Giants in our land
There have been giants in our land. Two of them died recently.
Former President Jimmy Carter died Dec. 29 at age 100. Though his presidency cannot be called “successful” overall – voters allowed him only one term – he is widely regarded as the best ex-president in our history.
He was known for his honesty. He promised that he would “never knowingly lie” to the American people – a refreshing change from Lyndon Johnson, who lied about the Vietnam war for years while thousands needlessly died, and Richard Nixon, whose lies about the Watergate scandal so tainted the presidency that we recently elected a professional liar to the position.
He was the first “born-again” Christian to be elected president, and likely will be the last. Jerry Falwell and other leaders of the “religious right” turned against him because he supported racial integration (see Footnote #1). In backing the candidacy of Ronald Reagan in 1980, they baptized predatory “trickle-down” economics and turned the “evangelical” wing of American Christianity into a branch of the Republican party (see Footnote #2).
Out of public office, Carter continued public life as a popular Sunday School teacher and hands-on supporter of Habitat for Humanity and other “humanitarian” causes.
The incoming occupant of the White House will no doubt take aim at some of Carter’s accomplishments, including his environmental activism, support for women and minorities, work to build a framework for peace in the Mideast, and the treaty he negotiated giving Panama control of its canal.
Whatever his political legacy, Carter will always be known as a strong Christian who tried to live out his faith in all aspects of his life.
Footnote #1: The right promotes the fiction that Carter lost its support because he backed abortion rights, while Reagan did not. Reagan’s record as governor of California argues otherwise. The real reason for the right’s opposition to Carter was race. It was an extension of the GOP’s “Southern strategy.” It worked, and continues to work.
Footnote #2: A big factor in Carter’s election loss was the ongoing Iran hostage crisis. Evidence continues to emerge that GOP operatives worked hard to undermine Carter’s efforts to free the hostages before the election.
The other giant in our land whose death we mark is John B. Cobb Jr., a theologian and environmentalist who died Dec. 26. Though Cobb is known as a process theologian, his work is valuable to those in many Christian traditions.
I especially appreciate him for several books: Grace & Responsibility: A Wesleyan Theology for Today, Jesus Abba: The God Who Has Not Failed, and
Becoming a Thinking Christian. The first two are part of my library’s “permanent collection.” Paging through them just now, I see that I should reread them soon.