Email Chain Letter: Ben Stein

I don't know how accurate this statement is but I received it as a chain letter today.

 

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 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 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, 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

 

My Response:

 

1. Christmas trees do not bother me either.
2. I think that atheist's get more grief since we are the minority.
3. Religious people tend to think that our country was founded on Christian beliefs. I think as an atheist, religious beliefs are shoved down my throat. Not the other way around.
4. I do not worship celebrities or anything for that matter.
5. Oh, so a new excuse why god would not step in when disaster's happen. We told him not to. That doesn't make any sense anyhow because I am sure that not every religious person wanted and asked god to leave us alone.
6. Murder and all the terrible things that happen in this world just started after this woman said she didn't think that prayer should be in schools? That is one of the most ridiculous things I have every heard.
7. We all know that so called 'experts' are not always right. Spanking or not spanking your kids does not, in my opinion, matter all that much.
8. I think children learn right from wrong from their parents, peers, grandparents and everyone involved in their young lives. You do not need religion to grow up as a moral human being. Some parents do a great job and have f-ed up kids, some parents do a shitty job and their kids turn out ok. Some people are just deranged.
9. I don't believe everything I read. I certainly do not believe anything the bible says. It was written by man, just like the newspaper.
10. Yes, I am laughing at this whole email.
11. I shouldn't worry so much what other people think of me. I am human though and I do care. I don't believe in any god so that is a non issue.
12. The shape of the world we live in is up to us. I think religion only hinders our ability to take on real issues and handle them in real ways instead of sitting back and praying for something to happen. Obviously that does not work.

Comments

[Nullsession]

http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/benstein2.asp

Yes, it's always good to check Snopes.com for chain letters. I am usually the guy at my company that everyone comes to with these. :-)