OceanSide church of Christ

 Previous Return to Articles Next 

AMEN AND AWOMAN

Victor M. Eskiew

 

We have all heard the statement:  "It is better to keep your mouth shut and people think you are a fool than to open your mouth and prove yourself to be a fool."  The same could be said of ignorance.  The 117th Congress opened with a prayer by Congressional Representative Emanuel Cleaver, a Democrat from Missouri. (NOTE: Prayers to open a congressional session always astounds me because the left constantly screams out about the separation of church and state).  As Mr. Cleaver came to the conclusion of his prayer, he spoke these words:

 

"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."

 

Yes, you heard it right: "Amen and awoman."  "Awoman?"  What in the world does that mean?  It is not even a word found in the dictionary. It is a made up word. It is an imaginary word. It is a fictitious word. It is a word fabricated in the mind of Mr. Cleaver.

There can be no doubt that it was designed to be cute and politically correct. Since the word "men" can be heard in the word "amen," Mr. Cleaver thought he should also appease the women who were in the congressional chamber that day. Thus, he also prayed "awoman."

The word "amen" is found in the Bible 78 times in 72 verses.  (NOTE: The word "awoman" is never found in the Bible. It is not found because it is not a word).  Amen carries the same meaning in both the Old and New Testaments: "faithfulness, sure, true, so be it.”  The word has NOTHING to do with gender. To attach any gender reference to the word shows one's ignorance.

In I Corinthians 14:15, Paul writes: “What is it then?  I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also:  I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.”  Prayer is a serious action.  In prayer one is communicating with the God, the most unique being in the Universe, the most authoritative being in the Universe.  The heavenly Father is paying close attention to the things that are being said to Him.  Thus, when a person prays, he is to pray with understanding.  One cannot use the word “awoman” to end a prayer and pray with understanding.  The word is nonsense.  Can you imagine the reaction of the wisest being there is when He hears the word “awoman”? 

There were probably some people who heard this word and thought:  “That is very cleaver.”  However, they are wrong.  It was not cleaver.  It was foolish.  This man just made a mockery of prayer.  Mr. Cleaver’s attempt to be politically correct put all that he said in that prayer into question.  His prayer for peace was ended with a statement that immediately sent shock waves through the media and into the nation.  Nothing that he said will be remembered other than the use of the word “awoman” to close the prayer. 

My friends, can't we all see what is going on in our society. The massive steps we have taken away from God and His Word have caused the minds of many to become darkened. Instead of manifesting intelligence, people manifest ignorance and foolishness.  Instead of speaking sense and truth, individuals speak lies, fables, and nonsense.  Instead of standing for what is right, people have to try to appease everything that is ungodly and sinful.  Instead of using words as they were intended to be used, individuals have to twist, manipulate, and make up words in an attempt to appease every element of society.  The same thing happened to the Gentiles when they turned from God.  Paul described them in Romans 1:21-22.  “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.” 

Is all of this going to end soon? It is doubtful. Many in our society have jumped on every crazy bandwagon they can jump on. Our leaders are embracing agendas that will radically transform our nation.  In the future, we will hear more and more foolishness coming from the darkness.  One wonders how that can be.  We already hear that babies in the womb are not human beings.  They are called zygotes, embryos, and fetuses.  We are told that there are not just two genders but over one hundred different genders.  We are lectured over and over about the normalcy of the LGBTQ behaviors.  We are informed that there is nothing wrong with sexual relationships between children and adults as long as both consent to the acts.  With this type of thinking manifesting itself in our nation, we are not shocked to hear someone ending a prayer with the words:  “Amen and Awoman.”  We are saddened.  We are appalled.  But, we are not shocked.    

Dear readers, a person might as well end a prayer with "Atrans" as ending it with "Awoman."  If not, why not? Both are made up words. Both mean nothing. Both are a political attempt to cater certain elements of our society.

Yes, there are times when it is better to keep your mouth shut!  Solomon tells us:  “A fool uttereth all his mind:  but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards” (Prov. 29:11).