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JIMMY CARTER – NOBEL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE

Nobel Prize: The thirty-ninth President of the United States, James Earl Carter, Jr. (born 1924) won the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.”

Nationality: American Education: In 1946 he earned a B.S. degree from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland; he did graduate work in reactor technology and nuclear physics at Union College (Schenectady, New York).

Occupation: Carter served as President from January 20, 1977 to January 20, 1981. In 1982 Carter became Distinguished Professor at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

1. In his book Living Faith (1998) Jimmy Carter wrote:

“The Gospels recount how Jesus, having lived a perfect and blameless life, accepted a death of horrible suffering on the cross on our behalf, as an atonement for the sins we have committed. Accepting Christ as my savior means believing all these things and entering into a relationship with God through him, so that my past and future sins no longer alienate me from my Creator.

Putting our total faith in these concepts is what is meant by being ‘born again.’ It’s when there is an intimate melding of my life with that of Jesus: I become a brother with him, and God is our mutual parent. This frees me from the strings that previously limited my relationship with my Creator.” (Jimmy Carter, Living Faith, New York, Times Books/Random House, 1998, 20).

2. “Being born again is a new life, not of perfection but of striving, stretching, and searching – a life of intimacy with God through Holy Spirit. There must first be an emptying, and then a refilling. To the extent that we want to know, understand, and experience God, we can find all this in Jesus. It is a highly personal and subjective experience, possible only if we are searching for greater truths about ourselves and God.” (Carter 1998, 20-21).

3. “If one should go so far as to believe in the Big Bang theory, which is generally accepted now, I see that as completely compatible with God’s creation of the universe. So, I’m perfectly at ease with – you know, with the scriptures as I understand them and the scientific discoveries that have been proven.” (Carter 1999b).

4. “Jesus was the Messiah, the long-awaited savior, who came both to reveal God to us and to heal the division between God and humankind. As Jesus told his disciples, ‘If you have seen me, you have seen God’ (John 14:9).” (Carter 1998, 20).

5. In his book Sources of Strength: Meditations on Scripture for a Living Faith (Chapter 1 ‘What It Takes to Be a Christian’) Carter wrote:

“I want to share the Plan of Salvation with you.

1) God loves all of us.

2) All of us are sinners.

3) Sin separates us from God.

4) We cannot save ourselves. Only God can save us, through our faith.

5) Jesus came to remove the barrier of sin.

6) It is through our faith in Christ that we receive these blessings.

Some people may think this path to salvation is too simple and easy – that something else must be required for us to receive God’s mercy and everlasting life. After all, most of the achievements in life – education, a good family, a successful career – require hard work, persistence, and sacrifice. Yet God’s forgiveness and blessings are given to us freely, by pure grace.

The simple but profound fact is that our lives can be changed – beginning now – by professing our faith in Jesus Christ.” (Carter 1999a, ch. 1).

6. “I think the basic thrust of a scripture is ultimate and all-pervasively true. I believe, obviously, that Jesus is the son of God, that he was the promised Messiah. I believe that he was born of the Virgin Mary. Those tenets of my faith are very secure for me.” (Carter 1999b).

7. “One of the most interesting verses that I know in the Bible, for instance, is when the Romans ask Paul, St. Paul, what are the important things in life, what are the things that never change, and Paul said, interestingly, they’re the things that you cannot see.

What are the things that you can’t see that are important? I would say justice, truth, humility, service, compassion, love.” (Carter 1996).

8. “One of the tenets of my faith is that all of us are equal in the eyes of God. As the Bible said, there’s no distinction between male and female; there’s no distinction between master and slave; there’s no distinction between gentile and Jew; there’s no distinction between say white and African-American in the eyes of God. And those guiding lights prove adequate to me as a foundation for faith.” (Carter 1996).

9. To the question, “How would you describe the condition of American society right now?” President Carter replied:

“When I look at the standards of conduct that are acceptable and prevalent now, compared to when I was a child growing up during the Depression years, there’s a dramatic change – I think for the worst.

I never knew anyone in the community in which I lived who was divorced. I knew that people in Hollywood got divorced and violated the pledge in the eye – in the presence of God – to love, honor and cherish each other for eternity between a husband and wife. That concerns me. I think that there’s no doubt that the prevalence of almost unrestricted television and motion pictures and the field of violence and sexual promiscuity are dramatic changes.” (Carter 1999b).

10. “My faith comes from my belief as a Christian, my confidence that the life of Christ was perfect, that the things He taught and did are the perfect example for human being’s life.” (Carter 1996).

“There’s a mandate from Christ Himself for Christians to go into Judea and Samaria and through other nations to spread The Word of Christianity. And I try to do that, as a matter of fact.” (Carter 1999b).

11. “Religious faith has always been at the core of my existence.” (Carter 1998, 16).

“The Bible offers concrete guidance for overcoming our weaknesses and striving toward the transcendent life for which we were created.” (Carter 1999a).

12. In 1999, in an interview for PBS, Carter said:

“I think there is a probing right now, with the coming of a new millennium, among people, which I think is very advantageous to say, ‘Well, here’s the two thousandth birthday, in effect of Jesus Christ. What does that mean? Why have two billion people on earth accepted faith in Him as a basic commitment of life?’

‘Why was I created? What is my proper relationship to God?’ ‘What is my proper relationship to my fellow human beings?’ ‘How can I live a life that is a success – a success not measured by bank accounts or the beauty of one’s house or one’s name in the paper, but success as measured by the principles of God, that don’t change?’

I think that’s the kind of question that is now being pursued increasingly by people as the millennium approaches.” (Carter 1999b).

See also Carter’s books:

Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President, 1982, 1995; The Blood of Abraham, 1985, 1993; An Hour before Daylight: Memoirs of a Rural Boyhood, 2001; Christmas in Plains: Memories, 2001, etc.