Ben Stein is cute (NOT!)

I got one of those forwarded, forwarded e-mails that included the following. It got me thinking. I have interspersed my comments in blue, with the original text in black. Bogus, added text is in red. Now, on to that email:

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 crèche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah afew 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. This is especially interesting given that this country was founded by a lot of folks who were tired of getting 'pushed around' by their own government for not belonging to the 'official' government sanctioned religion. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I have no idea where Ben Stein got that idea either! I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

I must quote from the blog by Margaret and Helen

Jesus is the reason for the season unless you practice Islam, Hinduism, Chinese Traditionalism, Buddhism, Animist, Spiritism, Sikhism, Juche, Judaism, or any other of the two dozen or so major world religions. And let’s not forget about the citizens of the world who are non-religious because there are over 1 billion of them. In the United States today, over 75 million Americans are not Christian... No matter what you believe, over four billion people believe differently than you do. Four billion.

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? As long as we keep the government out of religion, we definitely have a chance to worship God as we know 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.

None of the following was said by Ben Stein:

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 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?' Paraphrased and taken out of context. See snopes.com.

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. She was murdered in 1995 along with her son and granddaughter, for reasons unrelated to her public image and activism (Wikipedia). Or, put another way, apparently, if you are a Christian and you're murdered, it's martyrdom, but if you are not a Christian, it's God's wrath!!

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). In fact, both of Dr. Spock's children are still alive!! See snopes.com. We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.

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 (speak for yourself!), 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.

Funny how we can make stuff up, send it out in an email, and ask others to forward it without checking the facts. I have taken it on myself, after eight years of being lied to by our government and the media and email chain letters, to not let these go by without at least one voice of reason to dilute the damage done.

Are you laughing yet? No

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it. Oh, really?

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in. Or, start thinking, learn to use the Internetz and seek some truth! There, I feel better now...



My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,


Ben Stein

Update 1: Helen Philpot summed it up best in the Margaret and Helen blog:

I have no idea if my little rants on this internet have had any type of positive
impact, but I cannot point the gun at Palin and Bush without blaming myself as
well. I sat by for eight years when I should have been getting active
every day in our politcal system. It’s the only way democracy works.
So until they put me in a rest home, I’ll be watching - and writing.
I voted for Obama, but that doesn’t mean I gave him a free
pass. And I’m pretty sure we haven’t seen the last of that
moose hunter in heels. Trust me, I’ve learned my lesson. There
will always be bad guys - at home and abroad.