Question --- When praying (invocations / benedictions) in public meetings, should Christians be Tolerant & Respectful of Other People's Beliefs and Not pray in the Name of "Jesus" so as not to Offend people of other faiths?

Answer --- As I write this tract, I do so with a Heart Full of Love for those who do not have the privilege of knowing Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. At the same time, I also have a Strong Dedication To The Truth of God's Word. I feel as the Apostle Paul when he said: "[woe] is unto me, if I [preach] not the [gospel]!" (1 Cor. 9:16)

In Orlando, Fla. as I attended a banquet for the Federation of Fire Chaplains, the discussion at our table evolved into the subject of Diversity of Beliefs within the Federation. I pointed out that many people get upset when you pray in the name of Jesus and how amazed and even amused I was that some so-called liberal, open-minded and tolerant people could become so intolerant, narrow-minded, prejudiced, and even bigoted when you pray in the name of Jesus.

We had sitting at our table a man and his wife who were very well educated and enlightened in what is Politically Correct. He headed up the Chaplaincy program in the Mental Health Department of a large hospital with a budget of over $400 million dollars a year. He did not say anything but his wife became very indignant and with hostility in her voice looked at me and said, "If You Pray In The Name of Jesus, What If There Are Jews Present? God Is God And Jesus Is A Path To God, And We Should Respect Others Beliefs!"

I have often wondered why it is that so many people are always bringing up the Jews. Are they trying to soothe Their Own Conscience And Bigoted Beliefs by condemning Christians for their Sincere Belief In Jesus Christ? What about Buddhist? What about the Islamic people? Why do they always pick on the Jews, God's chosen people. The Jews were God's chosen people in the Old Testament, they were still God's chosen people in the New Testament, and they are still God's chosen people today. In fact, Jesus Himself was and is A Jew.

I pointed out that I Have Never Tried To Stop Anyone From Praying To Any God They Want To. They could pray to a tree if they wanted to, and some people do. Therefore, Why Would They Want To Stop Me From Praying In The Name of Jesus? Would they ask a Buddhist not to pray in the name of Buddha? Would they try to stop the Islamic people from praying to Mohammed? You know what would happen if they did. Why is it, that It Is Only Jesus that they don't want people praying to. Only Those With Animosity Toward Jesus Ever Try To Stop Anyone From Praying To Any God of Their Choice. Why is it always a one-way-street, with the so-called-tolerant-liberals being the ones who are so Intolerant of Those Who Disagree With Them? Why this animosity, hatred, bitterness, prejudice, intolerance and Determination To Stop People From Praying In The Name of Jesus?

Well, as usual, when you point out the other person's intolerance, narrow-mindedness, prejudices, and bigotry toward Christianity, they changed the subject. Therefore, allow me the opportunity to share with you Why They Do Not Want You Praying In The Name of Jesus. Although many of them claim to be Christians, they are In Fact Followers of The Religious Humanistic Movement founded by Dr. Curtis W. Reese, a Unitarian pastor. Unitarianism was A Revolt Against Orthodox Christianity In The Interest of The Worth And Dignity of Human Nature. In contrast Jesus taught that we were All Born Sinners. In fact, Jesus' reason for coming to this earth was to Save Sinners, which included the entire human race.

Romans 3:10, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:" --- V. 23, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"

In 1933 the Humanist Manifesto I was written by three Unitarian ministers, two university teachers, and a philosopher. It is a Manifesto of Religious Humanism. Forty years later, in 1973, Humanist Manifesto II was issued. However, this issue goes much deeper than that as I will explain.

Christians Seldom Get A Fair Opportunity to answer the question of why they believe what they do. They are either interrupted and shouted down, or their statements are so twisted and misstated that no Christian would recognize them as coming from another Christian, which in fact, they don't. In other words, if you are afraid to debate the truth, then you Build A Straw Man to debate. This is what the humanist have done, time and time again. They refuse to honestly debate you concerning your beliefs, but rather They try to Tell You What You Believe. Therefore, I have written this tract for those who are Fair-Minded And Open To The Truth. Whether you agree or not, at least you will know the truth concerning What True Bible Christians Believe And Why.

Let me also point out that This Animosity Against The Name of Jesus Is Not New:

Acts 4:18, "And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus."

Acts 5:40, "... when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus,"

Acts 15:26, "Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Acts 21:13, "Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."

During the Dark Ages between 5 and 6 million Christians were burned at the stake, fed to the lions in the arena, and murdered in many different ways because they refused to renounce the name of Jesus (Pray In Some Other Generic Name). Is history repeating itself? Are we going back to the Dark Ages of Religious Bigotry Against The Name of Jesus?

Before you roll your eyes in disgust and cast this off as an extreme statement or question, Think For Yourself, what is going on in this world today.

Ask Your Children if they have the freedom to mention the name of Jesus in the public schools unless it is as a curse word. Some children have been sent home from school because they:

1. Ask the blessing over their food in the name of Jesus.

2. Pass out Christian Tracts and talk to their friends privately about Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.

