Interesting:
Apparently the White House referred to Christmas
Trees as Holiday Trees for the first time this year which prompted CBS
presenter, Ben Stein, to present this piece which I would like to share
with you. I think it applies just as much to many countries as it does
to America ...
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 ? 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?
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.
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.
My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,
Ben Stein
