In Jesus' Name

Family North Carolina Magazine—Nov/Dec 2007

By Bill Brooks

You may have heard about the attempts made by attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to force local government bodies to do away with “sectarian” prayers at their meetings. By sectarian, we must presume they mean “a religious group adhering to a distinctive doctrine.” This is the definition provided by the Library of Congress. The basic ACLU argument is that all prayers at government sponsored meetings “must be non-sectarian and may not advance one religion to the detriment of others.”

In the spring of 2006, the North Carolina ACLU chapter sent letters to local government officials, warning them not to allow sectarian prayers. We responded by sending a joint letter with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) to those same government officials, along with information that would make it clear that the courts do allow prayer, “in Jesus’ name.”

Despite the fact that several local government bodies have surrendered to the ACLU’s demands and have adopted rules that would seem to ban prayers offered in the name of Jesus, most are making the right decision and ignoring the ACLU threat. Raleigh and Fayetteville are two that jurisdictions that come to mind, and there are many others.

Nevertheless, the ACLU has sued the Forsyth County Commissioners for allowing sectarian prayer. In the complaint we discover the ACLU considers prayers offered in the names of, “Jesus,” “Christ,” “The Lord Jesus Christ,” “Your Son Jesus”. . . even “the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” as problematic. The Forsyth County Commissioners are being represented by ADF attorneys.

In addition to the fight over praying “in Jesus’ name” at meetings of governmental bodies, there is an ongoing controversy within the armed forces of the United States over this issue. The American Center for Law and Justice is asking President Bush for an Executive Order which would protect the constitutional rights of our military chaplains to pray according to their faith.

What does all this activity against praying “in Jesus’ name” have to do with public policy, and what should we do about it?

I asked Jim Young, who serves members of our legislature by teaching Bible studies in a chaplaincy role for Capitol Ministries, what he thought about praying “in Jesus’ name.” After giving me several good passages from the Bible to think about, Jim said, “praying in Jesus’ name carries with it the identity of who we are.” This is an excellent summation.

To ask a Christian, one who carries the name of Christ, to pray to God in any other name than the name of Jesus would be asking them to deny the author and finisher of their faith. Many Christians will argue that prayer in any other name is useless prayer.

Of course, God, with infinite wisdom, power, and mercy, may choose to answer any prayer, even one not offered in the name of Jesus. We know that God is not limited in hearing and acting. To exclude Christians from praying in the name of Jesus in public forums, however, or to ask them to pray in no name or in any other name than Jesus, is to ask them to deny their faith.

In our pluralistic society, we must recognize that allowing prayer in the name of Jesus opens the door for those of other faiths to pray in the name of their god. But if Jesus is excluded from the public square, then the religion of atheism becomes preeminent. The religion of no god then replaces the God of Adam, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Solomon, the authors of the books of the Bible, and the God of the overwhelming majority of the American people, the founders of our nation, and our current elected leaders.

What we are seeing with these issues is a concerted effort by those who are against Jesus, to push out even the remembrance of His name from the public square. The state is moving toward adopting the religion of atheism, and this ideology will not coexist with Christianity.

The time to take a stand on these issues is now. Failure to do so will result in tremendous loss for the church. If you claim the name of Jesus, become involved with your elected officials at the local, state, and federal level. Share your thoughts with them, and ask them to take a clear position on these matters of faith and policy. If we lose the right to pray “in Jesus’ name,” we will ultimately lose all true religious freedom, and Christians will be driven from public life, forced to practice our faith in secret.

This Thanksgiving and Christmas season, when you pray in the name of Jesus, remember that His name carries with it the identity of who you are.

Bill Brooks is president and executive director of the North Carolina Family Policy Council.

Copyright © 2007. North Carolina Family Policy Council. All rights reserved.