Probably most of us know commentator, author and actor Ben Stein from his taking attendance in the 1986 movie, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” \u00a0Here Stein, a God-fearing Jew, shares his views on the merits of Christmas and why at this time of the year we do well to reconsider faith in God (or lack thereof) in American public life:<\/p>\n
\u201cMy confession:\u00a0<\/em>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\u2019t feel threatened. I don\u2019t feel discriminated against. That\u2019s what they are, Christmas trees.<\/em><\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t bother me a bit when people say, \u2018Merry Christmas\u2019 to me. I don\u2019t 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\u2019t 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\u2019s just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.<\/em><\/p>\n I don\u2019t like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don\u2019t 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\u2019t find it in the Constitution and I don\u2019t like it being shoved down my throat.<\/em><\/p>\n Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren\u2019t allowed to worship God ? I guess that\u2019s a sign that I\u2019m 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.<\/em><\/p>\n 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\u2019s not funny, it\u2019s intended to get you thinking.<\/em><\/p>\n Billy Graham\u2019s daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her \u2018How could God let something like this happen?\u2019 (regarding Hurricane Katrina).. Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, \u2018I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we\u2019ve 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?\u2019 I<\/em>n light of recent events\u2026 terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. \u00a0I think it started when Madeleine Murray O\u2019Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn\u2019t 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.<\/em><\/p>\n Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn\u2019t spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock\u2019s son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he\u2019s talking about. And we said okay.<\/em><\/p>\n Now we\u2019re asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don\u2019t know right from wrong, and why it doesn\u2019t bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.<\/em><\/p>\n 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 \u2018WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world\u2019s going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send \u2018jokes\u2019 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.<\/em><\/p>\n