Dr. Scott Shepherd is a British-American academic. He received his Ph.D. from the University of London on the text and performance of Hamlet, and has taught in universities in the U.K. and Korea.
Amen and awoman
In this July 28, 2016, file photo, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., speaks during the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Cleaver says he was surprised by the backlash against how he ended his prayer that opened the new session of the U.S. House, Sunday. Cleaver concluded the prayer with the words, "Amen and awoman," which he said was a pun meant to honor the record number of women serving in Congress this session. AP
By Scott Shepherd
By Scott Shepherd
My nieces have a cute habit: whenever I say something silly to them, they close their eyes, smack their foreheads and shake their heads. And if they think I'm being particularly puerile, they sometimes actually say “face-palm” out loud to make it clear to me what a fool I'm being.
This past week, I've been able to understand them a little better.
On Jan. 3, American Democratic Congressman Emanuel Cleaver delivered the opening prayer for the new session of the House of Representatives. A Methodist minister with a master's degree in Divinity from the St. Paul School of Theology, Cleaver led the St. James United Methodist Church from 1973 to 2009.
As a Christian, I am of course writing this article from a Christian viewpoint, and from that perspective, the majority of Cleaver's prayer is actually pretty conventional; indeed, he even alludes to several verses from the Bible.
However, at the end it takes an incredibly weird turn: “We ask it in the name of the monotheistic God, Brahma, and God known by many names by many different faiths. Amen, and awoman.”
You can see the prayer for yourself on
, and on
.
Critics rounded on him almost immediately. Dozens of articles and thousands of tweets ridiculed his unconventional ending.
Unsurprisingly, the big talking point has been his final word which suddenly turns the word “amen,” meaning “so be it,” into a political statement about gender. For the avoidance of doubt, “amen” has absolutely nothing to do etymologically with the words “man” or “woman.” Cleaver knew that, of course.
At first, a few ― including me ― toyed with the possibility that he was actually satirizing Nancy Pelosi's new rules favoring neutral words such as “parent” over gendered ones such as “mother” and “father.” This did, however, seem unlikely, given Cleaver's political leanings.
Then on Monday he issued
a statement to The Kansas City Star
which cleared up any doubt: he said that he was “deeply disappointed that my prayer has been misinterpreted and misconstrued by some to fit a narrative that stokes resentment and greater division among portions of our population.”
He further added that he had “concluded with a light-hearted pun in recognition of the record number of women who will be representing the American people in Congress during this term as well as in recognition of the first female Chaplain of the House of Representatives whose service commenced this week. I personally find these historic occasions to be blessings from God for which I am grateful.”
Cleaver's stated intention of celebrating the record number of women in Congress is actually a worthy cause which could have been a focus for the unity he claims to seek. The use of the word “awoman” was nonetheless stupid, to be sure, worthy of a hearty face-palm, and of course it distracts from the point he claims to be making.
For any Christian ― let alone an ordained minister who led a church for decades ― to end a prayer with a “light-hearted pun” in order to make a political point to the people listening is problematic, to say the least.
Christian prayer is communion with the all-powerful creator and sustainer of the universe. Jesus himself warns in Matthew 6 of hypocritically praying in front of others for the purpose of self-glorification. There is no place in prayer for barbs or hints directed at the other people present. Cleaver should have known better than to use his prayer for any purpose other than actually praying.
Yet while the criticism was almost exclusively focused on his use of “awoman,” what is far more concerning is the fact that a Methodist minister invoked a Hindu deity and the “God known by many names by many different faiths.”
Christianity is not a syncretic religion, and it cannot be; Jesus makes an unequivocal claim to exclusivity in John 14:6. Either the Bible is true or it is not, but it is not possible for Christianity and Hinduism to both be right. Christianity is mutually exclusive of other religions, and when a Methodist minister fails to realize that, there's a problem.
While tolerance and an openness to other ideas are very worthy qualities, that doesn't mean we have to view every claim or idea as equal ― indeed we cannot. There are plenty of cliches to the effect that believing everything means you believe nothing; I don't want to trot any of them out, but it's obvious that some beliefs are simply incompatible with others.
There are plenty of grounds for honest disagreement within Christianity; it is, so to speak, a broad church. But anyone who claims to be a Christian minister and then prays to a Hindu god is unfit for that position and must be defrocked and fired from any positions of leadership in Christian organizations. The leaders of the United Methodist Church have a responsibility to make that clear, as does his previous church and the seminary where he studied.
I have contacted his office, as well as his previous church ― where his son is currently a pastor ― and St. Paul School of Theology for comment, but as of the time of publication I have received no responses.
The issue of dodgy preachers is a huge problem in the States, where cynical televangelists have historically
played on the hopes and fears of the weak and vulnerable to earn millions of dollars
. These people are evil liars who don't represent true Christianity.
Unfortunately, the problem isn't just limited to the States. Korea has a worrying number of cults or suspect churches where the leaders have shifted the focus from God onto themselves. True Christians have a serious obligation to point out the liars and false teachers who pervert the religion.
It is important to bear in mind that these kinds of problems aren't as all-prevalent as it might sometimes seem ― they just attract media attention much more easily than the less glamorous work that most pastors do. For every instance of face-palm-inducing nonsense covered in the news, there are dozens, hundreds, of other preachers faithfully and honestly doing their jobs and successfully refraining from offering their prayers to Brahma.
But why not check it out for yourself? With stricter social distancing rules continuing to be imposed in Korea and across the world, we'll be spending even more time at home for a while. So why not have a go reading
a bit of the Bible to see for yourself
? It doesn't take that long, and the time invested will surely be more worthwhile in the long run than the time spent baking a cake or watching yet another Korean drama.
Indeed, since everything's online these days, you can even try out church from the comfort of your own home. But if you hear anyone say “awoman” or pray to a Hindu god, please make sure you log out post-haste ― and, of course, give your forehead a nice big slap.
Dr. Scott Shepherd is a British-American academic. He has taught in universities in the U.K. and Korea, and is currently Assistant Professor of English at Chongshin University, Seoul. The views expressed in the article are the author's own and do not reflect the editorial direction of The Korea Times.