The parents of newborn Messiah DeShawn McCullough ended up in family court when they couldn’t agree on what his last name should be. As is so often the case, they got more than they bargained for when they entered the courtroom of Tennessee judge, Lu Ann Balew.
The honorable Ms. Balew quickly resolved the issue of family name, and then quickly turned her attention on the baby’s first name.? The child shall hence forth be known as “Martin”, the declared the judge. Why? According to Her Honor, the reason was clear:? the word Messiah is a title, and that title has been earned by, and belongs exclusively to, one person – Jesus Christ.
So much for my beliefs, and for those of any others who happen not to accept Jesus as the Messiah. Well, it’s not like this is the United States of America where this is happening, so perhaps it’s not such a big deal. Oh, wait a minute…
I wish this was a joke, and at first glance, it may appear to some as silly, but I assure you that it is neither. In fact, in light of what are supposed to be bedrock constitutional freedoms, including freedom of religion, the fact that a judge could do this, is actually kind of terrible.
There are countries which maintain lists of legally acceptable names – names which are thought to be culturally or religiously appropriate – and parents are free to choose their children’s names, but only so long as they appear on the list. There are counties in which state power is regularly used to enforce religious norms, regardless of the impact on individual citizens. And of course, there are countries in which the animating premise when it comes to children is that the state is their true parent, not the people who gave birth to them, or who raised them.
Yes, those countries exist, but that’s not us, and that’s not the USA! At least it’s not supposed to be. Maybe little Messiah’s parents will simply accept the judge’s ruling and start calling him Martin. Perhaps they will accept it as a matter of law, registering him for school as Martin, for example, but go on calling him Messiah. And I suppose that too is their right. But the ruling is not right, and if they don’t challenge it, someone else should.
The story of Messiah/Martin is not simply the story of one little boy and his parents. It’s not even the story of one inane judge who needs a lesson in constitutional law. It’s a reminder that personal freedom is sacred and that unless we defend it, not only for ourselves, but for others as well, we could all lose the freedoms we love so dearly.
For more of Brad’s thoughts on this story, view his video post at Odyssey Network’s Faith on the Record.
Listed for many years in Newsweek as one of America’s “50 Most Influential Rabbis” and recognized as one of our nation’s leading “Preachers and Teachers,” by Beliefnet.com, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield serves as the President of Clal–The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, a training institute, think tank, and resource center nurturing religious and intellectual pluralism within the Jewish community, and the wider world, preparing people to meet the biggest challenges we face in our increasingly polarized world.
An ordained Orthodox rabbi who studied for his PhD and taught at The Jewish Theological Seminary, he has also taught the University of Pennsylvania, where he directs an ongoing seminar, and American Jewish University. Rabbi Brad regularly teaches and consults for the US Army and United States Department of Defense, religious organizations — Jewish and Christian — including United Seminary (Methodist), Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (Modern Orthodox) Luther Seminary (Lutheran), and The Jewish Theological Seminary (Conservative) — civic organizations including No Labels, Odyssey Impact, and The Aspen Institute, numerous Jewish Federations, and a variety of communal and family foundations.
Hirschfield is the author and editor of numerous books, including You Don’t Have To Be Wrong For Me To Be Right: Finding Faith Without Fanaticism, writes a column for Religion News Service, and appears regularly on TV and radio in outlets ranging from The Washington Post to Fox News Channel. He is also the founder of the Stand and See Fellowship, which brings hundreds of Christian religious leaders to Israel, preparing them to address the increasing polarization around Middle East issues — and really all currently polarizing issues at home and abroad — with six words, “It’s more complicated than we know.”