Tennessee baby can keep name Messiah - judge

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**Dreadclaw69**

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24164027

A child in the US state of Tennessee may retain his given name Messiah, a judge has ruled, overturning a lower court's order from August.

In Cocke County on Wednesday, Chancellor Telford Forgety ruled a child support magistrate had acted unconstitutionally.

Magistrate Lu Ann Ballew had ordered seven-month old Messiah DeShawn Martin's given name changed to Martin.

She said Jesus Christ was the only true messiah and the name might offend.

Last year more than 700 babies were named Messiah in the US, according to the Social Security Administration.

Christianity sees Jesus as the Messiah, while Judaism uses the term to mean an anticipated saviour of the Jews.

Dictionary definitions say the word can mean anyone seen as a saviour or a liberator.

Messiah's parents had appeared before Ms Ballew in a dispute over the boy's surname - his mother Jaleesa Martin wanted him to take hers, while father Jawaan McCullough wanted him to take his.

Ms Ballew surprised them by ordering his name be changed to Martin, ruling, "Labelling this child Messiah places an undue burden on him that as a human being, he cannot fulfil.''

A Wisconsin-based organisation called Freedom From Religion filed a complaint against Ms Ballew, and at an appeal hearing on Wednesday, Mr Forgety ruled there were no legal grounds for changing the baby's given name when the parents were in agreement on it.

He also ruled Ms Ballew's decision violated the US Constitution's guarantee of the separation of church and state.

He ordered that the boy's name be changed to Messiah Deshawn McCullough.

**KingCracker**

That.....is just stupid. I mean really stupid. You need a court? For a name?

**Dreadclaw69**

KingCracker wrote:
That.....is just stupid. I mean really stupid. You need a court? For a name?

The thing is, the case was before the court owing to a dispute over the child's last name. The lower court judge interfered. How many cultures are there were children are called Jesus or Mohammad? This is a decision that I'm glad has been overturned

**Absolutionis**

KingCracker wrote:
That.....is just stupid. I mean really stupid. You need a court? For a name?

Sometimes it makes sense.

In order to spare the child a life of constant social torment, courts can overrule parents' naming of a child. You cannot name your child "Buttsavage" or whatever unless you're willing to defend that name.

**Frazzled**

I asked Jesus what he thought and he just replied "Que?"
When I brought it up with Muhammad he just yelled at me and told me to buy something or get out of his store.
I started to ask Buddha but he reincarnated into a grackle and flew off.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Dreadclaw69 wrote:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24164027

A child in the US state of Tennessee may retain his given name Messiah, a judge has ruled, overturning a lower court's order from August.

In Cocke County on Wednesday, Chancellor Telford Forgety ruled a child support magistrate had acted unconstitutionally.

Magistrate Lu Ann Ballew had ordered seven-month old Messiah DeShawn Martin's given name changed to Martin.

She said Jesus Christ was the only true messiah and the name might offend.

Last year more than 700 babies were named Messiah in the US, according to the Social Security Administration.

Christianity sees Jesus as the Messiah, while Judaism uses the term to mean an anticipated saviour of the Jews.

Dictionary definitions say the word can mean anyone seen as a saviour or a liberator.

Messiah's parents had appeared before Ms Ballew in a dispute over the boy's surname - his mother Jaleesa Martin wanted him to take hers, while father Jawaan McCullough wanted him to take his.

Ms Ballew surprised them by ordering his name be changed to Martin, ruling, "Labelling this child Messiah places an undue burden on him that as a human being, he cannot fulfil.''

A Wisconsin-based organisation called Freedom From Religion filed a complaint against Ms Ballew, and at an appeal hearing on Wednesday, Mr Forgety ruled there were no legal grounds for changing the baby's given name when the parents were in agreement on it.

He also ruled Ms Ballew's decision violated the US Constitution's guarantee of the separation of church and state.

He ordered that the boy's name be changed to Messiah Deshawn McCullough.

Wait so if it had stood he would have been named Martin Martin? Thats not stupid at all...

**daedalus**

KingCracker wrote:
That.....is just stupid. I mean really stupid. You need a court? For a name?

Yes, we do. Desperately.

I direct your attention to little Adolf Hitler and Aryan Nation Campbell:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2063487/Parents-named-children-Adolf-Hitler-Aryan-Nation-wont-receive-custody-newborn-son-Hons.html

**Soladrin**

Poor kid.

**LordofHats**

The problem is that Messiah is not normally taken to be a name. It'd be like naming your child 'President' and of course, historically and culturally, Anglo-Protestant culture never took to naming people after Jesus at all, so to us it is unusual and bizarre. And of course, even in cultures that did start naming people after Jesus, I'm unaware of anyone ever being named 'Messiah' though personally, I don't think its a terrible name. Siah is a good nickname, though it sounds a little feminine to me.

**Frazzled**

I'm betting his future nickname will be "Messy" Martin.

**LordofHats**

That thought also crossed my mind.

**Mathieu Raymond**

So far as I know, in local history, the government only intervened once in a case. The kid's father really hated having a child, and insisted he be called something derogatory. Luckily, cooler heads prevailed.

Adolf Hitler and Aryan Nation... hopefully they'll grow up and realize that their parents... effed up. Like Lamb and Lynx, the twins from Prussian Blue.

**KingCracker**

daedalus wrote:
KingCracker wrote:
That.....is just stupid. I mean really stupid. You need a court? For a name?

Yes, we do. Desperately.

I direct your attention to little Adolf Hitler and Aryan Nation Campbell:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2063487/Parents-named-children-Adolf-Hitler-Aryan-Nation-wont-receive-custody-newborn-son-Hons.html

Yes I remember reading that post on here. I dunno, Adolf is still just a name. Granted the Hitler part I agreed was OTT

**sebster**

In case involving people called Telford, Lu Ann, Jaleesa and and Jawaan, Messiah is the name I actually have the least problem with.

Unless Telford has awesome muttonchops, or a Civil War beard, in which case that name is acceptable.

**Tibbsy**

But he's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy! /python

Sorry, I had to, and noone else had done it yet

**Dreadclaw69**

Tibbsy wrote:
But he's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy! /python

Sorry, I had to, and noone else had done it yet

Well played

That is exactly how the first judge should have ended their ruling

**KalashnikovMarine**

Call him "M-sah" as a nickname