Carter left his original church denomination, 15 years ago.
Jimmy Carter Leaves Southern Baptists
ABC Oct. 20, 2000
Former President Carter, a longtime Sunday school teacher, is walking away from the Southern Baptists because of the church’s stance on equality for women.
In an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution published today, Carter says Southern Baptist leaders reading the Bible out of context led to the adoption of increasingly “rigid” views.
“I’m familiar with the verses they have quoted about wives being subjugated to their husbands,” he told the paper. “In my opinion, this is a distortion of the meaning of Scripture. … I personally feel the Bible says all people are equal in the eyes of God. I personally feel that women should play an absolutely equal role in service of Christ in the church.”
Southern Baptists are the United States’ largest Protestant denomination, with 15.9 million members, voting about 80% pro-life republican.
This is wrong on so many levels.
It does not matter what 'you feel'. It does not matter what 'I feel'.
What does God say?
That is all that matters. HE is God. HE is the Creator. We should seek to know what God has said, and to align our "feelings" to 'thus saith the LORD'.
Jimmy is correct that we are all made in the image of God ('...in the image of God made HE them. Male and female made He them...). And it is also true that God would have all to be saved, and to come to knowledge of the Truth. HE takes no pleasure in the death of him that dieth.
But "all people" are NOT equal in the eyes of God.
HE has HIS people that believe on HIS Son, and there are the wicked who do not believe. They are not equal. God did not treat the world equally in the time of Noah. The whole world was wicked (although Noah probably less so than the rest), and God saved Noah and his family - and none other. God did not treat Abraham "equally" with anyone else in the world. And the Hebrews were a special people to God - the apple of His eye. He kept them separate from the world. They alone had the oracles of God. Until the time appointed, when the Lord Jesus Christ, the only Begotten Son of God, was made manifest in the flesh - it is unlikely anyone in the world was saved - other than a remnant in Israel (and a few who came in contact with them).
It is true that the invitation to enter into the Kingdom is open to all - but all are not equal, because all will not believe. This is a special gift. So no, all people are NOT equal.
Set aside the feelings and seek to follow God's Word. His commandments are not grievous.
One of Jimmy’s favorite techniques is misquoting his opponents. Here, he misquotes Saint Paul. Paul did not say wives should be “subjugated” to their husbands.