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Did Rep. Emanuel Cleaver Say ‘Amen and Awomen’ During a Congressional Prayer? Claim Rep. Emanuel Cleaver concluded a prayer with amen and awomen during a January 3 2021 prayer before Congress. Rating Unknown Like this fact check? Reporting On January 3 2021, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver led a Daily Congressional Prayer, drawing intense scrutiny from certain circles for purportedly concluding with amen and awomen (or awoman) in lieu of the standard amen: Amen and Awoman is the dumbest thing ever uttered in the US capitol. We are ruled by idiots. — thebradfordfile (@thebradfordfile) January 4, 2021 When you say a prayer, you now have to say amen and awoman pic.twitter.com/0cStIiIrZs Florida is where wokes go to die... Please enable JavaScript Florida is where wokes go to die — The Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) January 3, 2021 Readers were quick to point out that amen has a specific meaning unrelated to gender — and as such, unnecessarily making it inclusive was stupid: Dems open congress with a prayer that ends amen and awoman. Amen is a Latin word that means truly or so be it. Awoman is a nonsense word that means nothing. Dems find a way to make everything stupid and nonsensical. Utter clowns, all of them. pic.twitter.com/Q7Fml2pPeE — Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) January 3, 2021 In the above tweet, right-wing blogger Matt Walsh asserted that amen is a Latin word that means ‘truly’ or ‘so be it,' and that awoman is a nonsense word that means nothing. Walsh embedded video of Rep. Cleaver’s prayer and concluding remarks. The Video On January 3 2020, Rep. Cleaver tweeted a clip his recitation of the Daily Congressional Prayer: I was honored to deliver the opening prayer for the 117th Congress. May God bless each and every Representative with the courage and wisdom to defend our democracy and the liberties we all hold so dearly. https://t.co/z3vkWOk7lc — Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (@repcleaver) January 3, 2021 His generalized statement in that tweet made no reference to novel usage of awoman or awomen: I was honored to deliver the opening prayer for the 117th Congress. May God bless each and every Representative with the courage and wisdom to defend our democracy and the liberties we all hold so dearly. C-SPAN also provided a longer version of the session on January 3 2021. Who is Rep. Emanuel Cleaver? Critiques of Cleaver’s prayer often — as seen in Walsh’s tweet — included an explanation for the purported etymology of amen. According to a biography on cleaver.house.gov , Cleaver is a seven-term representative from the state of Missouri. He also achieved a master’s degree in Divinity (M.Div.) from a theological school and served as a Methodist pastor for decades . It seems likely that at some point in his theological study or during his nearly four decades as a pastor, he came across the etymology of the word amen — assuming that he had not discounted Cleaver’s academic and professional background, but reporting on the controversy typically framed Cleaver’s prayer as ending in amen and awomen or amen and awoman regardless. Is ‘Amen’ is Latin for ‘So Be It’ or ‘Truly’? Per Brittanica : Amen, expression of agreement, confirmation, or desire used in worship by Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The basic meaning of the Semitic root from which it is derived is firm, fixed, or sure, and the related Hebrew verb also means to be reliable and to be trusted. The Greek Old Testament usually translates amen as so be it; in the English Bible it has frequently been rendered as verily, or truly. C-SPAN’s Transcript of Cleaver: ‘Amen and Awoman’? A brief description for C-SPAN’s video read: House Session, Part 1 Following the opening prayer offered by Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) and Pledge of Allegiance, the clerk of the House announced receipt of certificates of election from the states, and directed a call of the House by electronic vote. The vote was taken in groups of 72 members each, in observance of coronavirus pandemic safety precautions. Each portion of the video included a transcript, and at the bottom of the sections, a note explained: *This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning. Cleaver’s complete prayer on January 3 2021 was transcribed as follows in its entirety (errors intact): Let us pray. Eternal god, we bow before your thrown [sic] of grace as we leave behind the politically and socially clamorous year of 2020. We gather now in this consequential chamber to inaugurate another chapter in our roller coaster representative government. Control our tribal tendencies and quicken our spirits. That we may feel thy priestley [sic] presence even in moments of heightened disagreement. May we so feel your presence that our service here may not be soiled by any utterances or acts unworthy of this high office. Insert in our spirit a light so bright that we can see ourselves and our politics as we really are, soiled by selfishness, perverted by prejudice and invagueled by ideology. Now may the god who create [sic] the world and everything in it bless us and keep us. May the lord make his face to shine upon us and be gracious unto us. May the lord lift up the light of his countnence [sic] upon us and give us peace. Peace in our family, peace across this land and dare i ask, o lord, peace even in this chamber. Now and ever more. We ask it in the name of the monotheistic god and the god known by many names and faiths. A man and a woman — amen and awoman . Cows [sic] the representatives elect — Consequently, Congress recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Notably, the transcript suggested that Cleaver said the monotheistic god and the god known by many names and faiths ... a man and a woman , after which he either repeated the phrase, or ended with amen and awomen. Audio on all of the clips was not expressly clear — and neither was the manner in which Cleaver concluded the prayer. Summary Social media users and bloggers leaped on Rep. Cleaver for purportedly changing amen to amen and awomen or amen and awoman, but no ancillary information or context from the entirety of Cleaver’s remarks suggested he intended to replace amen. Cleaver obtained a master’s degree in divinity, and spent nearly four decades as a pastor — presumably knowing the meaning of amen due to his background in the Methodist church. Finally, the context of Cleaver’s final sentence held that the monotheistic god ... known by many names and faiths was a man and a woman, and it was just as likely that Cleaver’s comments were misconstrued. However, Cleaver has not yet responded to the controversy as of January 4 2021. Posted in Disinformation , Fact Checks Tagged amen and awoman , amen and awomen , amen etymology , daily caller , daily wire , matt walsh , outrage bait , rep. emanuel cleaver , viral tweets
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