03/24/2018
The following was writteynnn by Ben
Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning
Commentary.
My
confession:
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.
In
light of recent events--terrorists attacks, 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 s***k our children when
they misbehave, because their little personalities
would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem
(Dr. Spock's son committed su***de). 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