3. Carry their Bibles to school.

4. Wear T-shirts with Jesus slogans on them.

The list could go on and on. You can take the Satanic Bible to school but not the Holy Bible. You can talk about Satanism, Humanism and the New Age Movement, but not about Jesus Christ.

The Greatest And Most Hotly Debated Theological Question In The Religious World Today Concerns This Matter of Who Jesus Is?

If Jesus, as my friend at the banquet proclaimed, is merely One of Many Paths To God; then Christianity is no different than any other Pagan, Eastern or Humanistic religion. However, if Jesus is, as He claimed, God Incarnate; we have no choice but to worship Him and Him only lest we be guilty of worshiping gods who are not gods. Which, of course, is a waste of time, talents, money, and life. It also has devastating consequences.

Many people today have forgotten that The Issue Is Truth. Since they do not want to offend anyone (it is not politically correct to do so), they insist that the gods of all religions are simply different names or paths to the same Being or Force. However, if you are interested in the Truth, what God says, please read on:

Isaiah 43:10-11, "... understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. {11} I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no savior."

Isaiah 45:21-22, "... there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Savior; there is none beside me. {22} Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I God, and there is none else."

Exodus 20:3, "Thou shalt have no other [gods before me]."

Exodus 34:14, "For thou shalt worship [no other god]: for the LORD, whose name Jealous, a jealous [God]:"

Mark 12:32, "... thou hast said the truth: for there is one [God]; and there is [none other] but he:"

Galatians 4:8, "Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods."

1 Corinthians 10:20, "But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice (to their gods), they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils."

Whether you agree with the above statements or not is Between You And God. I did not make the statements, God did. Your Argument is not with me but with God. Your Rejection is not of me but of God. I am only His messenger. I do not make the message, I only deliver it.

We may all agree that there is only one God, or as my friend so philosophically stated: "God is God." That's like saying, "You are where you are." It's like saying, "A wife is a wife." With no identity, with no name, I suppose a man is free to take which ever one he wants at the time. We all, including Paul, know that God is God. The question is: "Who art thou Lord? Identify Yourself!"

God Said:

Hebrews 1:8, "But unto the Son he saith, Thy [throne], O [God], for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness the sceptre of thy kingdom."

Colossians 2:8-9, "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. {9} For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."

Jesus Said:

John 14:6-9, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. {7} If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. {8} Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. {9} Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?"

John 10:30, "I and my [Father] are [one]."

Philippians 2:6, "Who, being in the [form] of [God], thought it not robbery to be [equal] with [God]:"

The Jews Said:

John 10:31-33, "Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. {32} Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? {33} The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God."

Even though the Jews, as a nation, did not and does not accept Jesus as their Messiah, they recognized that He certainly Claimed To Be God. The Question now becomes, "Are these claims legitimate? The Answer: "Jesus Is Either God Or He Is A Liar,a Lunatic, a Fake, a Fraud, and a Dangerously Unbalanced Person with a Bloated Ego, and a Delusionist Who thought that He was someone that He wasn't.

No one can honestly deny that there is an Irreconcilable Conflict between the belief that Christ died for our sins and rose again (Which Is The Heart of Christianity) and Islam's blasphemous claim that Christ did not die on the cross, much less for sin, but that someone else died in His place. Christ's claim in John 14:6, "I am the [way], the [truth], and the [life]: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" is the strongest possible rejection of all other religions as counterfeits. Again, if you do not believe John 14:6, your argument is not with me but with God!

John 8:32, "And ye shall know the [truth], and the [truth] shall make you [free]."

Salvation Can Only Be Had Through The Name of Jesus!

Acts 4:12, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

John 20:31, "But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name."

1 Corinthians 6:11, "And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."

Even Those who have Animosity towards the name of Jesus will some day Bow Before Him Whom they refuse to honor today.

Philippians 2:10, "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;"

Your Argument Is Not With Me But With God And His Word, The Bible!

Everything Christians do should be done in the Name of Jesus!

Colossians 3:17, "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him."

You cannot neglect the Name of Jesus in order to be Politically Correct and not offend people of other Faths without Offending Christ.

Mark 8:38, "Whosoever therefore shall be [ashamed] of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be [ashamed], when he cometh in the glory of his [Father] with the holy angels."

Any Christian Should Be Angered, Incensed And Outraged At The Mere Thought of Being Asked Not To Pray In The Name of His God.

Where Are The Daniels of Today?

Where Are The Shadrachs, Meshachs, And Abednegos of Today?

Everybody Else Is Coming Out of The Closet And I Personally Think It Is Time That Christians Came Out of The Closet And Stopped Being Ashamed Of And Apologizing For The True And Living God!

Today, If You Love The Lord Enough To Live For Him And Take A Stand For Him, You Are Considered A Religious "Nut". Well, So Be It. At Least I Am Screwed On The Right "Bolt".