Our Endangered Values by Jimmy Carter see larger photo List Price: $25.00 Our Price: $15.00 Released 01 November, 2005 Hardcover Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

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Customer Review
Caught between the Democratic party and the Bible
3/5 Stars
I preface this by saying this is the first book of President Carter's that I have read so please temper my critique. I look forward to reviewing his previous books.

This book shows a former president tormented with the success of the Republican party and places part of the blame on the Christian evangelical community. Carter attempts to redefine moral values in his terms and uses Biblical passages to support his argument. I would highlight some key points:

1. Carter has demonstrated a fear and embarrassment of being a Christian, especially when asked by the media during his presidency. He felt uncomfortable of publicly sharing his faith with passion as president, except in examples cited of persons outside the United States. I would surmise that to him, Christians would be better seen and not heard.

2. Carter fails to realize the appearance of the evangelical movement is due to the gradual encroachment (over last fifty years) of the liberal and secular movement which has tried to garner rights for minority groups like homosexuals, abortionists and the like.

3. Carter fails to realize that authentic evangelicals are not tied to a political party but allied to their savior and Lord Jesus. The Republican party have leveraged Christians to further their political goals. However, Carter should be comforted by the fact that (according to some polls) more like 7% of "Christians" are born-again so most people labeling themselves as Christians can and will likely be swayed by both political parties.

4. For someone with a science background it's a disgrace for Carter to not present any evidence or knowledge of science supporting creation. Ample data abound. No wonder he was embarrassed to share his Christianity as a politician!

5. Conspiculously absent is any opinion of his Democratic party and how its liberal leaders either share or do not share his positions. Clearly, they don't share his views and I conclude that Carter feels trapped between the core Democratic values today and the evangelical community.

Finally, President Carter demonstrates all the good works which he's accomplished, and these are many and noteworthy. He does accurately characterize some of the misgivings of the current administration. However, as a born-again believer, I cannot share most of opinions and his attempt to redefine America's values as his values, pulling scripture to justify his case.

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