Carbon Paper: July 2009

LOSING MY RELIGION BY PRESIDENT CARTER

"Women and girls have been discriminated against for too long in a twisted interpretation of the word of God.Women and girls have been discriminated against for too long in a twisted interpretation of the word of God.

I HAVE been a practicing Christian all my life and a deacon and Bible teacher for many years. My faith is a source of strength and comfort to me, as religious beliefs are to hundreds of millions of people around the world. So my decision to sever my ties with the Southern Baptist Convention, after six decades, was painful and difficult. It was, however, an unavoidable decision when the convention's leaders, 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.

This view that women are somehow inferior to men is not restricted to one religion or belief. Women are prevented from playing a full and equal role in many faiths. Nor, tragically, does its influence stop at the walls of the church, mosque, synagogue or temple. This discrimination, unjustifiably attributed to a Higher Authority, has provided a reason or excuse for the deprivation of women's equal rights across the world for centuries.

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.

The impact of these religious beliefs touches every aspect of our lives. They help explain why in many countries boys are educated before girls; why girls are told when and whom they must marry; and why many face enormous and unacceptable risks in pregnancy and childbirth because their basic health needs are not met.

In some Islamic nations, women are restricted in their movements, punished for permitting the exposure of an arm or ankle, deprived of education, prohibited from driving a car or competing with men for a job. If a woman is raped, she is often most severely punished as the guilty party in the crime.

The same discriminatory thinking lies behind the continuing gender gap in pay and why there are still so few women in office in the West. The root of this prejudice lies deep in our histories, but its impact is felt every day. It is not women and girls alone who suffer. It damages all of us. The evidence shows that investing in women and girls delivers major benefits for society. An educated woman has healthier children. She is more likely to send them to school. She earns more and invests what she earns in her family.

It is simply self-defeating for any community to discriminate against half its population. We need to challenge these self-serving and outdated attitudes and practices - as we are seeing in Iran where women are at the forefront of the battle for democracy and freedom.

I understand, however, why many political leaders can be reluctant about stepping into this minefield. Religion, and tradition, are powerful and sensitive areas to challenge. But my fellow Elders and I, who come from many faiths and backgrounds, no longer need to worry about winning votes or avoiding controversy - and we are deeply committed to challenging injustice wherever we see it.

The Elders are an independent group of eminent global leaders, brought together by former South African president Nelson Mandela, who offer their influence and experience to support peace building, help address major causes of human suffering and promote the shared interests of humanity. We have decided to draw particular attention to the responsibility of religious and traditional leaders in ensuring equality and human rights and have recently published a statement that declares: "The justification of discrimination against women and girls on grounds of religion or tradition, as if it were prescribed by a Higher Authority, is unacceptable."

We are calling on all leaders to challenge and change the harmful teachings and practices, no matter how ingrained, which justify discrimination against women. We ask, in particular, that leaders of all religions have the courage to acknowledge and emphasis the positive messages of dignity and equality that all the world's major faiths share.

The carefully selected verses found in the Holy Scriptures to justify the superiority of men owe more to time and place - and the determination of male leaders to hold onto their influence - than eternal truths. Similar biblical excerpts could be found to support the approval of slavery and the timid acquiescence to oppressive rulers.

I am also familiar with vivid descriptions in the same Scriptures in which women are revered as pre-eminent leaders. During the years of the early Christian church women served as deacons, priests, bishops, apostles, teachers and prophets. It wasn't until the fourth century that dominant Christian leaders, all men, twisted and distorted Holy Scriptures to perpetuate their ascendant positions within the religious hierarchy.

The truth is that male religious leaders have had - and still have - an option to interpret holy teachings either to exalt or subjugate women. They have, for their own selfish ends, overwhelmingly chosen the latter. Their continuing choice provides the foundation or justification for much of the pervasive persecution and abuse of women throughout the world. This is in clear violation not just of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but also the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul, Moses and the prophets, Muhammad, and founders of other great religions - all of whom have called for proper and equitable treatment of all the children of God. It is time we had the courage to challenge these views."
by President Carter.
My source.

"......blessed is the fruit of thy womb....."

Contrast this please from Rush Limbaugh's "Female Summit" on Feb. 25th.
"RUSH: We are starting on our Female Summit today with a call from Dee in San Diego. Dee, welcome. You're first up on the Female Summit today. Great to have you here.

CALLER: Well, thanks for having me, and it's a true, true honor. I owe my listening to my father. I have to give him the accolades 'cause he accused me of being a liberal vegetarian, and told me I had to stop listening to NPR and listen to you at least one hour a day. So I started eight years ago and I've been hooked. But getting to the point of my friends and associates who are females and their dislike of you and your program, it does have to do with I guess their view of you being pompous and --

RUSH: Are these friends of yours like-minded? Are they conservatives?

CALLER: Yes. I have like-minded conservatives and one in particular, you know, she just really detests your program, and she has family members --

RUSH: She ever listen to it?

CALLER: She has listened to it once, and I was telling your screener that I think you made a great, great point when you said you have to listen for at least three weeks --

RUSH: Six.

CALLER: -- to really get the gist.

RUSH: Six weeks.

CALLER: -- of the show.

RUSH: Six weeks. Three weeks not enough.

CALLER: All right.

RUSH: Yeah, six weeks.

CALLER: Okay, six weeks. And I've not been able to get her to listen. Also, she's a schoolteacher. Believe it or not, a conservative schoolteacher.

RUSH: All right. See, now, this is something about which I can do nothing.

CALLER: Right.

RUSH: Here's a woman who's listened to me one time, she thinks I'm pompous. She's a schoolteacher, she's willing to profess her own ignorance by saying I'm pompous after having listened to one day, and she's out teaching kids? This woman is a menace to society." Original Source (It is Rush's own site, you can take my word for it if you don't want to give him a hit).

And why did Rush call a "Female Summit"?
"The Female Summit is the result of a poll, a national poll by a North Carolina group of Democrats called the Public Policy Polling group, PPP. They did a national poll on me. They found out I have a 46% approval rating, a 43% disapproval, but I've got a huge gender gap, far more men approve of me than do women. The percentage of women that approve versus disapprove coupled with the male approval, disapproval, equals a gender gap of minus 31 points." (same source as above)

Which just further proves Women are smarter.