Illinois State Representative Nicolle Grasse (D-Arlington Heights), an ordained minister in the theologically liberal United Church of Christ (UCC), has once again led her colleagues in a generic “prayer,” this time to unknown, unspecified gods.

One would think that as a so-called “minister” in a denomination that claims “Christ” in its title, “Reverend” Grasse would have a stronger allegiance to the Christian faith. Instead, Grasse offers her invocation “not to promote one religious path, but to honor the many paths we’re all on.”

Pastor James Pittman does a better job than I of highlighting this problem:

State Rep. Grasse starts off saying, “as an ordained Christian minister…” and then says, “I intentionally offer our invocations not to promote one religious path, but to honor the many paths we’re all on and the freedom to choose among them…” That is like going to the U.N as the ambassador of the U.S. and saying you are not there to promote the U.S. If she was a true ambassador of Christ, representing the true Christ, the One who said “I am the way, the truth and life, no one comes to the Father except by Me…”, then she would have never said what she said. It seems clear to me who she represents, and it is not the Jesus of the Bible.

In addition to her problematic understanding of the “separation of church and state,” Grasse apparently believes that all religious traditions are equal. While that may be consistent with her social and political beliefs, the God of the Bible has made it perfectly clear in the Ten Commandments:

You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth.

You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, inflicting the punishment of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing favor to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. ~Exodus 20:3-6 (See also Deut 6:4; Isa 43:10)

Pastor Brandon Myers emphasizes this point, asserting that Grasse

mocks the One, True, and living Creator God and Lord of history by her “prayer.” She manages to distort history and truth in the name of her false god-the idol of poisonous and perverted notions of diversity, inclusion, and equality. The falsity that all religions are equally valid and true and that Jesus Christ is not the way, the truth, and the life, and the only way to the Father (John 14:6), but rather one path among many. The Bible – God’s Holy Word, the standard of true Christians – teaches “I am the Lord, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God.” (Isa 45:5).

Likewise, Pastor Calvin Lindstrom points out:

State Rep. Nicolle Grasse sadly is an example of what Scripture warns against.

Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons… (1 Timothy 4:1)

While it is true that the U.S. Constitution is not an explicitly Christian document, to claim that America was not based on the Christian faith is historically inaccurate.

When Rev. Jacob Duché opened the session of the First Continental Congress on Sept. 7, 1774, he read from Psalm 35 and then prayed a prayer which John Adams said was enough to melt a heart of stone.

Rep. Grasse’s prayer did not melt hearts of stone but only encouraged the false idea that there are many paths to God other than the Lord Jesus Christ.

Other pastors weighed in as well:

Praying to no one in particular with nothing specific in mind and with no actual expectation is a waste of taxpayers’ time.

Our Christian faith is particularly exclusive, as Jesus Christ said, He is ‘the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to the Father but through Him.’ These false prophets are doing nothing but inviting judgment on Illinois, and God’s church must arise in prayer to hold back God’s hand and ask for His mercy. ~Pastor Myles Holmes

We are seeing present-day idolatry move from materialism to actual idol worship of gods made by human hands. A god made in the image of man is a false god produced by a false church. ~Pastor Mark Moore

To her credit, Grasse does recognize biblical instruction to “to love our neighbor, to seek justice, to act with kindness and integrity, and to uphold the dignity of every human being.” (Too bad that her belief does not extended to pre-born babies in the womb.)

• Christianity: 71%
  • Protestant: 43%
  • Catholic: 28%
  • Other: 3%
• Non-Christian Religions: 6%
• Religiously Unaffiliated: 23%

An invocation that is devoid of a reference to God and only features humanistic platitudes can rightly be labeled narcissistic, if not outright “idolatry of self.” It does not serve any practical purpose and does not foster unity among a god-fearing and religiously diverse population.

As an ordained minister in a denomination that names “Christ” in its title, one would hope that Representative Grasse would avoid offering an invocation that elevates human agency or goodwill over an acknowledgement of and appeal to our Creator.

Secular venerations and human-exalting rituals have no place in the Illinois General Assembly, and especially not during an opening prayer. Is it too much to expect that we acknowledge our Creator, who endowed us with “certain unalienable rights” and blessed us with the gift of self-government?

As I pointed out in my previous article about Grasse’s hum, we should keep her in prayer. Indeed, we ought to pray consistently for all our state representatives. May they all come to know the God of the Bible, His Son – our Savior, and the power of the Holy Spirit. May they one day be able to say, as the Apostle Paul:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel,
for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,
to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 
~Romans 1:16~