Jimmy Carter has been accused of pushing “heretical notions” for supporting gay marriage.

In a recent interview with The Huffington Post, the 87-year-old Carter, who has taught Sunday School for decades, discussed marriage for gay couples.

When asked what the Bible says about homosexuality, the former president answered: “Homosexuality was well known in the ancient world, well before Christ was born and Jesus never said a word about homosexuality. In all of his teachings about multiple things – he never said that gay people should be condemned. I personally think it is very fine for gay people to be married in civil ceremonies.”

“I draw the line, maybe arbitrarily, in requiring by law that churches must marry people. I'm a Baptist, and I believe that each congregation is autonomous and can govern its own affairs. So if a local Baptist church wants to accept gay members on an equal basis, which my church does by the way, then that is fine. If a church decides not to, then government laws shouldn't require them to.”

Matt Barber of Liberty Counsel and Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission responded to Carter's comments in statements made to LifeSiteNews.com.

“I'm not surprised that he holds that view,” Land said. “He is hopelessly confused as a theologian.”

Barber said gay sex “is listed [in the Bible] over and over again in black-and-white as sin.”

“There's a word for what Jimmy Carter is doing. That's apostasy. That's a strong word to use, but Jimmy Carter is an apostate in that he is leading the least these to sin against what Scripture clearly condemns in terms of homosexual conduct.”

“He is not just fooling himself with this,” Barber added. “Unfortunately he's using the goodwill he has developed over the years and his history as the leader of the free world to push heretical notions.”

Carter has previously said America is ready for a president who is openly gay.