Pastor Fired for Praying in Jesus' Name

From WorldNetDaily, a pastor in Florida is fired for praying in Jesus' name:

Harvey told WND as a Christian chaplain, he routinely supported other faiths, such as Islam, expressed by patients by getting them access to someone who could help them directly with their needs.

"There are some things I can't do as an evangelical pastor. For example, I can't offer certain things of the Catholic faith, including confession. I would get a Catholic priest," he said.

He said the issue first arose several years ago when he was asked to pray over the opening of a new hospital unit. He was told he would not be allowed to include "in Jesus' name."

He objected, and was ordered to take a diversity course, which he did.

Then at a staff meeting in August, he closed with a prayer in the name of Jesus, he said.

"That's what sparked this issue. I have written documentation. I was pulled into the office on Friday and told 'Under no circumstances will you pray in this name again,'" he said. "I said, 'I can't abide by your wishes.' She also told me I should tell my volunteer chaplains they shouldn't pray in Jesus name either. About four or five days later, I was relieved of my duties."

I know a pastor here in South Dakota who was fired from chaplain duties at a hospital for similar reasons, essentially for being "too Christian."

Christians are instructed by their master, Jesus, to pray in his name:

And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Chaplains have to facilitate access to the beliefs of other religions in their multi-faith work environments, and most of them understand that and have no problems with it. But the secularist institutions they work for have sometimes strayed so far from the Christian roots of this country that they don't understand that it's unreasonable to ask a Christian minister not to be faithful to his own beliefs.

What a sad day, when a chaplain--someone specifically hired for their religious affiliation--is fired for being faithful to their religious affiliation. This, in a country that once recognized that all rights came from our Creator, and that the free exercise of religion should not be abridged. A country made up of 50 states, all of whom acknowledge God in their state constitutions.