Judge Says Only Jesus has Right to Name “Messiah,” Forces Mom to Change Baby’s Name Immediately
(Allchristiannews.com) A mother in Newport, Tennessee is in a battle to save the name of her child. A judge somehow felt that the name she’d chosen, “Messiah,” was not appropriate for a child, since she feels that it is actually a title. The judge believes that there is only one Messiah, and that giving your child that name is sacrilegious.
Jaleesa Martin and the child’s father were in court for a child support hearing when all of this happened. They were actually disputing the child’s last name, when the judge took it upon herself to analyze the first name instead.
After some consideration, Child Support Magistrate Lu Ann Ballew, surprisingly, ordered the mother to change the name of her child on the spot.
She said that the baby’s new name will be “Martin DeShawn McCullough.” The name takes out the word “Messiah,” which the judge felt was inappropriate.
“The word Messiah is a title and it’s a title that has only been earned by one person and that one person is Jesus Christ,” Judge Ballew said.
Martin was stunned: ”I was shocked. I never intended on naming my son Messiah because it means God and I didn’t think a judge could make me change my baby’s name because of her religious beliefs.”
The judge feels that the name change is in the best interests of the child. She says that this keeps the child safe while growing up in a large Christian community.
“It could put him at odds with a lot of people and at this point he has had no choice in what his name is,” Judge Ballew said.
The mother disagrees and remains outraged that the judge felt she had the right to change the name of her baby for her own personal reasons.
“Everybody believes what they want so I think I should be able to name my child what I want to name him, not someone else,” Martin said.
