in the military, citing scripture as their basis for this, not surprising, decision. Carter also cited scripture for his actions and belief that we are all equal in the eyes of God.
Carter has spent many years and much effort working within the confines of the SBC’s authority over its members to equalize the treatment of members both male and female and has finally decided that changing the SBC’s opinion of women is not going to happen from within.
The scripture citing in support of each of their decisions is almost comical, if it weren’t for the seriousness of the whole affair. We have a large monotheistic religion that thinks women are nothing but servants and can’t have a major role in the practice of the religion and a highly regarded man who has tried for years to change the policies of that religion to a more equal distribution of duties and they both refer to the same book for justification of their stance!
I, a lowly non-participant in denominational religion, will side with JC because I believe we are all equal, Gods eye, your eye, my eye, doesn’t make a difference whose eye, what religion you practice or don’t, what country you call home or what your shoes are made of. If you are a human, you are equal to all the other humans past, present and future, with no more rights than any other, but also, and this is the important part, no less.
What is your opinion on this? Do woman have the right to hold the same offices in a religion as men? Should woman be treated as less than men?