Sunday, June 02, 2013

Can the name “Jesus” be said out loud?

I was reading an article when I came across those words. "Can the name 'Jesus' be said out loud?" Wow, really? This is what some people are wondering these days?

The person was writing saying that "People of Faith Should Oppose Official Prayer at Graduation Ceremonies". And while I feel that that lie has circulated enough over the years, I felt that the earlier question was both more real and more poignant. She hit at the heart of the issue, the true core: Jesus. No talking to him, no talking about him. If we pretend really really hard, maybe he won't exist.

Lots of people are willing to talk about God, spirituality, or religion. Using these words we can easily assume whatever definition we want and put those concepts into our worldview puzzles like pieces of putty, forming them into shapes that fit the hole we think we have open. But once you mention Jesus, you are dealing with a concrete historical figure that made serious truth claims. You can't mold Jesus nearly as easily because he said things and did things that are pretty significant. You are limited by certain facts of history (although some try to change those, too). And the mention of Jesus also draws lines between religions, specifying down to Christianity itself, and our pluralistic society doesn't like that either.

As much as the people who are asking this question think they are preserving "secular" culture, they are really showing their fear. Even the name of Jesus has power. The name of Jesus cannot even be spoken without his power being made known in the world. We do not limit the saying of the names of other great men in the world. No one questions the naming of Einstein, Ghandi, Socrates, or Alexander the Great. But, Jesus, yes. Why? Because his name matters.


What do you think? Should people say the name of Jesus? Who do you say he is?

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