Why Do So Many ‘Christians’ Dislike Former President Carter?
Wasn’t he one of them?
There are self-proclaimed Christians on the political left. It would be all to understandable (if inexcusable) why ideology might triumph over theology for a significant number of ‘Christian’ people if Jimmy Carter were a leftist — but he was not.
Politically, he was the ultimate centrist. He championed concern for the ecological environment, but he began the de-regulation of the economy in the U.S. He was a staunch supporter of ending racial segregation (a real-time issue when he was governor of the state of Georgia in the 1970’s), but he was also a staunch opponent of abortion. He made ‘human rights’ a meaningful component of the U.S.’s international relations, but he provided asylum for the Shah of Iran, who ruled that nation with complete brutality before he was toppled in the Islamic Revolution (which was the reason that the U.S. embassy was attacked and hostages taken by revolutionaries).
Once he was free of the constraints of being a politician, Mr. Carter lived as ‘Christian’ a life as a person could. He and his wife lived an exemplary marriage. He (with his wife) was materially very modest and he (along with his wife) devoted himself to helping others.
So, again, why do so many self-proclaimed Christians dislike the man? I am convinced that it is because he thought a Christian should live one‘s faith but refrain from seeking to use the government to impose one’s own beliefs on others. Some ‘Christians’ just hate that attitude.