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A judge in Tennessee has taken it upon herself to change the first name of  7-month-old  Messiah DeShawn Martin to “Martin.”

And just what prompted the judge to do that you ask? Well, the judge in her infinite wisdom is declaring it’s because “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.”

OK, says who? Oh yeah, the judge

Good Lord. How did this even come to be? According to a WBIR TV report, Jaleesa Martin and the father of Messiah could not agree on a last name, which is how they ended up at a child support hearing in Cocke County Chancery Court on Thursday.

That is when the first name came into question.

Child Support Magistrate Lu Ann Ballew serves the 4th Judicial District of Tenn. including the following counties: Cocke, Grainger, Jefferson, and Sevier.

The name change was part of Judge Ballew’s case; however, the parents did not think the first name would be changed.

Judge Ballew ordered the 7-month-old’s name be “Martin DeShawn McCullough.” It includes both parent’s last names but leaves out Messiah.

“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 responded saying, “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.”

According to Judge Ballew, it is the first time she has ordered a first name change. She said the decision is best for the child, especially while growing up in a county with a large Christian population.

“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.

Apparently judge Ballew has somehow missed know that the world is populated with numerous people named Jesus. That’s Jesus. In fact, we did a Google search of how many people are named “Jesus” in the and in the USA alone, the tally came to over 242,000!

So, at the very least, Judge Ballew’s reasoning is faulty at best and will no doubt be overturned.