Biden also declared Jan. 9 as a National Day of Mourning across the U.S. Carter, the longest-lived former president, died Sunday at his home in Plains, Georgia. He was 100.
Biden also ordered U.S. flags to fly at half-staff for 30 days from Sunday.
The mixed legacy of #39Steve Jordahl (AFN) Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States, leaves behind a legacy of being a weak president but a well-respected elder statesman and man of faith after he left office. 
Dr. Alex McFarland of Truth for a New Generation says Carter never overcame what became known as his "crisis of confidence" speech while in office. But his life after politics was a whole different story, says McFarland: "He let his politics steer many of his positions and decisions, but he was, in many ways, an exemplary human being." Carter taught Sunday School at his Baptist church well into his 90s, but McFarland says he had a falling out with the Southern Baptist Convention over the ordination of women: "The SBC would reiterate [that it] stands with New Testament ecclesiology: pastors are males. Jimmy Carter, for whatever reason, wanted to pull out and not be a Southern Baptist anymore." 
Dr. Ray Pritchard of Keep Believing Ministries says despite that misinterpretation of scripture, Carter finished well: "[He was] married decades and decades and decades – and as far as I know, no scandal ever surrounded Jimmy Carter." McFarland and Pritchard made their comments Monday on American Family Radio. |
As reaction poured in from around the world, President Joe Biden mourned Carter’s death, saying the world lost an “extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian” and he lost a dear friend. Biden cited Carter’s compassion and moral clarity, his work to eradicate disease, forge peace, advance civil and human rights, promote free and fair elections, house the homeless and advocacy for the disadvantaged as an example for others.
President-election Donald Trump also responded. "I just heard of the news about the passing of President Jimmy Carter. Those of us who have been fortunate to have served as President understand this is a very exclusive club, and only we can relate to the enormous responsibility of leading the Greatest Nation in History," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "The challenges Jimmy faced as President came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude."
In his 1975 book “Why Not The Best,” Carter said of himself: “I am a Southerner and an American, I am a farmer, an engineer, a father and husband, a Christian, a politician and former governor, a planner, a businessman, a nuclear physicist, a naval officer, a canoeist, and among other things a lover of Bob Dylan’s songs and Dylan Thomas’s poetry.”
A moderate Democrat, Carter entered the 1976 presidential race as a little-known Georgia governor with a broad smile, outspoken Baptist mores and technocratic plans reflecting his education as an engineer.
After he left office and returned home to his tiny hometown of Plains in southwest Georgia, Carter regularly taught Sunday School lessons at Maranatha Baptist Church until his mobility declined. Those sessions drew visitors from around the world.
Meanwhile, the Christian Post notes that Carter was a longtime Southern Baptist but ultimately left the denomination in 2000 because of its refusal to ordain women, among other reasons.
"I'm familiar with the verses they have quoted about wives being subjugated to their husbands," Carter told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an interview at the time.
"In my opinion, this is a distortion of the meaning of Scripture. … I personally feel the Bible says all people are equal in the eyes of God. I personally feel that women should play an absolutely equal role in service of Christ in the church."
