Beech Tree News Network

The first few weeks of January 2021 have been historic, to put it mildly. With so much happening, some events got overshadowed. One of these had to do with the prayer offered over the 117th Congress. by the U.S. Representative from Missouri, Emmanuel Cleaver. Most of what is remembered is the infamous ending, “amen and awoman.” However, I would like to examine another part of Rep. Cleaver’s prayer. To me, this part has not gotten the attention it deserves.

Before that infamous ending, Rep. Cleaver offered his prayer to  “the monotheistic god, Brahma, and god known by many names by many different faiths.” Friend, let that sink in for a moment. Rep. Cleaver not only tried to lump God (Jehovah) in with the gods of men, but he also got it wrong about Brahma and the others.

Honestly, I had never thought of Brahma being anything but a bovine or chicken breed until this man used it in prayer. It turns out that Brahma is the Hindu creator-god and is considered mortal. At the same time, there is a god above him called Kabir Sahib! There are no less than 33 gods in the Hindu religion, and some suggest there are more than this. Offering a prayer to Brahma then is not offering it to a “monotheistic” anything!

When we boil this down, here is a man who, in offering a prayer, was either told or thought on his own that he needed to offer a prayer to please everyone. In our multi-cultural society that tells us that everyone’s beliefs are equal, he no doubt felt he had to “validate” as many beliefs as possible. The problem with this is that it is not right!

From Deuteronomy to Joel, the statement, “I am God, there is none else,” is found no less than thirteen times! From Isaiah 43 through Zephaniah 2, we learn on ten occasions that there is no God beside Jehovah! Ephesians 4:6 proclaims, “There is one God and Father of all who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” This is said in I Corinthians 8:6 as well as Romans 11:33-36.

We have no right to lower Jehovah to the same level as Brahma, Allah, Vishnu, Zeus, Ra, or the pantheon of other false gods that have passed through man’s history. Jehovah has proven Himself to be the One true God again and again, and we need to respect Him (Ecc. 12:13)! He deserves our worship and none else (Jn. 4:24)! He deserves our prayers and none else (Ps. 54:2, 55:1, 61:1, 66:19; etc.)!

Read Romans 1. Paul was “separated unto the gospel of God” (v. 1). In so saying, Paul declared there is only one God, and all others were false. (In fact, this was a big part of his preaching, Acts 14:15-18, 17:23, 18:26!) He declared that the gods of men arose due to men’s foolishness and ingratitude (v. 21-23). Look into the Bible and see that Jehovah didn’t give men’s gods equal footing with Him! He didn’t say choose the god of your choice! Why do we listen to it, then? Yes, let us treat all men with kindness (Matt. 7:12, 22:39, etc.). This does not mean we treat all beliefs the same! Many are wrong, and only one is right! Let us make sure we are praying to and worshipping the One, true, and living God!

-- You are invited to visit with the Caneyville church of Christ. Times of services: Sun.: 10:00 am, 10:45 am, 5:00 pm; Wed.: 7:00 pm. Website: http://caneyvillechurchofchrist.com Tune in to our radio program 101.5 FM at 5:30 am, Mon-Fri. Questions? Call: (270) 589-4167