It’s OK to drop the name of Jesus from the parliamentary prayer, writes Graham Redding. His argument seemed to rest on the positive influence Christianity has had on Western civilisation, including the fostering of religious tolerance and freedom. To pray in the name of Jesus Christ is to affirm the tolerance and freedom that Jesus embodied and enabled in his person and work. Hence the importance of the Lord’s Prayer, which stands at the centre of the Christian prayer life. Time to move on and to let the Church rediscover the joy of praying in Jesus’ name without imposing that expectation on the State.

Source: Otago Daily Times December 21, 2017 16:18 UTC