[StPete] Fwd: (no subject)

[Boatseven at aol.com]

If off fending one or more of our members by  using  our private network 
for the following, I apologize,  But  as a Jewish American, I felt it is 
important to circulate this article as far as  possible. 
 
Best regards,
 
Bob
 
  
____________________________________
 From: bevpage at hotmail.com
To: harostein at aol.com, boatseven at aol.com
Sent:  10/16/2009 10:26:14 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time
Subj: (no subject)



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 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 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
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




 
 
"Twenty years from now you will  be more disappointed by the things you  
didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines! Sail away  
from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream.  
Discover" --  MARK TWAIN  













 
 











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