So this was sent to me and I never thought I would ever be posting something Ben Stein said on my blog...but check this out:
The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on
CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.
My confession:
I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was
Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit
when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees,
Christmas trees... I don't feel threatened.. I
don't feel discriminated against.. That's what they are,
Christmas trees.
It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas'
to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting
ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like
it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters
celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at
all that there is a manger scene on display at a key
intersection near my beach house in Malibu . If people
want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a
few hundred yards away.
I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I
don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being
Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick
and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no
idea where the concept came from, that America is an
explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the
Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.
Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come
from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed
to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a
sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of
us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and
where the America we knew went to.
In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a
laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended
to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you
thinking.
Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and
Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this
happen?' (regarding Hurricane Katrina)... Anne Graham
gave an extremely profound and insightful response..
She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as
we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of
our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of
our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He
has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us
His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us
alone?'
In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school
shootings, etc.. I think it started when Madeleine
Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years
ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we
said OK. Then someone said you better not read the
Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill;
thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as
yourself. And we said OK.
Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children
when they misbehave, because their little personalities would
be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's
son committed suicide). We said an expert should know
what he's talking about.. And we said okay..
Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no
conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it
doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and
themselves
Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can
figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with
'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'
Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then
wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we
believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible
says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and
they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending
messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about
sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene
articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public
discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.
Are you laughing yet?
