Judge Rules Baby Isn’t Messiah!

 A Tennessee judge has ordered a baby's first name changed from "Messiah" to Martin, saying that the only true messiah is Jesus Christ. The parents of Messiah DeShawn Martin went before Tennessee Child Support Magistrate Lu Ann Ballew because they could not agree on the 7-month-old's last name. Instead Judge Ballew ordered the baby's name changed to Martin DeShawn McCullough. Ballew later told reporters, "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." Jaleesa Martin, the baby's mother, said she will appeal and added, "I didn't think a judge could change my baby's name because of her religious beliefs." And for what it's worth -- the judge's case is incredibly weak. While Christianity refers to Jesus as the Messiah, Judaism uses the term to mean an anticipated savior of the Jews. Dictionary definitions say the word can mean one who is seen as, expected or professes to be a savior or liberator. And this may surprise you-- Messiah was the 387th most popular name for boys born in the United States in 2012, based on applications for Social Security cards. In all, there were 762 applications for boys named Messiah in 2012, up from 368 applications in 2011, according to the Social Security Administration.

(*Source WBIR)