Every
American should be startled and deeply concerned by the idolatrous, un-American
prayer that opened the current session of the U.S. Congress. Democrat
representative, Emmanuel Cleaver, a Methodist minister, closed his politically
correct prayer by invoking the names of foreign gods, saying,
"We ask these
things in the name of the monotheistic God, Brahma, and god known by many names
by many different faiths. Amen and Awoman.”
Since most Americans
profess to be Christian, you would think Jesus Christ would have earned at
least a mention, but it was not to be. Cleaver, no doubt, would insist that He
is included in the “god known by many names by many different faiths.”
In other words, for
the Democrat Party, and many Republicans as well, Jesus Christ is no longer the
unique Son of God and Savior of the world. In their secularist, postmodern worldview,
all religions worship the same God and call him by different names such as Brahma,
Allah, Krishna, Shiva Yahweh, and Jesus Christ.
This prayer serves to highlight
how far our culture has drifted from a Christian worldview and the original
American vision.
This is Unbiblical and Un-American
Cleaver’s
prayer was such a contrast to the prayer that opened the very first session of
the U.S. Congress on September 5, 1774. The delegates had met to discuss how to
respond to the British invasion of the colonies, their lockdown of the city of
Boston, and their closure of the Boston seaport.
Before
beginning their discussions, they agreed to have a time of Bible reading and
prayer. They invited Rev. Jacob Dusche, an Anglican minister from Philadelphia,
to lead them in the time of prayer. After reading the entire 35th
Psalm, Dusche began praying, saying,
O Lord,
our high and mighty Father, heavenly king of kings, and Lord of Lords, who dost
from Thy throne behold all the dwellers of the earth, and reignest with power
supreme over all kingdoms, empires, and governments. Look down in mercy we beseech thee on these
our American states who have fled to Thee from the rod of the oppressor . . . desiring
to be henceforth dependent only on Thee. Shower down upon them and the millions
they represent, such temporal blessings as Thou seest expedient for them in
this world and crown them with everlasting joy in the world to come. All this we ask in
the name and through the merits of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, and our Savior. Amen (Hyatt, 1726:The Year that Defined America, 113).
As
Dusche prayed, many of the delegates, particularly the Anglicans such as George
Washington and Richard Henry Lee, knelt in prayer. The Puritans and Quakers,
according to their custom, sat with bowed heads and prayed. So powerful was the
Bible reading and prayer that Dusche was invited to be the chaplain for the
Congress and to open every session with prayer.
Members
of this First Continental Congress were a “Who’s Who” of America’s founding
generation. They included George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander
Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams, John Adams, and others. Every day
they lifted prayers to God in the name of Jesus Christ.
Thirteen
years later, at the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin recalled the
power of those daily prayers that were offered in the name of Christ. Recognizing
the need for prayer at the Convention, he addressed the Convention president,
George Washington, saying,
In
the beginning of the contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible to
danger, we had daily prayers in this room for Divine protection. Our prayers,
sir, were heard and they were graciously answered. I therefore beg leave to
move that, henceforth, prayers imploring the assistance of heaven and its
blessing on our deliberation be held in this assembly every morning before we
proceed to business (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 141-42).
Jesus Christ Was at the Center of Their Faith
There
is no question that the faith of the founding generation was centered in Jesus
Christ. In fact, a British-appointed governor wrote to his superiors in
England, “If you ask an American who is his master, he will tell you he has
none, nor any governor but Jesus Christ” (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that DefinedAmerica, 81).
This
Christ-centered faith was a fruit of the Great Awakening that transformed
colonial America. Every founder was affected to one degree or another. This
explains a prayer recorded in a prayer journal kept by George Washington in his
twenties. It reads, “Bless, O Lord, the whole race of mankind, and let the
world be filled with the knowledge of Thee and Thy Son, Jesus Christ” (Hyatt, 1726:The Year that Defined America, 132).
It
also explains the Prayer Proclamation of John Hancock while serving as governor
of Massachusetts. Hancock, who also served as president of the Continental
Congress, called on the constituents of his state, and all Americans, to ask forgiveness
for their sins “through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ,” and,
To
overrule all the commotion in the world, to the spreading of the true religion
of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, in its purity and power, among all the people of the
earth (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 171).
This is What Made America Great
Deuteronomy
6:13 directly confronts Cleaver’s idolatrous prayer. It reads, Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and
take your oaths in his name.
We
gain understanding of this passage by considering the Old Testament Hebrew
words for “LORD” and “God.” “LORD” is a translation of Yahweh and this
was the personal name of God as revealed to Abraham, Moses, and the Jewish
people. “God” is a translation of Elohim, which was a generic name for deity
in the ancient near East.
Yahweh
revealed
Himself to Israel as a personal God with self-consciousness, and will, capable
of feeling, choosing, and having a reciprocal relationship with other personal and
social beings. Yahweh was the personal name of the God of Israel. The
nations surrounding Israel had their Elohim, but Yahweh was their
Elohim
The
Deuteronomy 6:13 command reads in Hebrew, Fear Yahweh your Elohim and serve
him only . . .. Jesus quoted this passage to Satan in Luke 4:8 in response
to Satan offering Him all the kingdoms of this world if he would bow down and
worship him. Jesus vehemently replied, Get behind Me Satan! For it is
written, “You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.”
There
is no room for religious pluralism here. God our Creator has made Himself known
and He alone is worthy of our honor, worship, and service.
Jesus is God Incarnate
In
the New Testament, Jesus identified Himself with Yahweh of the Old
Testament. For example, in talking to a Jewish audience, Jesus said, Your father
Abraham rejoiced to see My day and he saw it and was glad. They answered, You
are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham? Jesus replied, Before
Abraham was, I Am (John 8:58).
Jesus
is here alluding to God’s appearance to Moses in the burning bush where He
revealed Himself by the Hebrew name Yahweh (Exodus 3:14). The Hebrew name
Yahweh is normally translated as “LORD,” but here, in Exodus 3:14, it is
translated as “I Am.”
At
this point, the Jews took up stones to stone Him because, in their minds, He had
blasphemed by identifying Himself with the God of Israel. He had not
blasphemed, however, for he was God incarnate. He was Yahweh made flesh,
the ultimate revelation of God to humanity.
The
early church understood this, which is why they referred to Him by the Greek
title kurios, translated as “Lord” in our English Bibles. He is called
the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus, and Christ Jesus the Lord.
This
is significant for the Hebrew name Yahweh was translated as kurios
by the Septuagint, a widely used Greek translation of the Old Testament,
produced around 275 B.C. This meant that all Greek-speaking Jews would
understand the confession of Jesus as kurios, or Lord, to be a
confession of His deity.
The Only Path to National Blessing
Psalm
33:12 says, Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, or literally, Blessed
is the nation whose Elohim is Yahweh. America has been blessed like no
other nation because her founders honored Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. They
were not perfect but they acknowledge their need for Him and unashamedly prayed
in His name.
The
idolatrous prayer of the 117th Congress should be a wake-up call for
the American church. This is no time for indifference and compromise. We must
take a stand for our Christ-centered faith.
We
must also be serious about praying for another Jesus revival to sweep across
the land. For only that nation whose God is the LORD has any solid hope of
being protected and blessed.
This article is derived from Dr. Eddie Hyatt's book, 1726: The Year that Defined America, available from Amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com. He is also the founder of the "1726 Project" dedicated to educating Americans about the Christian origins of their nation out of a great, spiritual awakening.
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