Tributes paid to former president and devout Baptist Jimmy Carter

Tributes have been paid to former US President Jimmy Carter, who passed away on Sunday afternoon on the age of 100.

Carter died peacefully at his home in Plains, Georgia, surrounded by his family. He is survived by his 4 children, 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. His wife, Rosalynn Carter, died in November 2023 on the age of 96.

Born in 1924, Carter, a former peanut farmer, was the longest-lived president in US history and the primary Southern Baptist to be elected president of the United States. 

Prior to entering the White House he was governor of Georgia, where he advocated for racial and gender equality. In 1977, he became the thirty ninth US president serving one term before losing to Ronald Reagan.

After leaving the White House, he founded the Carter Center to advance peace and democracy, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his work. 

Outgoing US President Joe Biden said, “When I have a look at Jimmy Carter, I see a person not just for our times, but for life. A person who embodied probably the most fundamental human values we are able to never let slip away. And while we may never see his likes again, we’d all do well to attempt to be a bit more like Jimmy Carter.”

After leaving the White House, Carter and his wife spent many years volunteering with Christian charity Habitat for Humanity. Its CEO Jonathan Reckford said the couple had made an “incredible impact”.

“We are deeply saddened by President Carter’s passing, and our prayers are with the Carter family,” he said. 

“President and Mrs. Carter began volunteering with Habitat for Humanity near their home in southwest Georgia greater than 40 years ago, and shortly brought worldwide attention to the necessity for decent and reasonably priced housing.

“We are grateful for the incredible impact the Carters have had on Habitat and on the families who’ve benefited from their shining example.

“The Carters put Habitat for Humanity on the map, and their legacy lives on in every family we serve all over the world.”

Carter authored greater than 30 books during his lifetime, including many with reference to faith and morality, like The Blood of Abraham: Insights into the Middle East, Living Faith, Sources of Strength: Meditations on Scripture for a Living Faith, Our Endangered Values: America’s Moral Crisis, NIV Lessons from the Life Bible: Personal Reflections with Jimmy Carter, A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power and Faith: A Journey for All.

US President-elect Donald Trump said, “While I strongly disagreed with him philosophically and politically, I also realized that he truly loved and revered our country, and all it stands for.

“He worked hard to make America a greater place, and for that I give him my highest respect.

“He was a very good man and, after all, will probably be greatly missed. He was also very consequential, way over most Presidents, after he left the Oval Office. Warmest condolences from Melania and I to his wonderful family.”

Civil rights campaigner Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow Push Coalition said he had “touched countless lives, offering hope where there was despair and love where there was indifference”.

“President Carter lived his faith, proving that humility, service, and love are probably the most powerful forces for change,” it said. 

Carter was the primary US president to welcome a pope to the White House when John Paul II visited in 1979.

He recurrently led Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church of Plains, Georgia, teaching as late as 2015 when he was sick with cancer.

In 2000, he left the Southern Baptist denomination, one reason being its refusal to ordain women.

“I’m acquainted with the verses they’ve quoted about wives being subjugated to their husbands,” Carter said on the time.

“In my opinion, this can be a distortion of the meaning of Scripture. … I personally feel the Bible says all persons are equal within the eyes of God. I personally feel that girls should play a fully equal role in service of Christ within the church.”

Carter had close ties to late evangelist Billy Graham, helping with the organisation of his crusades and guest-speaking once in a while. 

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) paid tribute to Carter’s “strong faith in God”.

It recalled one particular occasion when Graham had needed someone to assist run racially integrated Gospel film nights within the lead-up to his Georgia crusade within the Sixties. Carter “was the one man who had the courage to be the chairman”, Graham later said. 

Under Carter’s leading, different races sat side by side to observe the Gospel film together prior to the crusade. Carter spoke concerning the experience during an appearance at Billy Graham’s 1994 crusade in Atlanta.

“When I went to the foremost churches, none of them would allow us to are available in,” he said. “So we went to the basement of an abandoned school constructing and that is where we had our integrated planning meetings.”

Graham’s son, Franklin Graham, who heads the BGEA, said Carter and his father “had a detailed relationship”.

“I do know that his family would appreciate your prayers,” he said.