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The Congressional prayer can’t even escape the new woke gender terms. This morning, the prayer to open the 117th Congress was led by Representative Emmanuel Cleaver II.
Cleaver has been in office since 2005 and represents the Kansas City, Missouri area. He is a pastor who has a longer record as a politician. He was all too happy to endorse Nancy Pelosi for Speaker once again.
“We have the most capable speaker in modern times,” Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) said in an interview amid the multihour vote. “She is clearly the most capable and competent speaker — to bring a large group of people with diverse backgrounds and political ideology together, and function as one.”
Nancy must’ve been doing something right in order to get the Squad back in line and vote for her. Heck, we should have no worries about the Coronavirus now if it’s ok to break quarantine to show up to vote!
Today he was asked to lead the opening prayer. He did, and finished it thusly.
The kicker is that he ended his Congressional prayer by going WOKE.
AMEN and A-WOMEN?? Was Cleaver taught ANY Latin while in college and divinity school? Seriously, was he?
AMEN is not gendered, yet his implication is that AMEN is ….MALE. Therefore we should also end our prayers by saying A-Woman or A-Women? This tortured reasoning is so NOT Biblical and devoid of commonsense it’s beyond laughable, it is SAD!
Here is one of the many definitions of AMEN.
Please look up the Latin meaning for Amen. It most certainly does NOT mean what you implied it does at the end of your prayer. You sir, should know that from your seminary days. https://t.co/huv3v8Jkd2
— Nina Bookout (@NDBook96) January 4, 2021
Yes, he certainly should.
“Because of its association with the Hebrew terms for confirmation or dependability, one might also translate it “certainly, certainly” or “most assuredly.”
When one says “amen” in response to a prayer, it serves as an affirmation of agreement with the content of the prayer (cf. 1 Cor 14:16)—in which case it is sometimes translated “So be it” (cf. CCC 2856)—or as an expression of faith that God will hear and act on the prayer.
Bottom line: Amen is an interjection associated with the Hebrew words for truth and dependability, it conveys the idea of agreement or emphasis, and its meaning can be translated different ways depending on the context.”
It is an interjection that truly has no gender. Period.
The prayer to open the 117th Congress ended with "amen and a-women."
— Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (@GReschenthaler) January 3, 2021
Amen is Latin for "so be it."
It's not a gendered word.
Unfortunately, facts are irrelevant to progressives. Unbelievable. pic.twitter.com/FvZ0lLMDDr
Congress, led by Nancy Pelosi, is going woke to the detriment of the very fabric of our being. Quite frankly it hurts my heart to see this happen to our Republic. Yes, I do realize that we’ve seen our churches get more progressive and, again, that hurts my heart and at times shakes my faith. Yet here, we now have a prayer entered into the Congressional Record that literally implies that our simple prayer ending with AMEN means we are gendering someone or something or whatever.
AMEN is a simple word of affirmation. Period. There is no gender. While Rep. Cleaver might’ve been sincere with his prayer, sadly his ending was a sad commentary on today’s society.
I will leave you with the very FIRST Congressional prayer from our Continental Congress.
“The Prayer in the First Congress, A.D. 1774
O Lord our Heavenly Father, high and mighty King of kings, and Lord of lords, who dost from thy throne behold all the dwellers on earth and reignest with power supreme and uncontrolled over all the 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 and thrown themselves on Thy gracious protection, desiring to be henceforth dependent only on Thee. To Thee have they appealed for the righteousness of their cause; to Thee do they now look up for that countenance and support, which Thou alone canst give. Take them, therefore, Heavenly Father, under Thy nurturing care; give them wisdom in Council and valor in the field; defeat the malicious designs of our cruel adversaries; convince them of the unrighteousness of their Cause and if they persist in their sanguinary purposes, of own unerring justice, sounding in their hearts, constrain them to drop the weapons of war from their unnerved hands in the day of battle!Be Thou present, O God of wisdom, and direct the councils of this honorable assembly; enable them to settle things on the best and surest foundation. That the scene of blood may be speedily closed; that order, harmony and peace may be effectually restored, and truth and justice, religion and piety, prevail and flourish amongst the people. Preserve the health of their bodies and vigor of their minds; shower down on them and the millions they here represent, such temporal blessings as Thou seest expedient for them in this world and crown them with everlasting glory 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.
Reverend Jacob Duché
Rector of Christ Church of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
September 7, 1774, 9 o’clock a.m.”
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Feature Photo Credit: Prayer, Cross, by Geralt via Pixabay, cropped and modified
Spanky says: It;s not Latin. It’s Hebrew.
M says: It came to the English language from Latin. Latin got it from Greek which got it from Hebrew.
C G says: The word is Hebrew in origin and is still used by Jews. The origin is Hebrew and since Jesus was a Jew and undoubtedly fluent in Hebrew as well as Aramaic, respect to the Hebrew origin of the word ought to be paid. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, it means “Verily” or “Certainly.”
