Note and Comment

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · May 30, 1907

According to the Lutheran Observer the chaplain of the California Senate has acceded to the request of certain Jewish Senators, that he omit the name of Christ from his prayers. Concerning this the Observer remarks:—

If it is true, one must wonder what sort of man he is. Christian courtesy toward men of other faiths would never justify a Christian minister in denying his Lord in any public prayer. What if an atheist next requests the chaplain to omit all reference to a God as well?

Concerning this remark the Lutheran Witness has the following:—

This instance again shows that the chaplain of the State legislatures and in Congress is just as much of an anomaly as religion in the public schools, for certainly the Jew has the same right to demand the omission of the name of Jesus, and the atheist to demand the omission of the name of God, that the Christian has to demand that these names be used.

The Lutheran Witness also truly remarks that in demanding Christian prayers in the legislatures, Christians “are desecrating the holy name of Jesus and God.” Those who are conversant with the principles of religious liberty know that the whole matter of chaplaincy in these institutions is a relic of the union of church and state, and is entirely out of harmony with the spirit of true religious liberty, and the principles of the gospel as well.