Minister opens new session for Kansas Senate

legridder155 · 04-17-2008, 11:47 AM

It seems prayer still upsets some people. Please read....

When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the
Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but
this is what they heard;

"Heavenly Father,

We come before you today
To ask your forgiveness and
To seek your direction and guidance.

We know Your Word says,
"Woe to those who call evil good"
But that is exactly what we have done.
We have lost our spiritual equilibrium
And reversed our values.

We have exploited the poor and
Called it the lottery.

We have rewarded laziness
And called it welfare.

We have killed our unborn
and called it choice.

We have shot abortionists< BR>And called it justifiable.

We have neglected to discipline
Our children and called it
Building self esteem.

We have abused power
And called it politics.

We have coveted our neighbor's
Possessions and called it ambition.

We have polluted the air
With profanity and
Pornography and called it
Freedom of speech and expression.

We have ridiculed the time
Honored values of our
Forefathers and call ed it enlightenment.

Search us, Oh, God,
And know our hearts today;
Cleanse us from every sin
And set us free.

Amen!"

The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out
during the prayer in protest.

In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is
pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 Of those
calls responding negatively. The church is now receivin g international
requests for copies of this prayer from India , Africa and Korea .

Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio Program, "The
Rest of the Story," and received a larger response to this program
than any other he has ever aired.

With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our Nation and
wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called "one
nation under God."

If possible, please pass this prayer on to your friends "If you
don't stand for something, you will fall for anything."

Think about this: If you forward this prayer to everyone on your
email list, in less than 30 days it would be heard by the world.

matclone · 04-17-2008, 11:58 AM

Are you sure this is real? Other than giving a name and an event, it's got all the markings of what we call urban legends, so popular on the internet these days--a singular point of view, appealing to emotion rather than reason, and exhortations to "pass it on". In short, us v. them, and how unfair of "them" to be different than me.

Assuming it is true, it was a political statement and that's probably why people were upset.

What's particularly offensive to me about this sort of statement is its presumption that the speaker holds the truth, and that anyone who doesn't hold the same "truth" is somehow flawed.

Flop The Nuts · 04-17-2008, 12:05 PM

I call BS. What were they expecting if they brought a Minister in? Ministers usually talk about their god.

skipster · 04-17-2008, 12:07 PM

Found at http://urbanlegends.about.com/librar...joe_wright.htm

While not word-for-word accurate, this is a fair transcription of an actual prayer delivered before the Kansas House of Representatives by Central Christian Church Pastor Joe Wright on January 23, 1996. It has circulated continuously on the Internet ever since.

At least one legislator did walk during the prayer, according to the Kansas City Star. Others made speeches criticizing what the House Minority Leader, a Democrat, called "the extreme, radical views" reflected in the prayer. It was aired nationally on the radio in February 1996 by Paul Harvey.

There is no presumption that the speaker holds the absolute truth. If one disagrees with the speaker, he will disregard the comments as being rubbish and will not be offended. Those who are offended are the ones who do what the speaker condemns and are not comfortable with their own actions, implying they think their own actions are wrong.

matclone · 04-17-2008, 12:11 PM

Originally Posted by Flop The Nuts

I call BS. What were they expecting if they brought a Minister in? Ministers usually talk about their god.

Like I said, it was a political statement. He didn't limit it to talking about God. He didn't just say God protect us, guide us, and show us wisdom. No, he, made specific political claims. Abortion is wrong. Welfare is wrong, etc. etc.

matclone · 04-17-2008, 12:13 PM

Snopes.com says the "prayer" occurred, although not entirely the same as above, but only one legislator walked out and all this occurred about 12 years ago.

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/outrage/wright.asp

skipster · 04-17-2008, 12:13 PM

I wasn't aware that the clergy had to clear their prayer topics through matclone before they gave invocations.

skipster · 04-17-2008, 12:14 PM

Originally Posted by matclone

Snopes.com says the "prayer" is accurate but only one person walked out and all this occurred about 12 years ago.

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/outrage/wright.asp

Same thing I posted earlier.

Flop The Nuts · 04-17-2008, 12:22 PM

Originally Posted by matclone

Like I said, it was a political statement. He didn't limit it to talking about God. He didn't just say God protect us, guide us, and show us wisdom. No, he, made specific political claims. Abortion is wrong. Welfare is wrong, etc. etc.

I'd expect that if you give a minister the podium in front of a state senate, then you can expect to hear about god and politics.

If you hire Dan Gable to give a motivational speech to John Deere, wouldn't you think he'd talk a bit about wrestling and farm equipment?

matclone · 04-17-2008, 12:31 PM

You see how all this plays out: a few people were offended by the reverend's talk but life presumably went on. Meanwhile the emotional appeal of the speech is transmitted and disseminated to millions of a certain political persuasion, who, against all evidence, believe they are sole keepers of the truth.

I forgot to mention: it reminds me alot of the Pina Colada song--which I didn't like for the same reasons.

Minister opens new session for Kansas Senate

Politics & Religion