Jimmy Carter gets it

Former US President, Jimmy Carter, has written an enlightening article on why he left the Southern Baptist Convention, calling it 'an unavoidable decision' after the leaders of the SBC used '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'. (Emphasis mine)

Such blatant discrimination should never be an accepted social norm, and it boggles the mind as to why it is still sometimes accepted here. The influence of religious leaders in their communities cannot be underestimated, and it is to the benefit of their community and society that they wield this influence with an eye to propagate fair and just views instead of bigotry and prejudice based on gender, race, or sexual orientation.

It is to everyone's detriment that we discount women's ability to lead, serve, or to be valuable contributors to society, just because they are women. It places unnecessary and unfair expectations on both men and women when this happens, and is a surefire way for any society to stagnate, wither, and die. Women have long been catalysts for change alongside men. They are every bit as combative, capable, and courageous as the next man, and to discriminate in defense of religion, custom or tradition is to brazenly ignore their abilities.

I have always maintained that religion itself is not a problem; it is the people who misuse, abuse, and otherwise misrepresent their religions to sow hatred, discord and division in the name of their god, sacrificing common sense and equal rights for all on the altar of of faith. This often results in cognitive dissonance for those who examine their beliefs and their logical reasoning at the same time, and for this author at least, forced to take a side of either unquestioning faith or questioning everything I believe in, even faith itself.

Ultimately, my stand is simple: any person espousing the continued tolerance or promotion of women being a lesser gender in any respect is nothing but a cowardly bigot hiding behind the shield of religion, custom or tradition. To quote Thomas Paine, 'my religion is to do good', and 'a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom'.

Fight the good fight Mr Carter, and may these traditions crumble and fall in our lifetimes.