MY CONFESSION

The   following was written 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 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