by Mike James

On January 3, 2021, Representative Emanuel Cleaver gave the first daily congressional prayer of the new 117th Congress. Cleaver is also a United Methodist pastor who has served for many years in Congress.

Cleaver was criticized by some for ending his prayer with the words "Amen and Awoman." The criticism stems from the fact "Awoman" is not a word. In fact, "Amen" has no connection to gender either. "Amen" merely means "so be it."

The Congressman may have used the new term because of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's proposal to eliminate references to gender as part of her proposed new rules package. Pelosi has also appointed the first full-time female chaplain of either chamber of Congress.

"With this conversation, in the presence of the 117th House of Representatives, I concluded with a light-hearted pun in recognition of the record number of women who will be representing the American people in Congress during this term as well as in recognition of the first female Chaplain of the House of Representatives, whose service commenced this week," said Mr. Cleaver in a statement.

There are now 144 women serving in the House and Senate, which breaks the previous Congress's record of 129.

The real thing that bothered me about Cleaver's prayer was what he said before "Awoman." Here is the ending of his prayer: "And dare I ask, oh Lord, peace even in this chamber now and evermore, we ask it in the name of the monotheistic god, Brahma, and god known by many names by many different faiths. Amen and Awoman."

Did you catch that? Do you see the problems? Cleaver, who claims to worship Jesus Christ, is equating the true God with false gods. When he says the monotheistic god he is referring to the three western religions. I believe the Jews have the right God but don't understand Him completely. As far as the Muslims are concerned, they are not worshipping the God of the Bible. Allah is not the same as YHWH! This is easy to recognize by reading the Koran or reading about the history of Islam's origins.

Who is Brahma? Brahma is the creator god in Hinduism. "In order to help him create the universe," the website Learn Religions wrote, "Brahma gave birth to the 11 forefathers of the human race called 'Prajapatis' and the seven great sages or the 'Saptarishi.' These children or mindsons of Brahma, who were born out of his mind rather than body, are called the 'Manasputras.'"

In other words Brahma is a false god, an idol, and we know what YHWH has to say about that (Exodus 20:3). But notice the Congressman also appeared to be saying God is worshipped by many different names and faiths. In other words, there are many paths to the one God. This is blasphemous (Acts 4:12). Bahaism, Buddhism, Shintoism, and all the other religions of the world do not worship the true God. The Bible is the one and only Word of the true God.

Here are just a few examples of other acts promoting false gods in the United States: The Hindu goddess, Kali, goddess of destruction and death, was displayed for days on the Empire State Building in August 2015. A replica of the arch way leading to a temple of Baal was put up in a park outside New York City Hall in September 2016. A statue of the goddess Athena Parthenos (goddess virgin), sculpted from 1982–1990 and covered in pure gold in 2002, now stands in a replica of the Parthenon of Athens in Nashville, Tennessee. Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom and learning, was erected outside the Indonesian Embassy in Washington D.C. in 2013. The Indonesian government put up the goddess on their property—but the point is, we allowed it.

I understand most people in this country don't believe in these false gods, but that is the point. We don't think this is a big deal because we don't understand who the real God is and what He teaches us—so much so that a "minister of Jesus Christ" prays to false gods before the leaders of our country. We have a form of godliness but we deny its power (2 Timothy 3:5).

This syncretism is mirroring what happened in ancient Israel. The Israelites mixed the worship of the true God with the false gods of the peoples around them. God allowed this to occur for a while, but it eventually led to Israel and Judah's destruction.

The mixing of Christianity and pagan practices is nothing new, but for our religious and political leadership to do it so openly gives us a grasp of where we are as a country. Read Ezekiel 8 to understand why God allowed Judah to be destroyed. We are heading down that same road.

Sources:

"Cleaver Concludes Congressional Prayer With 'Amen and Awoman,'" by Dominick Mastrangelo, The Hill, January 4, 2021, https://thehill.com/homenews/532547-cleaver-concludes-congressional-prayer-amen-and-awoman.

"Democrats Set 117th Congress Stage for Godlessness," by Cheryl K. Chumly, The Washington Times, January 3, 2021.

"America is Filled with Idol Worship and False Gods," by F. Dean Hackett, Foundational, June 17, 2020, https://fdeanhackett.com/is-there-yet-a-servant-of-the-lord/.