Prayer in the Senate
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I received this in an email, I'm just curious as to how most of you would respond to this.
Apparently this prayer given in Kansas at the opening session of their Senate.
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 confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and call it Pluralism.
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 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 expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called 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 receiving 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."
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I'm not sure how I feel about this prayer. It's seems a little strange to me that a prayer would be said at a political event however, I'm not at all familiar with American politics. Anyway just interested in your thoughts on 2 points. The prayer itself and what it represents and mixing religion and politics.
I feel very strongly in separation of church and state. I don't think its right because we have freedom of religion in this country. People have come here to escape religious prosecution and just because the majority of people are a certain religion doesn't mean that's what everyone believes. I don't think its the governments place to rule over morals, that's what religious leaders are for. I don't think we should take "Under God" and such out of things like the Pledge and so on because its part of our history. I do not think there should be an ammendment barring gay marriage because I don't think people choose that lifestyle. I just think religion is a personal choice based on one's faith and since not everyone agrees it would be unfair to try and make everyone adhere to certain aspects of a religion because its majority. I think it would better to have tolerance of each other and I don't understand why that is so difficult for so many. People's relationship with their God doesn't affect how I feel about them personally. I am friendly with people who are very open about it, quoting the bible and criticizing movies because they have witches etc. I am friendly with people who are perfectly good people who say they dont think there is a God. I am friendly with people who go to church every week and those that attend on the big holidays. I know Mormons, Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists, Jewish and Muslims. I happy I am not the one to judge them. There are just too many variables.
I've not looked into this yet, but something sounds very familiar about it, and what I do recall from the other item that is like this it is found to be fake. Gotta run now so can't check snopes. Where did you see this, on the news?
This is a real prayer I believe it was said in the last 90's, I read it on snopes years ago.
How do I feel? Up until recently always started everything with a prayer, graduation, football games, even the senate.
Honestly I think this country was founded on religion, freedom of, not freedom from. I hope we don't lose that.
The prayer reads much like prayers that have been said in my church many times. Personally, I'm comfortable with it.
I am sure there have been lawsuits to stop the prayers that are said to open every session of the Senate and House, and while I am totally in sympathy with people like Americans United for Separation of Church and State, I don't believe these prayers are the kind of thing our founding fathers meant when they passed the First Amendment.
As for the Senate, heaven knows it (and the House) need all the prayers that can be mustered.
As for mixing religion and politics, that happens all the time. I have slightly mixed feelings about it, but as long as the politicians don't try to make me act and worship the way they do because they feel "their way" is the only correct way, I can live with it.
What our wonderful First Amendment says, in essence, is that government shall not sponsor a particular faith or belief or way of worship, or set up a "state religion" (which is what the Church of England is), nor use tax dollars to support a particular, sectarian body or belief.
The battle about school prayer is, essentially, that (a) schools are supported by tax dollars, which should not be used to promote a particular faith; (b) children, unlike adults, are not really "free" to opt out - if a child opts out of school prayer, s/he will be teased and/or harassed by other students; (c) children who come from families of a faith different from that of the prayer leader or the text of the prayer (for example, "in Jesus' name") can be confused by the difference between what they are taught at home (with the authority of their parents) and what is being taught at school (with the authority of teacher and school behind it). Some schools have tried to get around this with a non-sectarian prayer, with little success. First, prayer means a belief in a higher being, and if a child's parents are atheists, that's a problem. Second, a non-sectarian prayer (imo) is not a prayer - it's a bunch of words meant to sound serious and thoughtful but not really saying anything. Personally, I like my prayers to mean something. Other schools have tried to put the prayer in the context of a settling-in, settling down time, a few moments for meditation, calming down, making a break between the pre-class activities and the classroom. But I notice that they don't use, for example, readings from Benjamin Franklin or Shakespeare or some great thinker to do this - just prayer (or silent meditation).
Kaye, this country was founded on freedom. Political freedom, personal freedom, and religious freedom. Yes, many who came to this land came to escape religious persecution (particularly from a state-sponsored religion); others - particularly large groups who came to the South, many of whom settled in what we now call Appalachia - fled political persecution; the Scots who supported Bonnie Prince Charlie, for example, or the French fleeing the French Revolution or Napoleon. Many came seeking a new life, land for the taking, a possibility of a future other than being a tenant on some landowner's property or a factory worker in England or Europe. Others came because they were sentenced to transportation for a variety of crimes (including stealing bread for their hungry children) and were bought as bond slaves for specific periods of time (later transportation sentences were to Australia). The Irish came, in large part, because of the potato famine, fleeing poverty and an unsympathetic and oppressive English government. Many western Europeans came to avoid being forced to serve in their country's armies, particularly in the areas which are now Germany and Austria.
Sorry, this has gone on much too long. I do love this country and what it has meant to those who come here, whatever their reason.
Interestingly, in this country, with the First Amendment, religion in general is much healthier, more vibrant and more alive. We have a higher active church membership (in terms both of attendance and financial support) than in any of the mainly Protestant nations of Europe and even more than most of the Catholic nations in Europe. Which, I think, says that not having state (tax-dollar) supported religious organization is probably better for religion.
I think the minister was within his first ammendment rights. He was certainly thorough. He didn't chastise one side or another. He just broke the first law of politics: he failed to be a hypocrite.
Ame
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