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 Nick and Jessica 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 Nick and Jessica 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 recently) 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?
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
10 comments:
Amen, amen, amen, girlfriend!
Was thinking about you last night and this morning...hope you are surviving your snowfall and were able to dig out if need be! LOL
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.
I got this in one of those irritating chain emails two years ago. Was this plagiarised or something?
The fundie persecution complex is astounding.
Hey Beth,
Yes, we did survive, but I'm glad no more snow is falling. Hope you had a great Christmas and New Year's!
Jacob,
I have no idea if this "plagiarised", but the sentiment is still one with which I agree.
And for the record, We "fundie" conservative Christians don't "feel" persecuted. We ARE being discriminated against in many ways that can be proven. That is more than a mere feeling, as you describe it.
Women being oppressed by extreme Islamic regimes - persecuted.
Faolon Gong in China - persecuted.
Entire nations of people wiped out by violence in Sudan - persecuted.
You, my friend, are far from being persecuted.
And the irony is that if you were, people like me would be the first ones to defend you.
I'm interested, as an afternote, what proof you have of this discrimination.
Am I going to dehydrate, waiting for a response?
Jacob,
Note that I purposely did not use the word "persecuted" in my response. I used the word "discriminated" against. There is a difference and I happen to agree with you that Christians are not, as of yet in America, being persecuted. I do believe that day will come and I personally believe the groundwork is, even now, being laid for that eventuality.
As for proof of discrimination...don't dehydrate. I will provide you with some, if someone else does not first. I am currently celebrating Christmas with my in-laws at their house right now, however, so I do not want to spend time researching to prove my point to you at the moment. Go drink some water and be patient!
Okay Jacob,
I don't have a ton of time to be blogging right now, but I did want to respond to your demand for evidence to back up my statement that Christians are being discriminated against.
First, I will just say that off the top of my head, I can think of several ways that Christianity, specifically, is being attacked.
1. The Ten Commandments: Specifically, monuments, photos, artwork, etc... in schools, courts and other public buildings are being removed or challenged constantly.
2. The Pledge of Allegiance: The words "one nation, under God" have been repeatedly challenged in the courts simply because there is a reference to God. There have been several cases that I could reference, but here is an article that provides at least one example.
http://www.aclj.org/News/Read.aspx?ID=2817
3. Prayer in schools/public gatherings: Christian prayer is prohibited in public schools and at graduations. It has been challenged in military settings and even at political functions including the Indiana Statehouse.
Consider these examples:
http://educationalissues.suite101.com/article.cfm/muslim_prayer_in_public_schools
http://www.aclj.org/Issues/InDepth.aspx?ID=40
(Scroll down and look under "archived press releases")
In general, I would encourage you to visit "The American Center for Law and Justice" at
http://www.aclj.org/Default.aspx
There are numerous issues they address regarding discrimination against Christianity and actual cases that have been archived. I don't have time or space here to list them all, but I think my point can be proven many times over.
Of course, I fully expect you to argue, but I'll let the evidence speak for itself.
Hope you haven't dehydrated yet.
Is that it?
1. How does this prove that you are being discriminated? The reason for removing religious icons in an unbiased court house is predicated on the same rule that applies to everyone else. Unless you're more important or something, and thus not being discriminated is (in some parallel universe kind of way) an instance of you being discriminated, you're absolutely clutching at straws.
Fail fail fail.
2. If my knowledge of American history is correct, the words 'under god' were never in the pledge of allegiance, until some time in the fifties when legislators were responding to some perceived threat of communism (see: McCarthyism) with a hyper-patriotism that included, among other things, tacking on that clumsy reference to god. There was no reason to have these words at all when the US ratified its constitution, nor at any time in American history up to now. It's a total waste of time to argue about this stuff. The state can't recognise a specific god or set of religious belief, that would be unconstitutional.
Fail times a million.
3. Public schools are state funded, the state can't officially recognise any god or religious belief system, therefore any officially mandated prayer is - say it with me - unconstitutional. Kids are always allowed, as well they should be, to pray in their own time, on breaks, at lunch, in their heads during algebra, whatever. But this "taking god out of school" rhetoric is utter nonsense, and it says something about the tenuousness of your argument that you trotted it out.
Fail times 3*10^-8.
Jacob,
You and I come at this from completely opposing points of view. To you, my arguments are worthless because you believe in the non-existent "separation of church and state" clause so frequently spouted these days.
I, on the other hand, have read the documents written by America's founding fathers and and have noted how often they reference God (the Christian God) and His guidance in the founding of this country. The Founders never intended America to be a God-less country, rather they simply did not want to establish a state religion. They would have no problem with prayer in schools, Creationism/ID being taught, the Ten Commandments displayed on public property or the words "under God" or "in God we trust".
It all depends on whether you choose to believe the words of the founding fathers and the documents that back them up or ignore history. Until we can agree on the religious history of the U.S., we will never agree on whether Christianity is under attack in the present.
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