"Amen"

This past week [prior to January 10, 2021, GWS], Emanuel Cleaver opened the 117th United States Congress with a bizarre prayer. The greater part of its content was not terribly out of place. But as the congressman and Methodist minister concluded his prayer, he added, "We ask it in the name of the monotheistic god, Brahma, and god known by many names by many different faiths. Amen and a-woman." It is beyond the scope of this article to address the gall and godlessness of praying in the name of the Hindu deity "Brahma," or of "the god known by many different names by many different faiths" (cf. John 16:23-24; 1 Cor. 10:14; Col. 3:17; Mark 8:38). However, Mr. Cleaver's butchering of "Amen" demands a clarification of the meaning and purpose of the term.

First of all, the fact that amen contains the three letters, m-e-n, has no relationship to the English word men. That fact is purely coincidental. Amen states nothing about gender whatsoever. It is a Hebrew word, which in turn has been transliterated letter for letter into other languages including Greek and English.

The basic meaning of amen is "truly." It refers to that which is sure and valid.1 Jesus frequently used the term immediately before declaring a profound, Divine utterance: "Verily, I say unto you" is actually "Amen, I say unto you" (cf. Matt. 5:18; 24:34; John 8:58; et al.). Beginning with verily or amen certified the truth of what Jesus was about to say, as incredible as the subsequent saying may have seemed to many.

In addition to "truly," amen carries the thought, "Let it be so." When the Israelites entered the Promised Land, blessings and cursings were pronounced upon them—blessings if they kept God's Law, cursings if they rebelled against it. At the end of each of the cursings, the people were to say, "Amen."

And the Levites shall speak, and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice, Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen (Deut. 27:14-15).

Here one sees the people's acknowledgement that what is said is true, that it is the will of God, and that they are acquiescing to the will of God. Even though invoking a potential curse on oneself cannot be pleasant, the Israelites were acknowledging that they would have violated the will of God to come to that point, and that they would have deserved their curse—hence, Amen, or "Let it be so." Every time "amen" is uttered properly, there is acquiescence to the will of God.

During a sermon, an "amen" might be heard from the congregation; someone is acknowledging what he has heard is true and is in harmony with the will of God. Therefore, he desires to express, "Let it be so." Christians typically close prayers with Amen, as Christ instructed His first-century disciples in the model prayer (Matt. 6:13). The Scriptures are filled with Amens, as the writers and quoted speakers are repeatedly acknowledging the certainty of God's will. The canon of Scripture even closes with, "Amen" (Rev. 22:21).

Undoubtedly, the congressman / Methodist minister who closed his prayer with "a-men and a-woman" knew most of this, at least in a general sense. He evidently used the occasion and this misapplication of amen to salute the large number of women who had taken office in the last election. However, a prayer is not the time for such a salute, and twisting such a solemn word as amen into some kind of salute or virtue signaling is gross irreverence.

Earlier in his prayer, Mr. Cleaver had stated, "The members of this august body acknowledge your sacred supremacy." Praising one's own legislative body as "august" before the Almighty God is tacky at best, but lawmakers do well to acknowledge His supremacy. Nonetheless, distorting such a solemn word as amen to make a personal statement or gain political capital disregards God's sacred supremacy. It certainly fails to demonstrate acquiescence to the will of God, as every properly uttered amen should do.

Let each Christian treat amen as the solemn utterance it is.

ENDNOTE

1 Heinrich Schlier, amēn, in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Gerhard Kittel, trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1999 reprint), 1:335-336.