Something to Make You Think

[Herokight]

More food for thought:

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, bejewelled 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 crib, 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 neighbour 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

I know a lot of these have spread across the internet, but how many of you can read this and see some truth to it? I didn't post this to offend or to cause arguments, because I'm sure that not every member of the forum is a Christian and rightly so it doesn't offend me if you're not. I just hope more people can actually see we have a genuine problem that isn't being solved by a correct solution. I'm even hearing Atheists say, "You know, the world got a lot crazier and the younger generations got alot worse when prayer and God was removed from the schools."

Just thought I'd pass this along.

[Noel989]

Amen

[mbdblue]

another interesting perspective. Not only about religion, but individualistic thinking. It's depressing to think that so many people just agree because it's easier to do, or because they want everyone to be forced into believing what they do.

[scoobywrx05]

Thank you for posting this. It is interesting to see that you are only 19 years old and are looking at and reading things like this. Makes me feel good that you are.

[Emmet]

Interesting view for sure. But the idea that because less people believe in god means the world is going to hell I don't like.

I'm an atheist. Yet I know what is right and what is wrong. I try to do good every day and be thankful for what I have. I learned this from my parents not from the bible.

For one example was this kid I went to school with. Now this kid would pray every day, was always saying how he believed in god and wore a cross around his neck,

yet most weekends he would beat the shit out of someone for no reason other than he wanted to fight. You notice people like that when you grow up not believing in a god.

He wasn't the only person I knew like that. The thought that the bible gives us our moral compass is bullshit. I think it's our humanity that gives it to us.

To look at your fellow man and know what is right and what is wrong.

The fact is that even though older generations say that the world is going to hell, they were the ones who raised us.

[BobbyG2]

Amen.

[scoobywrx05]

Interesting view for sure. But the idea that because less people believe in god means the world is going to hell I don't like.

I'm an atheist. Yet I know what is right and what is wrong. I try to do good every day and be thankful for what I have. I learned this from my parents not from the bible.

For one example was this kid I went to school with. Now this kid would pray every day, was always saying how he believed in god and wore a cross around his neck,

yet most weekends he would beat the shit out of someone for no reason other than he wanted to fight. You notice people like that when you grow up not believing in a god.

He wasn't the only person I knew like that. The thought that the bible gives us our moral compass is bullshit. I think it's our humanity that gives it to us.

To look at your fellow man and know what is right and what is wrong.

The fact is that even though older generations say that the world is going to hell, they were the ones who raised us.

Interesting thoughts and I will say that I agree with allot of your points. I believe in a higher power whether it is God or whatever. I don't go to church cause I don't believe in most churches and they way they are ran. Would introducing religion back into the schools help. It might but I doubt it. Would mandatory parenting classes for any person or persons about to have a baby help with raising their child and teaching them right from wrong? Maybe. The human race will destroy itself in time. Just my 2 cents

[Herokight]

Interesting view for sure. But the idea that because less people believe in god means the world is going to hell I don't like.

I'm an atheist. Yet I know what is right and what is wrong. I try to do good every day and be thankful for what I have. I learned this from my parents not from the bible.

For one example was this kid I went to school with. Now this kid would pray every day, was always saying how he believed in god and wore a cross around his neck,

yet most weekends he would beat the shit out of someone for no reason other than he wanted to fight. You notice people like that when you grow up not believing in a god.

He wasn't the only person I knew like that. The thought that the bible gives us our moral compass is bullshit. I think it's our humanity that gives it to us.

To look at your fellow man and know what is right and what is wrong.

The fact is that even though older generations say that the world is going to hell, they were the ones who raised us.

Interesting thoughts and I will say that I agree with allot of your points. I believe in a higher power whether it is God or whatever. I don't go to church cause I don't believe in most churches and they way they are ran. Would introducing religion back into the schools help. It might but I doubt it. Would mandatory parenting classes for any person or persons about to have a baby help with raising their child and teaching them right from wrong? Maybe. The human race will destroy itself in time. Just my 2 cents

Interesting view. I can assure you me posting it wasn't to offend anyone. Just to spread some other viewpoints. I have no problem with any religion or belief as long as it isn't shoved down my throat, which is something I wouldn't do to anyone. The way I took it is that, it doesn't matter how much someone loves you, if you spit in their face enough times they won't help you. I think religion shouldn't be a matter that offends anyone, because we're all so different in our thoughts and beliefs even under one religion. It's kinda like hating someone for wearing a shirt that's a color you don't like, you know? And, like I said above, things did start getting worse after religion was taken out of everything. I actually got in trouble for having a bible with me once. Nothing too serious, but I did hear from a few teachers about it. I honestly don't know if putting religion in schools would change anything. I mean it's there, but nothing that has made a difference. It raises the questions of, "Why is it wrong? Who says so?" It's like kids are being taught morals without a name or face to pin them to. Actually, they're not even taught as morals to have in every day life. Just "rules" you have to abide by and get in a little trouble for breaking them. I kinda feel like public school failed alot of my friends and I because it really didn't prepare us for anything.

Hopefully it would go without saying but unfortunately it doesn't, I'm not saying every Christian is a great person and every atheist or person of another religion is a horrible person. I know plenty of atheists that great people and would give you the shirt off their back, and I also know plenty of Christians that are such terrible people I wouldn't piss down their throat if their guts were on fire. Over all, most individuals have the ability to be a good person, but some people just don't try, and don't care. Some men really do just want to watch the world burn.

[Baydestrian]

I heard about that Hurricane Sandy & God statement a while back and still wonder, since when has God been shoved out? You want God in schools then send your kid to a private school. I don't think religion and politics go together, Romney doesn't believe in abortion due to his religious beliefs, from what I believe, so he was going to make them only legal in certain cases like rape. So if elected his own personal beliefs due to religion would affect others who do not share those same beliefs and to me that is wrong. Use your religious beliefs for your own life. I find a lot of people who try to preach the word of God to be hypocrites

I was raised Catholic but never took to it more than going to confirmation classes and church on Sundays which I never liked. Part of me wants to say Earth and life came about by pure miracle but another part wants to say Earth might have been miracle but human consciousness is intelligent design, so I guess Agnostic.

If you think about it, there was always talk of Gods in ancient civilizations but then it came to the point where it was just a singular God who apparently is neither man nor woman, it is an entity and the teachings he had Jesus pass on is purely just right & wrong types of guidance. Religion to me seems to be a man made idea used for group following in some cases for control of people. Look how extreme some ppl get just over religion.

On to the topic of how could God let Hurricane Sandy happen? Really? It's called Mother Nature, get used to it because she was here before humans and will be here until Earth is destroyed.

[Herokight]

Honestly, I think people need to stop looking for solutions to this apparent "problem." Sometimes, someone decides they want to kill a bunch of people. That's just how humans are. They do things like that. You can blame religion, you can blame the media, movies, video games, parents. Blame whoever you want, but at the end of the day the problem is the human mind, and there is no solution.

Indeed. We have a genuine solution and a genuine problem, but the solution doesn't solve the problem because the problem is too complex to completely solve.