Getting to Know the Spiritual Books Written by the Late Jimmy Carter

After all the books Jimmy Carter wrote across more than four decades, his religious life and biblical devotion ultimately had the last word. His final title was Faith: A Journey for All (Simon & Schuster, 2018). He wrote that his goal was "to explore the broader meaning of faith, its far-reaching effect on our lives, and its relationship to past, present, and future events in America and around the world." Alice Mayhew, then VP and editorial director, called it in a press release an "important book at a time of uncertainty. President Jimmy Carter talks about the gift of faith through the great modern theologians, some inspired contemporaries, and his lifelong acceptance of the challenge and reward." 

Carter began with faith-focused books in 1997 with a spiritual autobiography, Living Faith (Random House). It traced his religious life from his naval career to the governor's mansion to the White House and on to decades of building homes with Habitat for Humanity and launching the Carter Center devoted to peace and reconciliation, according to PW's review.

Carter, who broke away from the conservative Southern Baptist tradition in 2000, taught Sunday School for 40 years at more progressive evangelical church in Plains. His lessons became Grammy-award winning audio books he personally narrated: Sources of Strength: Meditations on Scripture for a Living Faith (Times Books, 1997), followed by an audiobook series, Sunday Mornings in Plains: Bible Study with Jimmy Carter.

The Sunday Mornings series began with Leading a Worthy Life, in 2007, delving into "the Apostle Paul's case for reconciliation and unity in the face of disagreement and division," according to the publisher, Simon & Schuster Audio. Second in the series was Measuring Our Success, drawn from lessons in the Gospel of Mark. According to the PW review, Carter "highlighted scripture passages (that) emphasize a mission for embracing the most marginalized members of society and challenging entrenched authorities."

One of the challenges he frequently addressed was a troublesome blurring of the lines between church and state in books such as Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis (S&S, 2005) which won a Grammy Award for best spoken-word album. The British edition bore a more specific title: Faith & Freedom: The Christian Challenge for the World (Duckworth, 2006). Carter also stayed close to scripture with books such as NIV Lessons from Life Bible: Personal Reflections with Jimmy Carter (Zondervan, 2012). Yet, he eschewed fundamentalism in A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power (S&S, 2014) where he "calls on religious leaders, world leaders, and activists to fight for women's rights and guarantee parity in all aspects of life," according to PW.

 

 

 

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