Emanuel Cleaver, an ordained United Methodist minister and Democrat Representative, opened the first session of the 117th U.S. Congress by praying in the name of a Hindu god. He concluded, “We ask it in the name of the monotheistic God, Brahma, and god known by many names by different faiths. Amen and a-woman.” The term “amen” has nothing to do with gender, of course. It simply means “so be it.” According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, “Brahma was born from a golden egg and created the earth and all things on it. Later myths describe him as having come forth from a lotus that issued from Vishnu’s navel.”
(Friday Church News Notes, January 8, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org , 866-295-4143)