There is increasing pressure in government circles to silence those who would utter the name “Jesus” in a governmental setting. This excludes the occasional epithet that uses his name.

One odd dimension to this trend is that the pressure to silence any reference to Jesus is sometimes applied to those who supposedly have devoted their careers to declare to others what Jesus did and said. A FOX news story from July 9th offers a recent example.

The North Carolina state house of representatives invited Pastor Ron Baity to serve as honorary chaplain of that body for a week. The House clerk asked to see the prayer, which included prayers for the military, state lawmakers, and a petition that God would bless North Carolina. The clerk objected to the fact that the name Jesus appeared in the prayer, arguing that someone might be offended. Pastor Baity did not want to remove the reference to Christ. The clerk contacted the Speaker of the House, who did not want Jesus name included. Pastor Baity was relieved of his honorary role.

The article reported the clerk’s rational that the name “Jesus” be deleted as, “We have some people here that can be offended.” Such an argument defies all logic. If the potential that someone might take offense at the mentioning of a name, then there can be no rational debate in legislative bodies. Avoiding the possibility of offense would stifle the entire process. Yet such forums are routinely filled with intense disagreements about taxes, spending, the role of government and the rights of the governed. Controversy and conflict over ideas, values, priorities, and agendas fill the records of legislative sessions. How is it that the politicians who constantly engage in the rough and tumble of debate that often looks more like war than deliberation must somehow be protected from hearing the word “Jesus” from the lips of a minister? Would it inflict some kind if irreparable trauma to their fragile egos?

The real conflict is not in the name, but in the claims that Jesus made about his authority. Jesus used the third person to speak of the authority the Father gave him in John 5:27 “And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.” Jesus claims that all are accountable to him. Some may hear that claim and reject it. Others don’t want to hear it at all. If it is true, then we can’t shape the world after our own image. And that is simply a challenge some don’t want to face.