256 pages describing Carter's religious faith and values throughout his life. It was inspiring to see Carter give dignity to the concept of "evangelical," a word that has been hijacked and misused by many and now represents bigotry and self-centeredness. I was particularly taken by Carter's description of his defeat for re-election as president--such a contrast to more current politicians. He was disappointed, but turned those feelings around by focusing on the possibilities of the Carter Center and a chance to make incredible contributions to world peace, mental and physical health, and a myriad of other global problems. His work with Habitat for Humanity is so inspiring. I was taken with his humble attitude toward himself. I feel he reflects the purest spirit of Christianity. He restores my faith in the possibilities of a true Christian path. Blessed are the peacemaker. Jimmy Carter was one.

The time seemed appropriate for this bookshelf read

I saw this book when I was helping my Mom move and decided to look at the opening chapter. I realized after just a few pages that this was a book that I wanted to read. I think Momma got this as a Christmas present a few years back, and it is autographed by the author.

I have to say that I have perhaps more questions about the faith of Jimmy Carter after reading this book than I did before I read it. He speaks of reading after such liberal scholars as Tillich and Neibour and apparently agreeing with them. He also rails against the conservative, or as he calls it, the fundamentalist takeover of the SBC. He argues that the SBC is wrong to limit ordination to men. He does mention that some verses would support that view, but it is largely a matter of the Scripture reflecting the errors or prejudices of the authors. This was the most troubling part of the story to me. Carter does not seem to have a high view of Scripture. He talks about the conservatives only being interested in personal wealth and putting others down, while liberals are all about serving the poor and needy. What’s more he seems to paint with too broad a brush by saying that there is no contradiction between believing whatever science teaches and the Bible. He even says it is not a problem for him to believe man evolved from a lower form of life.

Still, as I said, this book is full of contradictions for me. He tells of being more involved in evangelism than most Christians I know. I think that perhaps he is one of those folks who sees the world in a sort of secular sacred dichotomy. They don’t contradict because they don’t integrate.

What a good man....

Jimmy Carter made an impression on me as a sincere, thoughtful, responsible and mature leader in the 70s when I was in high school and would read articles about him in Time magazine. He also conveyed compassion and decency and fairness in periodic, very personable, "fireside chats" on national TV to encourage people to keep heart during the oil embargo and all do our part to conserve.

Perhaps what most got my attention was that he offered a different potential sort of father figure and male role model than I had been exposed to before personally. It sucks that we are finally learning that Ronald Reagan ousted him partly by sabotaging the return of American hostages from Iran until after their presidential election in 1980. I think this is exactly what Trump and his corrupt cronies want to do in 2024-2025 with American hostages in Russia. Just like Trump's shenanigans to orchestrate pre-election announcements by the FBI of Hillary Clinton, and trying to bribe Ukraine to announce a sham investigation of Joe Biden. Same old despicable GOP playbook. Disgusting.

To clarify, my 4-star (loved it) rating is an average of 5 stars (life-changing) for the final chapter, which distills Jimmy Carter's philosophical thoughts on how to live a good life, and three stars (liked it) for the more biographical preceding chapters.

God bless you, Jimmy Carter. The example of your sincere but humble style of religious faith, utmost honesty and integrity, and peace-minded altruism has been a rare gift to this world.

Outstanding very readable and inspirational book. Picked this up at the Carter Library on a recent trip to Atlanta and glad I did. Especially enjoyed the chapters relating faith in leadership and justice. Pretty heavy the way he relates faith to just about everything including the origins of the universe. Definitely have a healthier respect for Jimmy Carter after reading this book.

Read a long time ago. Enjoyed. Great author and good man of God.

Jimmy Carter not only served as President of the United States in the post-Watergate years but also taught a mean Sunday school class. This book, based around some of those lessons but written as a personal narrative is very helpful in understanding the contours of Jimmy Carter's faith. Two things stood out to me. One is that Jimmy Carter has had a genuine personal encounter with Christ. Two is that he is strongly convinced that it is not enough to profess faith in Christ if one does not live this out in a life of active and sacrificial service. He talks about his own journey in this regard including his life in politics, as founder of the Carter Center, and his work with Habitat for Humanity. And he speaks very personally about his own marriage and the tensions and growth he experienced over the years.

Most memorable to me is the story he told of the Rev. Otis Moss's sermon at the funeral service of Mrs. Martin Luther King, Sr, where Moss spoke of the "little dash between"--the dash that appears between the date of our birth and the date of our death on a grave marker. What a challenging image to remind us of the fleeting character of our lives and the challenge to make the most of our days.

The book is well written with insights about human@
experiences. He draws many parallels between religious beliefs and the stability of marriage vows and practices. Often he'll begin with a life lesson or experience and then connect it to beliefs in God and religion.He covers a wide range of human experiences and he draws many parallels in the book. To quote US News and World report, "Carter writes with compelling honesty about his mistakes, his challenges, and his faith."

This book has a lot going for it: nicely packaged, well-written, thoughtful, candid. At times I really enjoyed it. But overall I found it a little disappointing. Carter endless boasting is too much to stomach.

The most helpful aspect of this book was to understand better the contours of Carter's personal theology. What is very clear is that by any classical standard Carter may be a committed Christian but he is no evangelical. His beliefs include: Homosexual practice is acceptable (p.187), Biblical inerrancy is ridiculous (p.197-8), Reinhold Niebuhr and Soren Kierkegaard are his favorite theologians, Mormons are Christian, evolution is not up for debate....

A pretty helpful book for political junkies needing to know more about Carter, but not as helpful as an inspirational aid for Christians.

Jimmy Carter's life journey and faith and the challenges he overcame.

Carter shares with us a lifetime of experiences mostly unrelated to the few years in the White House. You might sense that these are the common approaches to opportunities he has to share with people in church.
Anyone of faith, even other religions, will get something from this book.

Former President Jimmy Carter's 1996 autobiographical book "Living Faith" is based on life experiences that influenced his Sunday school lessons. The book reflects his personal commitments which are challenging, innovative, and in his words --"fills me with joy and peace". I found his writing inspiring and very interesting.