I never really thought of ‘Amen’ actually having a meaning, it was just something you thoughtlessly and blindly say after a prayer in primary school or at a wedding.
It’s weird to think that loads of people at school and in churches were very insistent on telling me to say ‘Amen’ but no one actually bothered to tell me what it means.
That’s probably a potent metaphor for the dangers of indoctrinating children into religion – probably.
Seeings as nobody ever told me what it means I went on Wikipedia and found out for myself (probably another metaphor there too).
Turns out amen actually means:
So be it; truly
It’s believed to be of Hebrew origin and is “a declaration of affirmation” found in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. Basically, it means you agree with what you’ve just heard.
Which is why people say ‘amen to that’ when you say something they agree with. Of course nobody actually says that except bros in American films.
That said, I kind of disagree with Wikipedia there because ‘So be it’ sounds kind of defeated and hopeless to me. Not very affirmative at all.
But maybe that’s the point, we’re all small and powerless before the awesome power of the Lord or something?
Still that doesn’t mean you should just blindly copy something you’ve been told to say without questioning what it means and whether you actually agree with it.
Amen to that.
