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As the 20th century draws to a close, many wonder what happened to the values that brought us through a tumultuous century - and worry about what lies ahead.
by Jerold Aust
hey'll probably never again invite Joe Wright, pastor of a church in Wichita, Kansas, to open a session of the Kansas Legislature with prayer. Mr. Wright feels strongly about issues of right and wrong and isn't shy about expressing himself in no uncertain terms. After his recent invocation a few of the legislators took loud exception to his prayer: "It was gross, divisive, sanctimonious, overbearing," one said. Others called it "blasphemous and ignorant." What had this minister said that so stirred the wrath of these state representatives? Here is that prayer, as widely quoted in the print and electronic news media:
"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's exactly what we have done. We've lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values.
"We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word in the name of moral pluralism. We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism.
"We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle. We have exploited the poor and called it a lottery. We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
"In the name of choice we have killed our unborn. In the name of right to life we have killed abortionists.
"We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building esteem. We have abused power and called it political savvy. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it taxes. 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.
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