by Dan Calloway
Published August 30, 2009 at 5:50pm EST; The Chronicler’s Web
The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.
Ben Stein
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 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
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it apperars snopes has reported this to be a compilation and to have some errors in fact.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/confessions.asp
I’m so glad I found this site…Keep up the good work I read a lot of blogs on a daily basis and for the most part, people lack substance but, I just wanted to make a quick comment to say GREAT blog. Thanks,
A definite great read…:)
-Bill-Bartmann
I don’t know If I said it already but …Excellent site, keep up the good work. I read a lot of blogs on a daily basis and for the most part, people lack substance but, I just wanted to make a quick comment to say I’m glad I found your blog. Thanks,
A definite great read..Tony Brown
No one seems to mention that Ben Stein said some of these things way back on December 18, 2005. This is not exactly a breaking news story.
You have to be careful of the liberal leanings of snopes.com when anything of a political nature is being ‘checked-out’ by them. If Ben Stein in fact said those things he was speaking for millions of Americans who are fed-up with the political correctness now being overly practiced in America.
His argument to blame all the bad in the world on the lack of faith in God could not be more short-sighted. Ask the muslim extremists who routinely murder innocent people by blowing themselves up if they have faith in God. Do they think their God is ‘saddened’ by their actions?
Hurricane Katrina would’ve happened regardless of how many bibles you could cram into school libraries or how many prayers were chanted by people cowering in fear of not appeasing some all powerful and knowing God. Katrina was a tragedy due to human ignorance, plain and simple.
I dont know one person who would describe the United States as an atheist nation. And dont even get me started on how Im constantly subjected to Christianity being shoved down my throat. So yes I am laughing Ben Stein…Im laughing at you because you’re a moron.
[...] brings me to a set of morally beautiful reflections by Ben Stein, which he put forward this past summer on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary. Stein poignantly observes [...]
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I have heard Mr. Stein speak on TV perhaps 20 times and never before got excited about any of his ideas.
This morning, uncharacteristically, I lend my total support to his piece on an American pledge.
I would go so far as to say that something akin to his pledge should be recited by schoolchildren in place of the pledge of allegiance.
We are, after all, a country of laws and of principles inspired by our founding fathers, not of flags and potentates, are we not?
Bravo, Ben!
Simply, God bless you Ben!
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The laws of physics (fundamental laws of nature) are observed by all of us on an everyday basis, such as the effects of gravity. I also believe there are spiritual/moral laws as well, although not always as obvious as the laws of physics. I also believe in both cases if we attempt to manipulate or violate these laws certain consequences occur. We know better than to walk off a cliff because the law of gravity will prevail and a very quick adherence to this law will be quite visible. A quick adherence to physics or laws of nature will not always be as quick and obvious as the aforementioned example of gravity. Ocean tides are a consequence of gravity and occur approximately twice per day. Most tidal changes are gradual and take place over many hours. Spiritual laws may also be similar to the laws of nature, in that the effects of non-adherence may not always be quick and obvious, but nevertheless consequences will occur. It should be noted that appropriate use/adherence and or respect for the laws of physics and spiritual/ moral laws does yield good effect, violation of the these laws yields the opposite. Oh, both the laws of physics and spiritual/moral laws are given by the Creator, God.
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I don’t believe in hitting children. Nothing I’ve ever read or seen or heard from experts has convinced me that hitting a child will produce an improvement in any aspect of that child’s behavior or personality. I chose not to spank and my children turned out very well-behaved, respectful and happy.
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