It would have only become “Greek” by the JEWISH missionaries preaching the gospel of Christ, and it would have become Latin the same way. It’s a Hebrew word.
Hate_me says: There is very strong reason to believe the word came to Hebrew from Aramaic, but it is a common term across many Afroasiatic languages with triliteral roots – to include Arabic and its use in Islam. Whichever language actually originated the term will likely never be certain, and is a very odd pissing contest.
Clearly, though the New Testament and the stories of Jesus were written in Koine Greek (as global politics at the time were a product of Macedonian empire), it is misguided to use Jesus Christ as a reference point for a word that was in use for at least a millenium prior to his conception.
Ultimately, what the word means in modern Christianity is slightly different than what it means in Hebrew (admittedly, they are both very fluid translations). It’s not wrong to infer that a Christian prayer is referencing the Latin concept.
Etymology is fun, but hardly the final vote on what a word means. To do so is a very niggardly approach to linguistics.
GWB says: To do so is a very niggardly approach to linguistics.
Oh, you naughty boy, you! 😉
GWB says: 57 occurrences of the “English” word ‘amen’ in the NIV*, 30 of them in the New Testament (not a single time in the Gospels or Acts, so it never issues from Jesus’ mouth in the official record).
In the Old Testament, “amen” occurs 30 times in the Hebrew. One occurrence is a double shot (“amen amen” in Hebrew) and is translated “Amen. So be it.” Two others are translated “truth”.
Not every occurrence of “amen” in the Greek (123 of them) is translated into “amen” or “truth”. The rest (18 occurrences) are left untranslated altogether.
The Greek word is obviously just a transliteration of the Hebrew. I doubt it ever becomes ‘part’ of Greek, even as a loan word. It’s not a loan word in Latin, either, as it likely never gathered any non-Christian meaning in the general use of the language in the Empire.
It has become a loan word in American English due to the overwhelming cultural stamp of Christianity on the founding of our nation.
In any sense that it “came to” English, it came directly from the Hebrew.
Hate_me says: The Late Latin in which the word becomes cognate was a mixture of High Latin and the Vulgar, as it largely developed with the spread of Christianity into the outskirts of the Empire. Its period straddles the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and it’s erroneous to deny its status as a Latin “loan word” based on its limited use within the empire proper. The fact that it maintains a context in languages descended from Vulgar Latin (i.e. French) indicates the word spread into European languages (possibly excepting Yiddish) via Christianity’s use of Latin. It’s not wrong, per se, to state that the word came to English from the Hebrew – but only indirectly through Greek, via Latin.
GWB says: it’s erroneous to deny its status as a Latin “loan word” based on its limited use within the empire proper
Disagree. Because it wasn’t even “limited use”. It was only used in a religious context, specifically within liturgy and prayer. Unlike American English, I doubt it ever appeared in “casual” use of any language prior to the 16th century. (If you can show otherwise, I’ll issue a big mea culpa – which IS a loan phrase. 😉 ) It didn’t “spread into” other languages via Christianity. It stayed within Christianity, regardless of language. I think that’s an important distinction – it’s not part of those languages, it’s part of Christianity no matter the language. (I would apply this to “messiah” and “christ”, as well.)
But it’s a fun debate.
Hate_me says: It is fun, for sure.
The 16th century would be as arbitrary a cut-off as the Western Roman Empire. The degree to which Christian Latin impacted northern and Western European culture is significant to even living generations, especially considering that catholic mass was delivered in Latin until very recently.
You see phrases such as: “À ça, je dis amen [To that, I say amen]” used in a non-religious context as a form of concurrence, just as in English.
Consider how common French curses are derived from blasphemes (“nom de dieu de merde,” “tabarnak”) but are now used in general context.
Audie M Jordan says: Cleaver belongs to the “island tipping over” community. The scum we have in DC does not speak well of the electorate.
Rick Caird says: Another reason to point and laugh at Congress, Yes. Speaker, Nancy is a fine Speaker of the House. awoman.
Humility says: I can think of another a…… word that could apply to this idiot.
GWB says: A liar?
A heretic?
A moron?
Apostate?
GWB says: All the folderol over the “amen” portion, and no one is offended by the fact that he wasn’t even – while claiming to have been a Christian pastor – praying to the god of Christians? He prayed to Brahma, a Hindu god, claiming he was the same as the Jewish/Christian god.
His “amen” is totally meaningless, since he’s not even talking to the Lord (YHWH).
But, as far as the “awoman” goes? Well, after all, these are the same sorts of people who got upset about a professor using a Chinese word that sounded like the n-word.
Joe R. says: “Congressional Prayer Ends With Amen And A-Woman” by a-dipsh_t.
Save your blasphemy for your strang u bation sessions (D)turds.
Mary says: For God’s sake! I can’t wait for the “‘Pastor’s” Judgement Day when he will be asked to explain himself..
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