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Because the religion discriminates against women, that's why. In a strongly worded essay, the former President said the end for him came when leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention, "quoting a few carefully selected Bible verses and claiming that Eve was created second to Adam and was responsible for original sin, ordained that women must be 'subservient' to their husbands and prohibited from serving as deacons, pastors or chaplains in the military service."
He continued: "At its most repugnant, the belief that women must be subjugated to the wishes of men excuses slavery, violence, forced prostitution, genital mutilation and national laws that omit rape as a crime. But it also costs many millions of girls and women control over their own bodies and lives, and continues to deny them fair access to education, health, employment and influence within their own communities."
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SBC “leaders” did not make a pronouncement, but in 2000 the PEOPLE OF THE CHURCHES of the Southern Baptist Convention passed statements on the Family and the Church by over 90 percent. [The SBC is not hierarchical like mainstream denominations, but is led bottom-up by its fellowship of churches].
Despite wording from the Bible such as “The husband and wife are of equal worth before God,” and “A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church” (i.e. willing to die for her), critics like Carter mischaracterize the statement on the Family as misogynist because it also stated from Ephesians that a wife is to submit graciously “to the servant leadership of her husband.”
As for the statement on the Church, messengers [men and women] from Southern Baptist churches stated a consensus view found among the fellowship of churches that “While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.” Southern Baptist churches are autonomous -- each congregation governs itself and hires its staff, sets its budget and owns its facilities. Only 35 churches out of over 45,000 in the SBC have a female pastor (less than one-tenth or one percent — which means that the so-called moderate or progressive congregations in the SBC aren’t hiring women as pastors).
Jimmy Carter has made his “departure” pronouncement at least twice before (1993, http://media.sbhla.org.s3.amazonaws.com/7565,14-May-1993.PDF, and 2000, http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=6703). However, he continues to worship and teach at Maranatha Baptist Church [in Plains, Ga.], which identifies itself as Southern Baptist — and has not hired a female pastor.
It’s merely hype to promote his latest views, and another chance for him to perpetuate a caricature of what Southern Baptists believe and practice using willing media to aid him.
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