ANyone else rather pleased by this?

[SolidGoldBrass]

I always thought Jimmy Carter was a bit of a dick, but this sort of impressed me.

i'd love to learn more about the elders, admirable concept.

very impressed by that piece, well written and carefully worded... and obviously one of the most important topics in the world today.

I hadn't seen it, thanks for drawing it to my attention.

does vague cheer-leadery thing, much to her own astonishment

he has just said everything i wish i had, but messed up, on this topic. so glad a 'bigwig' has articulated my thoughts for me.

sexism is every bit as evil as racism, yet so many churches justify it. thank goodness we have someone on our side.

I mean, I am a hardline atheist who thinks that all the superstitions are primitive bullshit, but also wants to allow people the right to believe nonsense if it comforts them and doesn;t impinge on the human rights of others. So I think attitudes like Carter's should be hugely encouraged.

With SGB here.

Good on you Jimmy!!!! I you....

Jimmy Carter has always been a man I admired for his personal morality that shines through in interviews so I am not surprised he wrote something like this. I am slightly too young to really know what he did as a President but an excellent article.

Pinky - we don't hear much about The Elders - the organisation is founded on an idea Richard Branson and Peter Gabriel had, based on the idea that traditional societies approach the elders of their communities for wisdom and advice, and how this concept might be applied to the 'global village'. I accidentally found out about this, being a Gabriel fan!

Here is the website.

Brilliant article, thanks for that SGB.

wow, i shoould have known about them what with Mary Robinson being a member

thanks for that link hoppy

Thank you SGB.

I have had to leave a church due to misogynist interpretations of the bible.

It would be nice to hear more from The Elders (or rather, for their work to be more widely publicised).

Thanks for highlighting this article, SGB - it's particularly pertinent given that this kind or thing still happens in our world.

It's pretty impressive that Carter has cut ties with Southern Baptist Convention at his age - it just goes to show that you can never be too old or too set in your ways to change, as long as you open your eyes and continue to learn from the world around you. He has given a true example of how age can equal wisdom.

Oh that's good. Thanks for the link SGB.