Jimmy Carter is a name synonymous with many things—39th President of the United States, peanut farmer, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and self-professed devout Christian. Yet, for all the accolades and self-proclaimed humility that have long bolstered his reputation, his record—especially in matters of theology and morality—tells a far more troubling story.

Carter’s religion, much like his politics, has been a patchwork of liberal ideologies masquerading as Christian virtue, an assortment of half-truths and outright mutiny against the very God he claims to serve.

Carter’s presidency (1977–1981) was marked by his infamous self-portrayal as a born-again Southern Baptist, a label he wielded with pride. He once described his faith as “deeply personal,” yet his political positions repeatedly dragged that so-called faith into the mud of moral relativism.

On abortion, he walked a treacherous tightrope, claiming to personally oppose it yet supporting its legalization and refusing to push back against its growing normalization. Even more damning, he offered encouragement to legal challenges against anti-abortion laws in Georgia, effectively aligning himself with the culture of death he claimed to lament.

And let us not forget his liberal theology on homosexuality, which culminated in his shocking assertion that Jesus would support same-sex marriage—a claim he even admitted was devoid of any biblical basis. That may have been the “Jesus” whom Carter worshiped, but it isn’t the Jesus of the Bible.

His theological unraveling didn’t stop there. In 2000, Carter severed ties with the Southern Baptist Convention, citing their “rigid” stance on biblical authority and women in ministry. But the reality is that Carter wasn’t fleeing rigidity, he was fleeing conviction.

Carter could not stomach the inerrancy of Scripture or the moral absolutes it proclaims. His departure wasn’t an act of principled dissent, it was a flight from orthodoxy, a refusal to bow the knee to whom every knee will ultimately bow, like it or not.

This is the backdrop against which Al Mohler’s recent comments must be understood. When asked on the Room for Nuance podcast whether he believed Carter was born again, Mohler, ever the diplomat, responded, “I have to hope and pray so.” Mohler even recounted personal interactions with Carter, including a gesture of kindness from the former president in sending a friendly message through a mutual acquaintance.

Mohler’s words, while always measured and respectful, were far more generous than Carter’s life and theology merit. The truth is that Jimmy Carter has spent decades championing causes that spit in the face of God. His support for abortion rights alone reveals a heart unmoved by the slaughter of the innocent, a conscience seared to the cries of the unborn. Where is the fruit of repentance in such a man? Where is the evidence of a heart transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ?

Carter’s moral witness—or lack thereof—betrays a man who is far more at peace with the world than with the God who created him. His casual endorsement of same-sex marriage, his relentless opposition to biblical gender roles, and his willingness to cozy up to the progressive zeitgeist reveal a troubling pattern. He has no conviction over rampant sexual immorality. He does not merely fail to stand against cultural decay, he actively endorses it, offering his blessing to the very ideologies that lead people further from the truth.

If Carter is indeed a “typical SBC deacon in a liberal church,” as Mohler half-jokingly described him, then he is a tragic caricature of what happens when theology is untethered from Scripture. He is the product of a church culture that prizes niceness over truth, accommodation over conviction, and sentimentality over sanctity.

Carter’s life and legacy are a sobering reminder of what becomes of a man who refuses to submit to the Lordship of Christ in every area of life. His support for the killing of children through abortion and his promotion of sexual immorality are not the actions of a man indwelt by the Holy Spirit. They are the deeds of a man at odds with—and at home apart from—his Creator.

While Mohler expressed his hope that Carter might indeed be born again, the reality is that such hope seems increasingly unfounded. Carter’s words and deeds reflect a man who would prefer an afterlife apart from the moral statutes of God. His theology is not one of repentance and faith but of rebellion and compromise.

And while I, too, hope and pray that Carter might repent and believe the gospel, his time is running out. The clock ticks, and eternity waits. The question is not whether God’s grace is sufficient to save him—it absolutely is—but whether Carter will humble himself to receive it.